Blew plasma HDMI card - time for the OLED jump!

JackH09

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Ignoring years of knowing i shouldn't, last night i unplugged/re-plugged a live HDMI lead into my beloved 10-year old 42" Viera plasma. I now have no HMDI signal coming through from any source, so appear to have blown the Main A-board. As much as tried to resurrect it, I'm going to say goodbye (cue violins please).

That said, this is probably the sign I've wanted needed to upgrade and move to 4k OLED. I was going to wait until black friday, but needs must.

Currently I've got a 5.1 Dali setup coming off a Yamaha RX-A730 and an old Sony blu ray player. Need to upgrade the lot i think.

While I've considered the GZ2000, am thinking of going with a 65 GZ950 to save some money (plus not convinced im enough of a colorist to spot the difference). Also thinking Denon AVRX-4500H and a Panasonic UB9000 (or the 820). Does this sound like a coherent setup? Interested in any tips from people who've done similar.

Will post some before and after photos when I'm done browsing, buying and unboxing (this is just how the gf wanted to spend the bank holiday! :thumbsup: )
 
Ignoring years of knowing i shouldn't, last night i unplugged/re-plugged a live HDMI lead into my beloved 10-year old 42" Viera plasma. I now have no HMDI signal coming through from any source, so appear to have blown the Main A-board. As much as tried to resurrect it, I'm going to say goodbye (cue violins please).

That said, this is probably the sign I've wanted needed to upgrade and move to 4k OLED. I was going to wait until black friday, but needs must.

Currently I've got a 5.1 Dali setup coming off a Yamaha RX-A730 and an old Sony blu ray player. Need to upgrade the lot i think.

While I've considered the GZ2000, am thinking of going with a 65 GZ950 to save some money (plus not convinced im enough of a colorist to spot the difference). Also thinking Denon AVRX-4500H and a Panasonic UB9000 (or the 820). Does this sound like a coherent setup? Interested in any tips from people who've done similar.

Will post some before and after photos when I'm done browsing, buying and unboxing (this is just how the gf wanted to spend the bank holiday! :thumbsup: )
Sounds a good set up, though worth asking what your use is? Movies, sports, terrestrial, gaming etc

how important is the OS and smart features, is Google, Alexa, Apple AirPlay important etc

Be worth having @Dodgexander ‘s input as well

Is there a reason you’re set on the 2019 range? Some 2018 sets are a steal at the moment.
 
Sounds a good set up, though worth asking what your use is? Movies, sports, terrestrial, gaming etc

how important is the OS and smart features, is Google, Alexa, Apple AirPlay important etc

Be worth having @Dodgexander ‘s input as well

Is there a reason you’re set on the 2019 range? Some 2018 sets are a steal at the moment.

Thanks for the reply.

Use is purely movies and netflix/prime, a bit of terrestrial. I've got an xbox but dont game anywhere near enough to factor it into my decision. Sport not important either.

I've never really been too bothered by OS, but there does appear to be a lot of love for the LG and a lot of disappointment in the Panasonic offerings. So long as the panasonic OS is not prohibitively poor, i dont think i'd mind too much. I'll go an have a play with each and see.

As for going for the 2019 models, assumed this would offer the best future proofing (so having Dolby Vision, HDR10+ and HLG available). I may be a bit panasonic biased, only because ive always used them, so when they added dolby vision to the 2019 sets, seemed like the obvious choice. Happy to hear different thoughts tho.
 
Thanks for the reply.

Use is purely movies and netflix/prime, a bit of terrestrial. I've got an xbox but dont game anywhere near enough to factor it into my decision. Sport not important either.

I've never really been too bothered by OS, but there does appear to be a lot of love for the LG and a lot of disappointment in the Panasonic offerings. So long as the panasonic OS is not prohibitively poor, i dont think i'd mind too much. I'll go an have a play with each and see.

As for going for the 2019 models, assumed this would offer the best future proofing (so having Dolby Vision, HDR10+ and HLG available). I may be a bit panasonic biased, only because ive always used them, so when they added dolby vision to the 2019 sets, seemed like the obvious choice. Happy to hear different thoughts tho.
Would agree that the LG OS gets love yes, but the Pana is far from poor. To me it just feels a bit..... forgotten, like they are so dead set on the PQ that everything else is a second priority. Recommend you go and see them, ask for the remotes and just ask to be left alone.... nothing worse than a branded rep breathing down your neck :laugh: I have exceptionally low patience when it comes to tech, so when I used the Sony in store and was kept waiting for it to react I wrote it off very quickly, the Pana was better but not as intuitive as WebOS on LG.... but, each to their own, see what you think.

To a certain extent yes, agree with the futureproofing thought. Pana have clicked it finally with DV, DA support this year (long overdue) in combination with HDR10+, only major thing it’s lacking is HDMI 2.1 (only the LGs this year) which would be valuable to you as a gamer (not at the moment) but also an audio fan (because of eArc).

GZ950 vs C9 is a fair match up, and buying one, you’ll get no buyers regret over not buying the other.

What store(s) are you thinking of visiting? Would recommend if it’s a Curry’s or JL, ignore the branded reps at the start, and then ask for their help if you need it. Anyone who trash talks another brand I personally don’t trust, so it would be interesting to hear what you’re told.
 
