Panny 42Pw

happyhiker

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HI, I'm new to the forum, and obviously looking to buy a plasma.
I've lurked enough to know that a panasonic TH42PW6/7 is the screen to get, the question is why ?

Most the threads I've read recommend AV Sales, is AV sales affiliated to AV Forums and thats why the recommendation or is it really the best place to get one from ? I kinda like the idea of just popping down to Richer sounds and getting one from a real person.

Whats so great about the panny's(or is that pannies)? I've read the reviews but its a low res screen 840x480 or something the Hitachi 5200 has 1024X1024 surely that means the screen is more than twice as detailed ?Or is the 40000:1 contrast ratio more important?

I've checked out the various screens at Richer sounds and curry's but all the currys ones have different feeds and its impossible to tell which is better and Richer sounds have cleverly hidden the TH42PW6 behind a window, in the dark, under a SALE banner, to stop my getting a proper look. :suicide:

Also whats the difference between a Panasonic TH42PWD6BX a Panasonic TH42PW7 and all the other Panasonic TH42PW???? <insert countless letters and numbers> ?

Basically I've got a Pioneer DVD 444s, Pioneer 502-s Amp and a Tivo feeding of Sky Digital, everythings in SCART RGB, is the Panny still the best buy or should I be getting something else ? I actually like the Toshiba 42wp37 but apparently, I'm wrong. :blush: I don't need speakers or a tuner(though the wife likes the idea of 'proper' telly so a built in tuner would help her)

Any advice greatfully recieved :lease:
 
Both the panny pw6/7 screens offer a huge amount of picture tweakability - as they don't come with an internal tuner - which to many is a limitation in itself - they offer about the best ' blacks' of any plasma I've seen - as with most things audio/video - let your ears and eyes decide - only you can justify the expense of whether a panny is better than a pioneer/hitachi etc etc...

Avoid the high street chains - and visit a dealer who can give you a proper dem- - not only Disney films ( :lease: ) but terrestial and digital TV..
 
Nothing wrong with that Tosh either, there is a thread here on series 6 and 7 differences, you might well find with your setup you could use a RGB to VGA converter on the output of you amp, and not need any video boards.
 
There's also a thread somewhere on the different variations of each Panny, i.e. what the suffixes mean.

I know from personal experience that PW7BX is the British model without stand or speakers (cos I've got one!), and I seem to remember PW7E* is the European version, so probably best to go for PW7B* (where * = anything).

There's also the PWD6 and PWD7 which are the business versions that come in charcoal grey, and I think are a little more expensive as they offer additional PIP options, but not a lot else (there are one or two threads on that too).

IMO even though your wife wants a "proper TV" she won't notice the difference if you're not planning to go for built-in speakers anyway, so providing you use Sky/Cable the tuner is completely unnecessary. The screen still has a remote control... :D

MAW knows his stuff too, so listen up good! :) - the JS Converter is highly recommended on this forum, and of course you can buy whichever terminal boards you feel appropriate (SCART, Component, Composite etc) should you decide you need them, although the JS would probably cover every combination you'd need except PIP (Picture In Picture).
 
Thanks for the replies guys.
So I'm tempted by the PW7. But what difference does the resolution make
840x480 compared to 1024x1024 seems really bad. I'm a computer bod and for a monitor I'd plumb for the high res everytime, but I'm not sure what difference it makes on a TV. Also I read somewhere the lower res make sit more compatible with High Definition! That makes no sense to me so I'm obviously missing something.

The missus likes to switch from AV to normal telly so she can flick channels
with out me moaning she's just messed up TiVo recording Battlestar galatica,
but I suppose I could always by a freeview dig box and feed it in seperately from the tivo/sky feed.
 
Reagrding the resolution issue you have to take into account that the Hitachi is an ALiS display which is an interlaced display so will only be displaying half of its 1024 lines at any one time whereas the panny is a progressive display and ths displays all its lines all the time.

Cheers, Lee
 
Interesting thread, and as a noobie myself, I've been 'converted' to the idea of
the JS converter box rather than getting the SCART board that a lot of Panny D6
retailers seem to want to bundle...

Here's an alternative question that i've not seen listed though......

If the built in SVGA socket on the Panny is used with the link from the JS box,
then when I want to sttach my Windows PC to it to use it as an occasional
computer monitor, do/will I have to disconnect, or would I need to get another
SVGA connector board/interface for it as well??
 
errmm.. ...sorry but I have no idea what that all means. :confused:

Are you saying it doesn't really matter and that the picture on the panny will be just as good as the Hitachi ? Cos the Hitachi only uses half its resolution ?
Presumably thats not the case with a PC input ? Not that I'll use that anyway.

What about AV Sales are they affiliated with AV Forums ?
 
Stevie, if you use the screens own PC input, you can either:-
1. unplug one and plug the other
2. put in a VGA switch box
3. put in another input card.

HH, 'All that' is an often hotly debated can of worms. Do a search for 'alis' and the whole sorry story will appear as if by magic. Suffice to say that resolution is not everything, though it's definitely something! Most of all, you are the one that has to watch the damn thing, not us, so if you like the hitachi picture and are comfortable with all the other baggage that comes with it, then go for it. Panasonic comes with it's own baggage too, there is no such thing as a perfect display.

AV sales are a forum sponsor, and as you can see they pay for advertising here. They have a good reputation for sales and after sales, few if any horror stories, and are a good bunch of guys. They may or may not be the cheapest, but they will often be close enough to even the cheapest internet price that it's not worth taking a chance to save £50 on a £3k total bill.
 
