40"+ TV, £700-£1,000 budget, what's best for my needs?

Lewda

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Looking to get a new television, ideally pretty soon since our current one just broke but we got a full refund (it was out of warranty as well - got to love Costco!). Firstly, would it be better waiting until after Christmas, or would it not make much difference?

Down to the television:
- Mainly used for football, films (Sky Movies and Blu-Ray) and TV series, all in high-definition. I'm thinking a plasma would be better for this, am I correct?

- I'm not bothered about 3D. I imagine it would be a decent option to watch some matches and films/programmes in 3D on Sky, but that would probably be it. Looking online though, it seems that most TVs in my range include 3D, would that be a waste for myself? Should I specifically look for a non-3D TV?

- Budget is £1000 absolute maximum. Ideally I wouldn't want to spend all of that, a couple hundred left over would go down nicely!

- Size, 40"+. Probably wouldn't need to be bigger than 46.

- Manufacturer, I've always bought Samsungs, and always enjoyed them (ignoring the last one breaking after only four years). However, they have all been LCD. I'm new to the plasma scene, so if a plasma is for me then I'm open to advice on what to look for, and what not to look for.

Any advice or recommendations would be excellent!
 
Panasonic G30(2D) or GT30(3D), the GT also has better 2D than the G30, fantastic set.Or look at the Samsung D6900 if you want big.
 
Panasonic G30(2D) or GT30(3D), the GT also has better 2D than the G30, fantastic set.Or look at the Samsung D6900 if you want big.

Argh, John Lewis have an offer on the 42" GT30 - £899 with free 3D Blu-ray player + 2x 3D glasses. It's now out of stock! So it would just be the tele for £899.
 
Argh, John Lewis have an offer on the 42" GT30 - £899 with free 3D Blu-ray player + 2x 3D glasses. It's now out of stock! So it would just be the tele for £899.

EDIT: I thought you said the deal ended, In-fact you said the Blu-Ray player and glasses were out of stock. That's what i get for rush reading. Sorry

I have found the same deal with Richer Sounds & Comet.

Get John Lewis to price match, I'm sure there won't be a problem :)

http://www.richersounds.com/package/tv/3d-tv/patwh172

http://www.comet.co.uk/p/Plasma-TV-Packages/buy-PANASONIC-TX-P42GT30B-Plasma-TV-Package/997143
 
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EDIT: I thought you said the deal ended, In-fact you said the Blu-Ray player and glasses were out of stock. That's what i get for rush reading. Sorry

I have found the same deal with Richer Sounds & Comet.

Get John Lewis to price match, I'm sure there won't be a problem :)

http://www.richersounds.com/package/tv/3d-tv/patwh172

http://www.comet.co.uk/p/Plasma-TV-Packages/buy-PANASONIC-TX-P42GT30B-Plasma-TV-Package/997143

Richer Sounds seem to offer free 5 year warranty also so I guess I could just get it from there!
 
Okay I'm in a serious predicament now. I'm wondering whether to drop a model or two and look at the ST30 or G30, leaving some funds for some kind of speaker system. How much more worth it is the GT30 for someone who, although has a keen interest in picture quality and whatnot, is not necessarily the most advanced? Also would it be worth plunging into the 3D world with the ST30? How much better is the G30 than the ST30 (3D aside)?
 
I must apologise for the double post but just updating my situation if anyone can help.

It is now solely between the ST30 and G30. So what are the distinct advantages of each? I simply cannot decide between the two. As I've said, 3D isn't essential, but wouldn't be a problem as a feature. If the ST30 would give a better 2D picture then I would be happy to do down that route, however ideally I could do with an offer of free 3D glasses as paying extra for an added option isn't very attractive.
 
I must apologise for the double post but just updating my situation if anyone can help.

It is now solely between the ST30 and G30. So what are the distinct advantages of each? I simply cannot decide between the two. As I've said, 3D isn't essential, but wouldn't be a problem as a feature. If the ST30 would give a better 2D picture then I would be happy to do down that route, however ideally I could do with an offer of free 3D glasses as paying extra for an added option isn't very attractive.

ST30 has an improved filter other than that and the 3D, I belieive the G30 is meant to be better. The G30 can certainty be made better more easily with extra picture controls it has. As Vickster says, best to read the reviews, then if you can, go demo the sets....oh and IMO the G30 is better looking.:)
 
I guess I'll go through the reviews again now I'm at this situation.

Sounds like the G30 is ahead at the moment, I'll see if I can demo them. How does one go about this?

Also, it doesn't seem that John Lewis have the G30 online so I'll need to check in-store. Would they also price match against another shop who doesn't have a 5 year warranty? And if someone is offering free glasses, would JL throw some in?

Going to check in Costco to see what they have as well. Would JL price match against them?

Any other recommendations on where to buy?
 
