New 50" tv......1080p or 720p???

pistolpete1

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Looking to replace my 4 year old 42" Panasonic 720p plasma for a larger screen.

Currently the tv is used as follows:

90% - Standard definition tv (freeview)

10% - Xbox/ Blu ray movies

Obviously we don't use freeview HD as we currently don't have an HD tuner. This will change with this purchase as most tv's have these tuners in them now.

We sit about 3.5 metres away from the screen..........

Is it worth spending more to get a 1080p???

Looking at buying another Panasonic plasma, or maybe a Samsung........:thumbsup:
 
If a screen is 40 / 42" then it's not such a big deal if it is only 720p, but above that I would suggest that 1080p is mandatory. :lesson: My next door neighbour some years ago bought a 42" "Pioneer Kuro" and I remember thinking what a fantastic picture it was, not only from terrestrial tv but from Sky as well (pre HD transmission days and his set didn't have a "Freeview HD tuner anyway) he was also playing HD DVD discs, remember them, and you could see the delineation of separate leaves on tree's but remember it is a "Kuro", and as far as I know he's still got it .

Any screen size above this, imo, would need the higher resolution, just my opinion but one based on actual viewing experience in the home, i.e real world viewing and not retail shop showroom oggling. Since August of last year we replaced our tv due to our 33" 19 year old 4:3 crt giving up the ghost and we purchased a 50" Panasonic VT30 :D, and there is no qustion in my mind that screens of 46" and upwards need the 1080p processing for crisp clear pictures. You may find by the way that most displays have 1080p as standard anyway from around the 37" mark even though it would probably not make a lot of difference, but it makes a great marketing tool. ;)
 
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Thanks taximan......

Was thinking either -

Panasonic TX-P50X50, or the Panasonic TX-P50UT50 at the moment.

One is around £500, and the other £850.....
 
Having 1080p on a smaller screen will certainly do no harm, but it wasn't deemed that necessary a few years ago on screen sizes on or below 42" but that may possibly have had something to do with the economies of scale producing sets at that time without 1080p on those smaller screen sizes. Having said that, and regardless of viewing distances even with that biblical artical you provided, ;) most flat panel sets today have 1080p as standard even though as I said above on smaller screens it isn't really that necessary.

It may also have more to do with manufacturing costs today, in as much that it costs around the same to produce sets with 1080p than without unlike a few years ago, things change fast in the world of technology. In fact it may even cost more to produce a set without 1080p because of todays economic scale of the manufacturing process, apart from the really really cheapo makes that is. Either way enjoy your 50" purchase with 1080p when you get it home whatever model you choose. :smashin:
 
Is it worth spending more to get a 1080p???

Really only you can answer that. There are some very good 50" 720p plasmas as you say but there are better 1080p ones, but to get better they cost much more. Do you think you'll ever go for blu-ray or 3D before you change the TV again. If probably not, then get the X50 with an extended warranty. In 5 years when you come to change again, things will undoubtedly have moved on.

Given you watch mainly broadcast TV, would iPlayer and the ITV etc equivalents be useful to revisit programmes you miss? Maybe something to consider
 
Really only you can answer that. There are some very good 50" 720p plasmas as you say but there are better 1080p ones, but to get better they cost much more. Do you think you'll ever go for blu-ray or 3D before you change the TV again. If probably not, then get the X50 with an extended warranty. In 5 years when you come to change again, things will undoubtedly have moved on.

Given you watch mainly broadcast TV, would iPlayer and the ITV etc equivalents be useful to revisit programmes you miss? Maybe something to consider

As you can see below, I do already have a blu ray player, which can access iplayer etc, although we rarely use the feature. I'm not overly interested in 3D, as my blu ray player doesn't support it.

Currently the blu ray player is used about once a week!!! So it's all freeview use really......:D

A mate of mine has just said that freeview HD are introducing more HD channels soon....is this correct?
 
Does it have to be Panasonic the Samsung pse530 sounds right up your street.
 
That samsung tv doesn't have a freeview hd tuner built in........whether I go full hd or hd ready, I would still want an hD tuner in the tv.....
 
Any big stores near you selling the Panasonics? Seeing for yourself would be the best thing to do. I understand wanting to save money but have learnt its best to spend as much as you can realistically afford with TVs. I saved money in the past and went for a lower end 768 Panasonic PX80 and was never really happy with it. It wasn't so much the resolution as the rest of the picture.
 
I like my 768 Panasonic PX80....for the money I spent, I think it's done very well........

And it has no banding/bleeding/green blobs,lines,spots........

Borrowing a friends Humax HD tuner (HDR Fox 2) tomorrow to see how a freeview HD picture looks throu my PX80.
 
I was always very happy with the HD picute - Blu-ray - on my PX80 and never had any problems. I just wanted bigger, and the LCD I got was several hundred less than the equivalent plasma and I am not that picky :D
 
I like my 768 Panasonic PX80....for the money I spent, I think it's done very well........

And it has no banding/bleeding/green blobs,lines,spots........

Borrowing a friends Humax HD tuner (HDR Fox 2) tomorrow to see how a freeview HD picture looks throu my PX80.

I just remember getting my V20, was like a veil had been lifted, made my PX80 look flat and dull. May have had a faulty set as there's many happy owners, I'm a picky so and so but still it was quite a difference.
 
V = top end 1080p, PX80 = entry 720p...I'd be bl**dy peed off if I'd spent that much more on new TV and no better!
 
V = top end 1080p, PX80 = entry 720p...I'd be bl**dy peed off if I'd spent that much more on new TV and no better!

The point?:p I made the comparison as it wasn't the res that made the biggest difference, it was the colour and dynamic range of the V20 that showed how poor my PX80 was. Indeed you would expect better for more money but it really was a big leap and not in the area some may expect. The PX80 was a 768 set but IMO it wasn't the res that let it down. The extra money OP will spend on a 1080p set if he chooses to will give an overall better set that's worth having for more than extra res. Id always buy the best I can afford now as Im always left feeling a bit disappointed if I don't.
 
Ok.......borrowed the Humax HDR Fox T2 off a friend the other day, and the HD channels looked pretty good. He has a full 1080P Samsung 40" tv, and thought my screen wasn't far off it from the distance we were sitting.

I also stood in Currys tonight watching at ST50 model next to the X50, running Curry's usual feed. And from a similar sitting distance as my lounge, the screens were quite similar, although I could tell the difference between a Full hd and HD ready spec screen. (Just!!!)

I went into Comet next, and found the X50 model had an aerial connected so moved it to the freeview HD channels, which again looked very good from the distance I would be sitting from the screen.

( I would like to point out the the difference was more apparent if I stood closer to each screen, but in real life I would not be doing that.)

Any conclusions......

yes.....it'll either be the Panasonic TX-P50X50 (hd ready screen) with 5 year warranty for £525, or a new Humax HDR Fox T2 box (£252 including 5 year warranty) to add to my existing Panasonic TH-42PX80 plasma.

Yes the Full HD screens offer more detail, but not £300+ more, in my opinion......and from the distance I would be viewing from.
 

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