Hi happyhiker, just to reasure you got delivery of my pwd6 with wall mount, component and scart board purchased off av sales today, within 2 hours wall mount up boards fitted,screen on, juist feeding freeview through scart board to try, i was expecting poor results but am quite surprised at quality, will eventualy feed through component board or vga.

I have been reading thease threads for a few months now and the advice given has been good, thease people know what they are talking about.
Do your search's like i did you will come back to av sales, overall, package and service second to none.
I assure you, you will not be dissapointed with the pw6 in black/charcole off av or the pw7 in silver or black.
 
Thanks Dartieman,
Was it difficult to mount the wall bracket ? Did you just stick a few raw plugs in to the wall?

What made you go for the PWD6 rather than the 7 ?
 
Hi ya happyhiker no problem to mount wall bracket, B&Q do a screw and wall plug to take over 1000lbs + in weight packet of 6 for about a fiver, typical cant find packet to give you part No but it was a 8mm size. wall bracket takes 6 screws or bolts depending on your wall mount, i was into dividing wall so no real problems. Very easy to do full instructions included. Fix bracket to wall then fix adaptor plate to plasma screen just 4 bolts with spacers and washers etc. everything included in kit. then just mount onto wall bracket ie just lift on to it, you can tilt if you need or lock into flat position. Honestly its no problem, i did on my own but its advised to use two people.

Update on input, went out and purchased sony ghd 500 freeview dvd recorder, and qed qunex p-cvi component cables fitted into component board (needed bnc adaptors)
funny but took some time to get to that quality that every body says is best, but it is a clear defined picture i am absolultelyy delighted with results. Even wife commented on picture saying how luka (E.R) looked even more gorgeous tonight ! best decision made.
 
soz foregot to add why pw6 over pw7, easy really price about £200 ish less and ability to use vga to component (cant do on pw7) not done it yet but have cable on order to try.
did see pw7 on demo in selfridges and very impressed but decieded i could take black/charcole version in my set up, so i saved money (used towards addionatial warranty), and i can say am glad i did so looks very good, will post pictures soon on {get your plasma out for the lads}
 
Top thread HD, so does that mean a PW7 will not take the JS tech thingie and convert RGB Scart into VGA ? Does the PW7 not have a VGA input then ?
Will I notice much difference from a VGA input to a SCART I was goign to get a PW7 with free scart board and get the JS tech thing later. Can I not do this ?

Maybe I'll just get the PW6 from Richer Sounds, sad to say it will probably come down to which colour the missis wants :D
 
Isnt the PW6 available in the famous Henry Ford colour range?

"....Anything you like sir, as long as its black"
 
I believe that all the silver PW6's have gone now and there is a limted number of charcoal in circulation.
 
Okay so to convert from Scart to VGA on a PW7, I need a £150 quid JS Tech thingie(love these technical terms) and a VGA Input board for £150 ?

Is the picture really £300 better ?

Also HD, in your personal opinion, is it worth paying £200 extra for a PW7 over a PW6 and then is it worth £300 for the VGA thing ? Obviously just your opinion, I won't hold you to anything or come round and stalk you, :D

I suppose it depends on budget and mine is what ever my end of year bonus is, which will probably cover the PW7 but probably not the VGA thing. Though I could get it a year later or something?
 
JS RGB will work with the VGA input on a PW7 no need for extra board (this is for RGB signals only not any old scart) forget about the component capability of VGA in PWD6 (not relevant here) when do you get your bonus (PWD6 selling out fast!!!!!) IMO the only reason to buy a PW7 over a 6 is the fact there is no silver 6 series stock left only charcoal (black) so if you want silver has to be PW7
 
Sounds good, one final question then (I hope).

As I'm feeding RGB SCART through a Pioneer VXS -C502 amp will lip sync be a problem, and if so will feeding everything through the RGB >VGA adapter make things worse(as presumably its an extra conversion and takes more time)

I read a post on this forum suggesting changing the distance of the centre speaker may help delay sound and improve lip sync, which sounds a top idea, if it actually works.

My bonus comes end of Feb, but I have a credit card with at least a months grace on it :D
 
do you know if the RGB >VGA adapter will make things worse or not ?
 
I've read right through some threads and found a lot of useful info but would

appreciate some direct advice if possible.


What I want:
Panasonic TH-42PWD6BX Plasma (I LIKE gray!) (from AV Sales)
Panasonic TU CTH100 Digital Terrestrial Tuner (from AV Sales)
Panasonic DMRE85HEBS Multi-Reg DVD Recorder (NOT from AV Sales - unless the price

is a mistake!!)


What I have now:
Yamaha RX-V620RDS AV Receiver
JVC VCR
Toshiba DVD players (SD-210E & SD-330E)
Gale speakers
Pioneer subwoofer



The Yamaha has loads of video sockets; component video (is this the same as RGB?)

and S-video - no Scarts though. But I confess I've only ever used the amp for sound

and connected scart and S-video directly to my old Toshiba 28". Can I simply run

all the video hardware through the amp and then into the screen, will this be OK

for picture quality? (Doubt the old Toshiba DVDs and the VCR will be used anymore,

but they are there.) Is the supplied Scart terminal board (from AV Sales) adequate?

I've already doubled the amount I planned to spend on new equipment, so any expense avoided is a good thing! Thanks in advance.
 

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