You need to read JLs T&Cs ref matching - if a one off match they factor in warranty delivery etc, if a national match against Currys or Comet, less so. I haven't heard of anyone matching against Costco (maybe due to their Cash & Carry membership format, not open to all), why would you bother anyhow, Costco include the warranty too :confused:

I am not sure they have ever had the 42G30 online or in store anyhow.

They may offer free specs, some have had luck with JL against Comet's 2 free pairs offer, but hit and miss as techinically not the same model (Comet have the 'exclusive' but identical ST31)

If you want a proper demo find an independent retailer with a demo room, such as Sevenoaks S&V or TPS (where do you live). These guys have 5 year warranties on in store purchase (part of a Panasonic promotion)

Sevenoaks Sound and Vision - Panasonic TX-P42G30 <p>42" Plasma TV (Full HD) <p>(Save £270) (Claim Free 5 Year Warranty)

They don't have the ST30, only stock the higher end models
 
Ignore about JL matching Costco, I was tired last night so that was pretty dumb!

I'll have to go into the stores and see what they've all got. It's no use if I go for the G30 and nowhere has it! Only place I can see is Richer Sounds.

Closest Sevenoaks would be Warrington which is about 45 minutes/an hour away, but the 42G30 with a 5 year warranty is actually cheaper in RS (although I've just noticed that RS' prices have gone up slightly since last night!)


Mandrill, that's a superb price. Thing is though I'd need to add the 5 year warranty, and the 50" might be too big. Although, the 50" is cheaper than the 46"!

I've taken in far too much information in the past few days!
 
Cool :)
 
Just thought of another question. The G30 has THX mode and more calibration options, right? What does THX mode exactly offer, and how advanced does one need to be to make use of the calibration options? Could one be guided through with some kind of online guide?
 
I think you just put it in THX mode and sorted, ask in the G30 owners thread in the plasma forum for detail
 
Speaker systems are expensive. You need a AVR and then the speakers.

Go with the G30 if you've totally took the GT30 of your list. THX mode is pretty lame, it makes every thing to green IMO.
 
I think you just put it in THX mode and sorted, ask in the G30 owners thread in the plasma forum for detail

Will do!

Speaker systems are expensive. You need a AVR and then the speakers.

Go with the G30 if you've totally took the GT30 of your list. THX mode is pretty lame, it makes every thing to green IMO.

Oh I know, I've got an AVR and speaker system up here, but for downstairs I was just hoping to get some kind of 2.1 system (or maybe a sound bar?) that would be better than the TV speakers.

Hmm, how come you think I should get the G30 if THX mode is pretty lame?
 
THX is is a Standard that started with sound for movies and now does the same with the image. Like calibration the idea is to get the image as close to how it was intended. Its not going to be as good as a claibration as this takes into account if your environment and kit I.e. player AVR etc. THX is done at the factory. Some have complained of it beeing a bit over green, easy to change and you should still have a more accurate image than using others settings IMO. The best thing with the G30 for me is the extra picture controls(theres videos on this site explaining what they do) Gamma alone is worth having as it can fix a dull looking image without reducing brightness(that can loose detail), greyscale settings are handy as you can improve colours quite easily if you know what to do. After the sets bed in you can do three things after a bit of reading up. 1. get a clibration disk and chane settings by eye. 2. Get a cheap meter and do your own calibration, or 3. pay for a professional ISF calibrator. Many people do 1 as you can get a calibration bluray for 15-20, some buy a meter for about 100-200 and have a go, those that have a spare 300 get a pro out....most of course just find a setting they like and just change the brightness and contrast.:)

Vids here.


 
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Sorry Scooby I'm not ignoring you, I'll read all that when I get home...but, I'm just in Costco and they have the 42GT30 for £761.98, that includes a 5 year warranty but doesn't include any glasses or anything...should I go for it??
 
Sorry Scooby I'm not ignoring you, I'll read all that when I get home...but, I'm just in Costco and they have the 42GT30 for £761.98, that includes a 5 year warranty but doesn't include any glasses or anything...should I go for it??

Sorry missed this post.. Did you get it? Id have offered a nice round 800 if they added two pairs of glasses :) player that comes with most deals is around 100 to buy so would be just around some of the other offers Ive,seen posted. Still, if you did buy thats still a good price.
 
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Sorry missed this post.. Did you get it? Id have offered a nice round 800 if they added two pairs of glasses :) player that comes with most deals is around 100 to buy so would be just around some of the other offers Ive,seen posted. Still, if you did buy thats still a good price.

Ah didn't think of that, I would have felt bad pushing for more though since they did give us a full cash refund on a 4 year old tele that was out of warranty and broke! But yeah, I did buy it, my old man was happy since he got plenty of change from the cash refund, and we wanted to be loyal to Costco! Plus in my mind I was very close to going for the 42G30 for £630, so I think the extra is worth it for the GT. I'll probably just buy a couple of pairs of glasses as a Christmas present for the house!

Guess I'll see you in the owners/calibration threads! Cheers for the help pal, and thanks everyone else as well.
 

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