37 inch - for SD

[lintontjpr]

Am I wasting my money buying something like the Panasonic 37LZD85 or 37LZD800 or the Phillips 37pfl7603 if I am only watching SD content and using it for DVD and a Wii?

[Boostrail]

Originally Posted by lintontjpr

Am I wasting my money buying something like the Panasonic 37LZD85 or 37LZD800 or the Phillips 37pfl7603 if I am only watching SD content and using it for DVD and a Wii?

No. I have the Panasonic and SD in particular from my VM+HD box at 1080i is incredible. As with freeview which is also very good it depends very much on the channel and the quality of the 'original' . For me the ultimate test is footy and rugby. If as on Sky sports (on VM in SD) and occasionally BBC the original is shot in HD then there is no problem whatsoever you get quasi HD. At the other end of the scale some Setanta coverage is dire but I have found that I can get rid of the mosquito type and other artefacts by increasing noise reduction if at the expense of less defined grass/

[lintontjpr]

Which Panasonic do you have?

[McPhee]

I'd say yes, you probably are. The Panasonic TH-37PX80 Plasma is cheaper and will probably give you a better picture than those sets given the sources you're using.

If you are dead set against a plasma (as some people are) then get a good 720p LCD, the 1080p ones are only going to be worse with SD because they have to scale the picture up even further.

[lintontjpr]

Can you suggest a good 37 inch 720p LCD then?

[Boostrail]

Originally Posted by lintontjpr

Which Panasonic do you have?

37LZD85 LCD

[Boostrail]

Originally Posted by McPhee

I'd say yes, you probably are. The Panasonic TH-37PX80 Plasma is cheaper and will probably give you a better picture than those sets given the sources you're using.

If you are dead set against a plasma (as some people are) then get a good 720p LCD, the 1080p ones are only going to be worse with SD because they have to scale the picture up even further.

I personally find plasmas dim and a bit blurred c/w LCD's.

Whilst I take your point re 1080p v 720p upscaling. I can find no fault with the SD performance of my Panasonic 1080p set. Its better than most 720p sets I have seen bar some expensive Philips models produced a year or so ago. Unfortunately Philips do not seem to have been able to transport this expertise to their 1080p models. There are also good reports of SD performance on the latest Sony W4000 1080p models

[-Ad-]

For SD the panasonic PX80 plasmas are far superior than the LCDs.

[Boostrail]

Originally Posted by -Ad-

For SD the panasonic PX80 plasmas are far superior than the LCDs.

I could not see any difference between the PX80 plasma and the LZD85 LCD on SD
except the plasma was less bright and looked a bit fuzzy. This was in specialist shop and I was able to play with the remotes. I had 2 SD sources Sky and freeview available. Both looked better than the Sony V3000 on SD

[Lin3ar]

Originally Posted by Boostrail

I could not see any difference between the PX80 plasma and the LZD85 LCD on SD
except the plasma was less bright and looked a bit fuzzy. This was in specialist shop and I was able to play with the remotes. I had 2 SD sources Sky and freeview available. Both looked better than the Sony V3000 on SD

In shops, due to there bright nature, LCD's do look better than plasmas.
Stick a film on in the evening at home though and things start to look different.

[Derthyou]

I Agree with boostrail. I have had the pana px80 plasma for nearly two weeks. The sd images are blurry and soft at times. It got to the point where I stopped watching a programme and started watching the different pq on each channel. Eventually I put it side by side at home with the new(ish) 37 inch full hd lcd made by Panasonic-the "80". The difference was immediate. More detail,blurring gone,great colours etc. Even on blu ray the lcd won in every department except black levels, and they were closer than you would think. The same source was used and all the tweaks were done to both sets. I am not being seduced by the "in your face" thing with lcd. It was simply better by a long way. I took the px80 back yesterday and the salesman was not suprised. All a matter of taste I suppose.

[Boostrail]

Originally Posted by Lin3ar

In shops, due to there bright nature, LCD's do look better than plasmas.
Stick a film on in the evening at home though and things start to look different.

Thats exactly where I see remarkable SD results far better than I have seen even on a Pioneer Kuro. I stick a SD DVD into my 1080p upscaling HDD DVDR playback. The PQ is astonishing!!! (ps had eyes tested last week)

[JDM121]

Wow lcd better than plasma, plasma does look miles better. Comparing the w4000 against the pz80, the plasma blew it away!

[lifofifo]

Originally Posted by lintontjpr

Am I wasting my money buying something like the Panasonic 37LZD85 or 37LZD800 or the Phillips 37pfl7603 if I am only watching SD content and using it for DVD and a Wii?

http://www.hdtvtest.co.uk/Panasonic-TX37LZD85/ is pretty negative.

[lintontjpr]

Yeah, thats not the best review. To be honest I think I'm going to go down the LCD route. Its hard to decide cos there is support for both camps on these forums and people are very defensive about their own preference. Having read a great review of the 42 inch Phillips 7603 on trustedreviews.com I think I am going to go for the 32 inch version of that TV for around £650. Will try and find a shop that has one set up this week cos I think the only way to decide is to see the picture quality for myself.
Plus the 7603 got the vote of approval for looks from the wife yesterday!