Firstly I want to thank AVForums and the forum aficionados who take the time to provide their honest views and share their knowledge with newbies like me. The forum has certainly enabled me to make a well-informed decision and helped me avoid falling into the marketing mens LED trap
I have been lurking on the forum for some time now to establish whether it is worth upgrading from my trusted (but rather old) 36 Panasonic 100hz CRT TV. To be honest, having seen a few LCD/Plasmas at Currys/Comet I was rather cynical about upgrading as I felt the SD content on my CRT could not be beaten.
Having read through posts on the LCD & Plasma TV forums, it quickly became clear that the general consensus is that the Panasonic Plasma range is one to consider. I went to Currys a couple of times to take a look at the V10/G10 but they were unable to show me SD content in the shop. The HD content was clearly superior but I was unable to satisfy myself that SD content would at least be on a par with my CRT. Consequently I missed out on the £669 M&S G10 offer.
Last week I went to John Lewis and a (what I would consider) rather knowledgeable salesperson showed me the 46 V10 and the 42 G15 in both SD and HD. I very was impressed with both units, but was completely put off with the reflections on the screen of the V10. I suspect the reflections may have been a result of the well-lit shop environment but there were no reflections on the G15, so I decided the G15 was the way to go. The sales assistant also showed me a slightly older Panasonic Plasma (I cant remember the model number) that simply did not compare.
Having read about the Costco £798 46G15 offer on AV Forums I pulled the trigger (fortunately they had a delivery of 12 the same morning) and bought one in the comfort that if I did not like it, I could take it back. I was a little concerned the TV would be too big but decided to take a leap of faith. The viewing distances in my living room (depending on which sofa you sit on) ranges from 9-14 feet. Like a kid with a new toy, I took it home and replaced my 36 CRT with the Plasma - and was quickly reminded of how heavy the CRT is!! Setting up the G15 was a relatively straightforward affair.
All I can say is that the picture in the G15 is fantastic both in SD and HD and I am extremely pleased I upgraded. Anybody who is uncertain about the SD capabilities of the Panasonic Plasma vs. CRT need not be in my opinion (although I would imagine viewing distance has allot to do with it). In my, rather non technical terms, the colours on the Plasma are much more vibrant and the HD content (via Freesat at the moment) is simply stunning. I have truly been converted to Plasma!! Unfortunately I will now have to spend much of my hard earned on a blue ray home cinema system to get the most out of my TV!!
In the interim, have a couple of questions for those more knowledgeable than me (feel free to tell me if I have inappropriately posted in the incorrect section).
1) I want to use Feeesat (I find the SD content superior to SKY) and sky but I have to keep switching the satellite cable between my sky box & TV. Is it possible to buy a splitter?
2)Is it worth/possible to use an HDMI cable rather than Scart to connect my Sky box to the TV?
3) As I will be upgrading to a HD box sometime in the near future, is there a difference in the quality of content provided by SKY vs. Virgin HD
Your thoughts would be much appreciated.
I have been lurking on the forum for some time now to establish whether it is worth upgrading from my trusted (but rather old) 36 Panasonic 100hz CRT TV. To be honest, having seen a few LCD/Plasmas at Currys/Comet I was rather cynical about upgrading as I felt the SD content on my CRT could not be beaten.
Having read through posts on the LCD & Plasma TV forums, it quickly became clear that the general consensus is that the Panasonic Plasma range is one to consider. I went to Currys a couple of times to take a look at the V10/G10 but they were unable to show me SD content in the shop. The HD content was clearly superior but I was unable to satisfy myself that SD content would at least be on a par with my CRT. Consequently I missed out on the £669 M&S G10 offer.
Last week I went to John Lewis and a (what I would consider) rather knowledgeable salesperson showed me the 46 V10 and the 42 G15 in both SD and HD. I very was impressed with both units, but was completely put off with the reflections on the screen of the V10. I suspect the reflections may have been a result of the well-lit shop environment but there were no reflections on the G15, so I decided the G15 was the way to go. The sales assistant also showed me a slightly older Panasonic Plasma (I cant remember the model number) that simply did not compare.
Having read about the Costco £798 46G15 offer on AV Forums I pulled the trigger (fortunately they had a delivery of 12 the same morning) and bought one in the comfort that if I did not like it, I could take it back. I was a little concerned the TV would be too big but decided to take a leap of faith. The viewing distances in my living room (depending on which sofa you sit on) ranges from 9-14 feet. Like a kid with a new toy, I took it home and replaced my 36 CRT with the Plasma - and was quickly reminded of how heavy the CRT is!! Setting up the G15 was a relatively straightforward affair.
All I can say is that the picture in the G15 is fantastic both in SD and HD and I am extremely pleased I upgraded. Anybody who is uncertain about the SD capabilities of the Panasonic Plasma vs. CRT need not be in my opinion (although I would imagine viewing distance has allot to do with it). In my, rather non technical terms, the colours on the Plasma are much more vibrant and the HD content (via Freesat at the moment) is simply stunning. I have truly been converted to Plasma!! Unfortunately I will now have to spend much of my hard earned on a blue ray home cinema system to get the most out of my TV!!
In the interim, have a couple of questions for those more knowledgeable than me (feel free to tell me if I have inappropriately posted in the incorrect section).
1) I want to use Feeesat (I find the SD content superior to SKY) and sky but I have to keep switching the satellite cable between my sky box & TV. Is it possible to buy a splitter?
2)Is it worth/possible to use an HDMI cable rather than Scart to connect my Sky box to the TV?
3) As I will be upgrading to a HD box sometime in the near future, is there a difference in the quality of content provided by SKY vs. Virgin HD
Your thoughts would be much appreciated.