Buying advice for Freeview Use Only

[juniper]

Please point me in the right direction if this is covered ad nauseum already (and if so sorry), but I have the same "which plasma should I buy" question as most people do, but my problem is that I will be unable to get anything but freeview via a regular aerial in my new property, and so I am not sure to what extent that should restrict my purchasing choice?

Basically I am looking for a plasma, and have a budget of around £1,200. I will not be able to get a satellite dish of any description, and cannot get cable. I have been advised that getting a 50" screen is pushing the envelope as far as the basic freeview channels are concerned (I may watch a few blu-rays, but not many as these will be on the pj in due course). So what would you do in my shoes? Should I just go for a 42" screen, should I just go for 720p (and then if I go for 42" then what is a good choice for freeview only signals?), and therefore save myself a shedload of money? Or should I look seriously at a Panny 50G10 and will it give me anything more overall (other than more dusting to do for the missus). Thanks in advance for anyone's advice.

 

[Monarch]

For watching freeview stick to a 720p screen, the offerings from LG and Panasonic are very good, the X10 or PQ6000 should be on your list, they're both available in 42" and 50". The G10 will give you more when watching blu-ray in its deeper blacks and greater colour depth, but it wont give you anything in SD TV, and you can't make use of the built in freesat. To decide which size to get how far away will you be sat?

 

[juniper]

For watching freeview stick to a 720p screen, the offerings from LG and Panasonic are very good, the X10 or PQ6000 should be on your list, they're both available in 42" and 50". The G10 will give you more when watching blu-ray in its deeper blacks and greater colour depth, but it wont give you anything in SD TV, and you can't make use of the built in freesat. To decide which size to get how far away will you be sat?

Thanks Monarch - I will be sat about 10' away from the screen.

 

[Monarch]

For SD use I would say go for a 42" set, although there might be some debate around it as it is an odd distance! It might be worth popping into a shop and standing 10' away from a 42" and 50" screen (displaying SD) to see if you can see the graininess on the 50" screen.

It's deffinitely a shoot out between the X10 and PQ6000 though, there is very little between them, in price and picture quality, but I personally prefer the LG, largely due to it's extensive picture controls which allow you to get the exact picture that you want instead of the very basic controls on the Panasonic. The Panasonic is more resistant to image retention though, if that would be an issue