best 42 inch plasma for £2500- £3000

J

jackoatuk

Guest
Well this plasma tv choosing is doing my head in.
I have read lots about them, so i make my mind up about a certain make and model, then read some bad reports about it.
Can anyone put me in the right direction for a 42inch plasma
fully complete and ready to go.
I am thinking of waiting for the new hitachi 42pd5300.
Thanks for any advice given.
Regards Jackoatuk.:rolleyes:
 
You can buy Panasonic 42PA20 for 2999 in Comet.
For the money It is without doubt the best plasma.
 
Go for PWD6 if you dont need integrated speakers.
 
if you dare deal with them, rs have the Panasonic 42PA20 plasma for about £2800

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Originally posted by buns
if you dare deal with them, rs have the Panasonic 42PA20 plasma for about £2800

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Not wishing to disagree :)

But I thought RS had a good reputation regarding customer service?

I cannot see any "get out" for Comet not price matching + 10% of the difference, if you have a RS store within 10 miles of your local Comet with stock.
 
How much will the pd5300 be. I like the idea of high res on the hitachi.
 
Many thanks for the replies chaps.
I will take a look at the pani.
The hitachi will be about £2850 it looks a promising plasma.
Regards Jackoatuk.
 
Just for the record (and slightly off-thread)

"if you dare deal with them, rs have the Panasonic 42PA20 plasma for about £2800"

I bought from Richer Sounds in Southampton. I have never received better service from a shop in my life. Absolutely second to none. I'm sure there will be people who've had a poor experience but from what I've found I would recommend them above any other high street store.

And at their prices, you'll get yourself a right old bargain!
 
Is the main difference between the Panasonic PWD6 and the new PA20 integrated speakers?

NexNix are doing the former for about £2300, and the cheapest I can find the PA20 is £2800 from Richer Sounds. Surely the speakers alone are not the reason for the £500 price difference?

Also, is the inferior resolution of the Panasonics compared to the Hitachis a big deal? Presumably, only when used as a PC monitor is there a noticeable difference...
 
PA20 has

integrated speaker
connection boards are built-in
TV tuner.

Correct Hitachi has better scaling then the panny when used as a pc monitor. But both screens have their pros and cons. I went for the Panny cos I personally preferred the colours. All depends what your after.
 
I already have a good speaker system with top notch amp. I can also get a decent Freeview box for £80 or so, making a built-in tuner redundant.

If I get the PWD6 from NexNix I also get a connection board included.

So, that means I am left with a choice between the PWD6 from NexNix at £2349 + £80 for Freeview box = £2429

Or Hitachi's 42PD5000 at £2390 + £80 for Freeview box = £2470.
Again from NexNix.

Mmm... choices, choices! Which to go for?
 
Originally posted by Jasonjo
I thought you ordered the Panny???

Was a typo just edited my post....
 
Originally posted by LIMMOZINNO
I already have a good speaker system with top notch amp. I can also get a decent Freeview box for £80 or so, making a built-in tuner redundant.

If I get the PWD6 from NexNix I also get a connection board included.

So, that means I am left with a choice between the PWD6 from NexNix at £2349 + £80 for Freeview box = £2429

Or Hitachi's 42PD5000 at £2390 + £80 for Freeview box = £2470.
Again from NexNix.

Mmm... choices, choices! Which to go for?

don't forget the tunner in the PA20 is terrestrial (I think :confused: ) soon to be redundant in the next 3-6 years.
also you can still add seperate speakers to the PW6 which makes the whole thing more upgradeable
 
Ok then, what are the pros and cons of the Panny PWD6 versus the Hitachi PD5000? I see that depsi thinks there is a superior colour palette on the Panny...

Anything else? I'm also a plasma newbie suffering from a bad headache trying to choose...
 
The Panny has a much higher contrast ratio (4000:1) which produces much deeper blacks than the Hitachi.
 
Hi Mrs Brethy here, we bought the 42pd500 from RS for £2399 (price matched tvandvideodirect) and got a phillips freeview box for £20.00 (tesco's sell the same one for £99.99). We are very happy with the plasma and everyone who has seen it thinks it is stunning, mind you I am no techie:D
 
Ok I don't want to start another Hitachi vs Panny war there's already plenty on this forum..... But I will say my thoughts when I was choosing....

Hitachi
pros
Comes with all required connectivity on board including DVI
Good resolution (bear in mind it's an ALIS screen - search forum if you want to know more)
Very good to use as a pc monitor (good scaling due to res)
Furture HD sources may or may not look better on the Hitachi in the future. But that could be a long while away.
cons
Not very reliable, appears to be many problems on this forum (e.g grey blob problem)
Blacks are more like a grey

Panasonic

Pro
High contrast ratio - Excellent PQ with vibrant colours, black are actually black
Much better PQ for sky\freeview (IMO)
Cons
Need to purchase connectivity boards required
DVI - at the moment doesn't support pal
Not as good as PC monitor big fonts (still works well through)

Not so long ago I was stuck in a dilemma stuck between the two. The Hitachi looked better on paper. I decided my eyes would decide as that's what really counts. Each time I seen the screen side by side I always preferred the picture on the Panasonic.

Both are good screens couldn't go wrong with either...
 
Not that I am a plasma owner, but if you look at it as a percentage, the number of plasma's Hitachi/Fujitsu sells around the world vs Panasonic, there is no proof that Panny are more reliable than Hitachi, although Hitachi has encountered some problems with forum members here.

Again, e.g. in Hong Kong where I am atm, Hitachi is well regarded and very reliable, definitely on par with Panasonic, and they sell so much more units.

Just a thought.

Wasabi
 
Personally I'd recommend going and sitting with both of them for a few hours if you can, watching different things/playing with settings - they are both fantastic screens so it's pretty much down to personal preference.

That's what I've been doing for the last week or so at various places and I finally ordered the Hitachi.
 
Panasonic w6 at av sales you also get a free wall mount as well
Plus they were very helpfull

Kyzer
 
I'd say the Fujitsu VHA30 would be the best screen that money can buy, portable.so.uk will do them for 2,500 pounds, a pricematch with some online store.
 

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