£2000-£3000 42"Plasma help required!!!

[CRAIGYBOY1]

Hello all,
I am looking to spend between £2000-£3000 on a 42"plasma for my living room. I have had a bit of search around and the choice seems to be between on of the Hitachi variants 5000 or 500e or the Panasonic pwd6.
I am a total newbie to the Plasma world so I would appreciate some advice.
The Hitachi seems to have a better resolution at 1024x1024 so does this give a better image than the Panasonic?
The general feel I get from this site is that peope rate Panasonics higher than Hitachis?

What would you recommend?

Any help gatefully received

 

[Jasonjo]

I hope MAW replies to this

Not better, just different. The Hitachis use ALIS which is a different technology to the Panny's.

Some people like it, some people hate it (MAW )

Bit of a cop out, but you really need to see both with your own eyes to decide, especially when spending £2-3k!!!. Personally, I looked at the Panny 6, Pio 434, Fuij VHA30 & Hitachi PD3000 and chose the Panny 6 because it looked the best "to me"...

JJ

 

[TheBigApple]

Originally posted by Jasonjo
Bit of a cop out, but you really need to see both with your own eyes to decide

Agree, although you've made the important first step by creating a short list.

Now arrange a demo and go and spend that money.

 

[MAW]

Just to oblige you Jason. Firstly, I don't actually hate hitachi per se, unlike the korean things that get knocked out by Currys. Also I am not alone in my wishing to steer clear of ALIS technology. I share this position with Joe I think, and maybe Liam if he were going to install it for the customer, though I know he sells them. It's really the extra layer of processing present in the screens that I don't like. You cannot send them native resolution from a PC, and no-one is sure what they actually do to the signal for video. With a panasonic, if you feel that what you see does not meet your requirements, you can usually do something about it, eg a better source will result in better end results. The Hitachis do quite well with poor sources, and 'quite well' with say, Jason, a Denon 3800 DVD. Whereas the panny does not to good with a poor source, and brilliant with a good one. Yes the resolution appears to be poor on paper, but I and many others feel the compensation of high contrast and smooth, filmic image is worth it. If you were connecting a HCPC I'd suggest different again, but with video source, it's hard to beat.

BTW Where are you, and someone will suggest a dealer for your demo.

 

[Jasonjo]

Sorry martin, didn't mean to "bait" you

 

[MAW]

You know there's something about ALIS for me, and just the opposite of the movie. Cameron Diaz, there's another thing now....

 

[CRAIGYBOY1]

I live 20 miles from Edinburgh. If anyone can suggest a Demo that would be great.
Thanks for your help so far

 

[MAW]

No brainer mate [email protected] http://www.tmfsolutions.co.uk

 

[ASH1]

Hi MAW, I hear Hitachi are thinking of putting a hit squad out for you.

ASH1

 

[MAW]

Actually they're trying to send a rep round. I've told him it'll be bread and water, not coffee and choccy biccies like the others...