Panasonic TH46PZ85 Vs TH50PZ80 plasma Help required to decide between

[pimpinator]

Hello all,
After having a 50" Sony lcd projection for 4 years, it finally gave up the ghost so i'm in the market for a new TV. I have narrowed my choices down to the models listed above, the TH46PZ85 for £950 (with 1yr warrenty) or the TH50PZ80 for £999 (with a 5yr warrenty).

I know the differences between the 2 sets as i must have spent well over 50+ hours researching allsorts of different models on the market but these 2 seems to have caught my eye. I know the 46" PZ85 has the 24p real cinema and IFC (intelligent frame creation) where as the 50" PZ80 lacks these features but i don't know if i would even miss them as i do not have a full HD setup nor blu ray as yet and will be watching tv through a normal Virgin set box via scart lead, standard dvd's and occasional xbox 360 gaming.

Does IFC or 24p cinema make any difference to normal digital tv broadcasts as i want as little haze and blurring on things like football or scrolling text (eg sky sports news) as possible as i have seen some sets that look terrible displaying such broadcasts.

I would love to hear from owners of both TV's or other people who have had the same dilema of choosing between the 2 sets.

Are there any reliability issues with the panasonic plasma's to justify going for the extended warrenty option and what are the standard television pictures like through either sets as i would hate to part with such a large amount of money (for me anyway) to be disapointed with the majority of my viewing due to not having HD tv subscription.

I may add sound is not an important factor as i'm used to my sony surround sound for pretty much everything as the old sony tv's sound wasn't great.

I welcome all views and opinions as i feel this may be the only way i will be able to choose anytime this year and cannot cope with the backup 28" crt i'm using in replacement for my broken 50" sony...

(please excuse my spelling of plasma in the title as well, i was a little too eager to get the post up and running lol)

Thank you and good night...

 

[Lin3ar]

Personally, I think it would be a mistake to go for the smaller 46" panel after having been used to a Sony 50".Most people who upgrade usually go bigger, not smaller, and I think that you would not be happy going down in size.

The extra feature you mention, IFC and 24 Real Cinema, are not worth having in my opinion as most people switch IFC off and here is a link to the virtues of Real Cinema.

http://www.avforums.com/forums/plas...nce-between-24p-real-cinema-24p-playback.html

 

[bladedripper]

If you have owned a 50" telly i would not go smaller,i went from a 42" to a 40" and noticed the difference so stick with a 50" or you will regret it.

 

[hilly10]

I have the 50PZ80 it does support the 24 ps for cinema viewing well it comes on the right hand corner when I put a blu ray disc on. I had a few reservations after reading a few points on here but the SD seems to get better as time goes on so much so its not an issue for me. HD and Blu ray are fantastic, Sound comes from my amp and Kefs so sound is not relevant. All in all I think its a great purchase

 

[pimpinator]

Thanks for the quick replies guys,
Although the 46" would be a slight downgrade from the old sony lcd (which i was never really happy with anyway), i've been without it since Dec last year and have been using a 28" crt so it wouldn't be as if it was a straight downgrade direct from the 50".
Does the IFC on the 46" help smooth out picture quality in standard def tv/dvd as i had already read the link that Lin3ar posted above the other day but it isn't a very clear thread.

 

[rewerb]

A majority of people switch IFC off, though there are some people who love it.
Most football fans switch it off. I cant remember a post from a football fan who prefered it switched on.

 

[jamiedeluc]

Go for the 50". I'm glad I did. Fantastic set.

 

[choddo2006]

The PZ85 looks nicer and has better sound. Don't know if either of those matter to you? I don't think I'd go for IFC personally.

 

[PSD]

I was in the same dilema, went for the 50 inch set and have been very pleased, HD is superb. You are paying £50 for a bigger screen which makes it a no-brainer. IFC makes things looks very unnatural to me, I did not like it and would turn it off if my set had the feature, as most people do.

The 85 has better sound, but the 80 is no slouch on that front, and I actually like the silver stripe on the PX80 over a plain black screen. So does my wife, which is of course the most important thing.

Also for a 50 inch set I am pleased with SD and it gets better as the set beds in. Low bit rate channels could look better, but that is going to also be a problem with a 46 inch screen.

In terms of reliability I would not invest in any TV without a 5 year warranty, so I always buy from JL and price match. One plasma I bought blew at around the 2 year mark and it would have cost £400 to repair without the warranty. When you are parting with the best part of a grand then I say you want to protect your investment regardless of the proported reliability of a manufacturer.

Cheers

 

[pimpinator]

WEll i think my mind is made up and it's going to be the th50pz80 unless advised not to at the last moment, has anyone had any issues with these sets as yet?

 

[johnfbr]

Anyone had any good price matches with John Lewis for 50pz80? If so , how much and who with . TIA

 

[pimpinator]

house of fraser are doing the 50pz80 with 5yr warrenty for £999, i'm just waiting for more stock to come in at the weekend...

 

[pimpinator]

Well i went for the PZ80, just got it home today and set it up and it feels sooo good to be back to a big screen tv at long last, are there any prefered setting to use within the first 200 hours or should i just leave them on out of the box settings?