Another help me decide threads.

N

nath69uk

Guest
Hello all,

Been thinking of buying a plasma for some time now, and nows the time to pick one. I dont know anything really about the different makes or specs. All I know so far is that I have about £1600 to spend on one, and I'm still undecided on whether i want HD or not. I visited local electrical store other day to see all the different screens, I firstly looked at a Panny TH42PE50 Viera, I did this mainly cos a friend of mine has one and i liked the look of it when I seen it in his front room.

I was really impressed with picture quality and colours, colours especially when comparing them to screens sat on either side of the panny. However when I shown the other half she said it was "Ugly" :mad: She then pointed out to me that she liked a Philips 42PF7520D/10, I was unsure at first. Then the sales person stuck a HD feed from a pc to the screen and it looked the part, however after reading this forum and looking at the specs of the screen I see that the Panny is better.

I doubt I would be using the screens to watch HD to start with and if I did it would only be now and then. However I would be watching alot of normal television a few DVDs and Cable television from NTL. I just need pointing in the right direction on what I should be taking into consideration when choosing a screen.

panny = £1595.75
philips = £1512.75
 
Best of luck with any responses mate, I doubt if anyone here will be able to give you a definitive answer other than go and have a look for you self.
An answer which isn't much good to me as I work 12 hour shifts, and have little or no spare time as it is. Let alone time to go and be pestered by some spotty faced student in certain Electrical Stores who don't have a clue what they are talking about.
I have a budget of 2.5K been looking on this forum for over a month, and still not sure wether Plasma or LCD is the way to go. Just when you think you are on the right track, you read some thing that puts you back at square one again. All you get is brain ache! :suicide:
 
Well, I'm thinking the panny is for me upto now. the main reason being that i bet normal picture quality on the philips is not upto much and thats what its gunna be used for the most. HD for me would only get used now and again even though its good its not worth sacrificing the thing id use most. Thats what I'm understanding right now. Hoping more people will add to this and shed more light on this mass bubble of confusion.
 
I know the feeling guys but the search function really is your friend and there are plenty of these types of threads recently to get some useful opinions etc :thumbsup:

It really depends on your personal circustances and requirements.

I'm new to plasmas so have little experience but after spending some time around here picked the PWD7 and am really happy with it. But I to'd and fro'd for ages before taking the plunge :eek:
 
rex8,

All good advice but forget the spotty youths in certain Electrical Stores. There are a number of plasma specialists who frequent this forum, indeed like me advertise on this forum, several of whom work from home so aren't tied to office hours when it comes to demonstrations. And they will probably be much less expensive than the washing machine sellers.
 
Piers I respect what your saying there but surely there gotta be someone else on this forum that knows enough about TV's to say wether or not the panny is better over the philips or vice versa. At this moment my instinct is telling me to get the panny however can someone even tell me if this is worth the money?
 
Is any telly worth £1500 - £2500?

I can only really contribute that I have bought the Panny and I am very happy with it. After reading these forums I get the impression, rightly or wrongly, that those in the know rate Panasonic and Pioneer over Philips, Sony, Samsung, LG, etc.

The other thing which those in the know favour are panels rather than TVs. I was tempted to go down this route but in the end I decided on a conventional TV.

I also looked in the major stores and for a long time was going to buy the PE40 from Currys (Their model of the PE50, but finished in all silver). I was not however convinced - not about the picture or performance but cosmetically. I then decided to buy the PE50 from an internet supplier which is what I did.

My requirements were similar to yours: TV, Telewest box and DVDs. I have no regrets about the purchase except perhaps I should have opted for 37" rather than 42". The plasma, built in freeview and bundled DVD recorder all perform as well as I could have expected.

David
 
Why the 37"?

Purely because the 42" may be too big for my living room/viewing distance. I am getting used to it and certainly have no regrets on buying the Panasonic.

David
 
Yeah I think I'll go for the Panny too. TH42PE50CAB. Cheapest Ive found so far is at rgbdirect with free DMRES10EBS DIGA DVD Recorder. Price £1546.96 & £74 Delivery. Any recommendations on where else I may find cheaper?
 
I went with a company called 123electricals4me.co.uk in part because of good pricerunner and website feedback and helpful e-mail replies.

Mine is the pedestal version and I paid a bit extra to get the hard drive DVD recorder. Their prices include carriage.

David
 
Thats more exspensive than RGB Direct for the screen however the next question is who supplies the HD DVD Recorder with it for the least?
 
Thats the cheapest so far, thanks WillC. Anyone ever had any dealings with these or know anything about them?
 
I am interested as to why so many people are buying TV's rather than the commercial Panel's?

Having read (and re-read) many of the Plasma threads it appeared a no brainer to buy the PHD8 over the 500 or other TV. Everyone appears to have a tuner feed from either SKY or Freeview. Am I missing something?

With a £1500 budget I am sure that the PWD8 (or alterative manufacturers) would be a better purchase than the PE50.
 
Cheers WillC yet again, I'm quite shocked that I hadn't come across these yet. Quite scary when ya think you may have parted ya cash with someone else really. Had a good read of your post too, you have gone through similiar to what I've gone through. I realised quite early what I wanted/needed/would use, compared to someone I've seen on this forum that has been looking for ove a year.
 
I personally found it (and still find it!) difficult to decide what exactly I need. I'm still very hesitant to buy a TV that isn't HD-ready. I'd hope my plasma TV can last at least five years before I need to upgrade, so I can only hope that HD TV doesn't take off big-time during that time span.

I'm really excited about the TH37PE50B though. I went to my friend's house yesterday and he has a 32" LCD screen and it seemed huge, so a 37" screen should do the trick nicely :D A 42" would be even better, but I'm already stretching myself financially.

So yeah, I'm now about 75% sure I'll go for the TH37PE50B, but now I need to decide if I want to get the package with a) the wall mount, b) the Panasonic stand, or c) the pedestal stand (and then spend about £200 elsewhere on a TV cabinet/stand to place it on).

I'll probably go for Option B, but it is probably the most expensive choice, hence my reservations.
 
Well I've decided on the TH42PE50CAB with the DMR EH50 dvd recorder for now, all I need to do now is find a decent amp an speakers, which I have started a new thread for. I think I may order today for tomorrow, however front room is just quite not finished yet and I know I won't be able to leave the box sat there un opened.
HE HE HE
 

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