Would agree that the LG OS gets love yes, but the Pana is far from poor. To me it just feels a bit..... forgotten, like they are so dead set on the PQ that everything else is a second priority. Recommend you go and see them, ask for the remotes and just ask to be left alone.... nothing worse than a branded rep breathing down your neck :laugh: I have exceptionally low patience when it comes to tech, so when I used the Sony in store and was kept waiting for it to react I wrote it off very quickly, the Pana was better but not as intuitive as WebOS on LG.... but, each to their own, see what you think.

To a certain extent yes, agree with the futureproofing thought. Pana have clicked it finally with DV, DA support this year (long overdue) in combination with HDR10+, only major thing it’s lacking is HDMI 2.1 (only the LGs this year) which would be valuable to you as a gamer (not at the moment) but also an audio fan (because of eArc).

GZ950 vs C9 is a fair match up, and buying one, you’ll get no buyers regret over not buying the other.

What store(s) are you thinking of visiting? Would recommend if it’s a Curry’s or JL, ignore the branded reps at the start, and then ask for their help if you need it. Anyone who trash talks another brand I personally don’t trust, so it would be interesting to hear what you’re told.

I would typically buy from John Lewis for the warranty, but after a recent incident (a month ago) where the panasonic rep suggested i hold on to my viera, get it re-gassed and wait for the gz2000, am going to give Richer Sounds a go. I honestly thought the whole re-gassing nonsense died out years ago. This annoyed me so much, he was an actually branded Panasonic rep as well. Anyway, I've never used RS, but cant deny their reputation and better warranty make them worth a shot.

Would you say there is much difference in the build quality between panasonic and lg? The extra lg features dont appeal that much to me as a non-gamer, so thinking of saving the extra £500 and putting that towards a ub9000.
 
I would typically buy from John Lewis for the warranty, but after a recent incident (a month ago) where the panasonic rep suggested i hold on to my viera, get it re-gassed and wait for the gz2000, am going to give Richer Sounds a go. I honestly thought the whole re-gassing nonsense died out years ago. This annoyed me so much, he was an actually branded Panasonic rep as well. Anyway, I've never used RS, but cant deny their reputation and better warranty make them worth a shot.

Would you say there is much difference in the build quality between panasonic and lg? The extra lg features dont appeal that much to me as a non-gamer, so thinking of saving the extra £500 and putting that towards a ub9000.
Oh dear, how to lose a customer in one line :laugh: silly thing to suggest, probably could’ve had a nice commission out of you as well if he just kept his trap shut

No, both very much on a level. Both use a mixture of plastic and metal, only thing that really beat them was the old Sony OLED range which was made with a lot of glass (heavy as hell but so pretty:love:)

RS are a safe bet, depends on whether there’s one near you of course! My nearest is a good hour and a half away..l as much as I love them, can’t justify going all that way!

Putting the money towards the UB9000 would not be wasted at all. Sounds like a set up to be jealous of!
 
Richersounds are great bought my older ez952 from them... not biased but knew I was only interested in movies blurays in my den coming from a pioneer krp they said look at the Panasonic ..tried LG sony and Panasonic in their demo room lights off etc.. was invaluable and massively helped my decision Panasonic had a very plasma picture but more detailed brighter etc (picture all I'm interested in)but now they all have seemed to improved on their weaknesses and look alot more similar so price may be the only factor..
 
Back from Richer Sounds, with a considerably lighter wallet. I ended up with:

Panasonic 65GZ950B - RRP £2299
Denon AVRX-4500H - RRP £999
Panasonic UB9000 - RRP £799
Dali E-600 stands - RRP £149
Sanus bracket - RRP £59
6yr Warranty for UB9000 and AVXR4500 - RRP 175

Total RRP: £4480
Price paid: £4124
Discount: 8%

How does that sound for a RS deal? Is that the norm? I've never bought from them before but were nice guys and not pushy at all, which i liked.

I only went in for the tv, amp and blu ray, then realized i needed a load of other bits.
RS offered a six year warranty on both the AVR and blu ray for the price of one, which seemed good. Also said that if i dont use the warranty in the six years, i can go back at the end and get my money back.

Find it interesting that I got all the above for less than the £4200 a 65" GZ2000 would have cost, so happy I made the right choice there.

All being delivered this week, apart from the stands which are made to order in Denmark apparently.
Thanks for the tips and advice above, much appreciated.
 
Back from Richer Sounds, with a considerably lighter wallet. I ended up with:

Panasonic 65GZ950B - RRP £2299
Denon AVRX-4500H - RRP £999
Panasonic UB9000 - RRP £799
Dali E-600 stands - RRP £149
Sanus bracket - RRP £59
6yr Warranty for UB9000 and AVXR4500 - RRP 175

Total RRP: £4480
Price paid: £4124
Discount: 8%

How does that sound for a RS deal? Is that the norm? I've never bought from them before but were nice guys and not pushy at all, which i liked.

I only went in for the tv, amp and blu ray, then realized i needed a load of other bits.
RS offered a six year warranty on both the AVR and blu ray for the price of one, which seemed good. Also said that if i dont use the warranty in the six years, i can go back at the end and get my money back.

Find it interesting that I got all the above for less than the £4200 a 65" GZ2000 would have cost, so happy I made the right choice there.

All being delivered this week, apart from the stands which are made to order in Denmark apparently.
Thanks for the tips and advice above, much appreciated.


Nice one very interested to hear your thoughts on the TV etc.. one of most important things I found get in menu picture settings and turn that max frame rate off do your tweaks from there..
Cant stand soap opera effect..
Congrats too that's a great deal you got there on all the equipment..:cool:
 

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