Plasma and denon 2900

[briggsy]

Hi,
After a lot of soul searching, looking, reading at/about CRT's and DLP's and have decided to go Plasma. Looks like it will be too long before LCD catches up at the right price/size. The main reason being limited space and style. They do look so good. I will be sittting about 9' away and want to stick it on my partitioned plasterboard wall (eek) Is this going to be my next thread ? How to...

I currently have a denon 2900 DVD player, KEF 5005's 5.1 setup and Yamaha 640SE. I want to be able to run prog scan NTSC & PAL images without any strange lines or flickyity images or any of the other weird stuff talked about in the forums.
I want to be able to watch my DVD's, play PS2 and maybe watch sky in the future. So I need scart and component + prog scan capable.
I will pay more if the picture quality increase can be justified by the cash sums.

My Plasma shorlist so far is:

Panasonic 42 PWD6 + scart board and (unsure which component board to choose)
Did anyone have problems connecting the cabling to the panny while it was on the wall ?

Fujitsu 42 P42HHA30 - Seems to be best reccomended picture but is it worth the extra cash ?

Hitachi 42PD3000 - coz so many people here like 'em. I would be silly not to check 'em out.

The Pioneer 434 is out of my price range.
What do you guys think ? Should i include any others ?
Anyone see any potential problems ?

Thanks
Briggsy

 

[Jasonjo]

I went for the PWD6, so can only really comment on this...

Panasonic 42 PWD6 + scart board and (unsure which component board to choose)

If you want the best picture then I would avoid the scart board and go for using the inbuilt VGA port or add a component board. For me, I went for the TM6Y board which has BNC component input as well as composite/S-Video inputs. If you go this route, you will likely need one of the JS Tech RGB2VGA or RGB2YUV converters in order to connect RGB devices like Sky etc.

I use the VGA input with an RGB2VGA converter to feed NTL digital to the plasma and the BNC component input direct from the component output on my Denon 3800 DVD player for DVD's. I also have an IScan Ultra video processor which I am experimenting with to see if I can further improve things (although to be honest, pictures are already pretty impressive!!!)

Did anyone have problems connecting the cabling to the panny while it was on the wall ?

Hmmm, I mounted on the wall first then then did all the cabling afterwards. It is fine this way around, but it can be a little fiddly to attach and detach cables, especially with the BNC fittings as you need to get both fingers to the connector and then twist. The mains lead and VGA input are fine to get to - no probs at all.

If you want the 'best picture' then I would also recommend you invest in some decent cables between the RGB2VGA, Denon 2900 and the screen. May also be worth looking at a mains filter to ensure mains interference is minismised and the screen is protected against spikes/surges.

Hope this helps, feel free to ask any more specific PWD6 questions...

JJ

P.S. I demo'd the PWD6, PHD6, Pioneer 434, Hitachi 400/PD3000 and preferred the PWD6, but you probs need to do this for yourself...

 

[daveb975]

I also have the PWD6 so don't have too much knowledge on the others.

I have the SCART board with a freeview feed and it is quite good. I am sure this could be improved upon by going down the route that Jasonjo refers to, but DVD was the only priority for me, and this set up is fine for the couple of hours a week I watch Freeview.

My PS2 is connected via S-Video, and again is good, but could be improved if that is a priority for you. S-Video is a massive leap from composite via SCART for PS2.

My wall bracket came with the PWD6 from Nexnix. It allows you to pull the bottom of the screen away from the wall in order to change cables, input boards etc

 

[Jasonjo]

Good point Dave, I am using a fixed wall bracket (www.betterbracket.com) supplied by AV-Sales...I don't have the tilting luxury you guys have

JJ

 

[briggsy]

Hi,
The PW6 is the favourite at the moment.
I havn't managed to view everything yet. I will probably buy from AV-sales they seem to be the best I've seen. The TM6Y board seems good because I can hookup the DVD direct through the component and use the Svideo to hookup other stuff using the video configs on my AMP. My concern was whether BNC fittings were any better/worse than phono style.
I was probably going to buy my component cable and a few other things from www.bluejeanscable.com. From things I've read this seems to be the best value/quality. They have had some great reviews and if you read the Beekeepers lengthy explanation of how cables work....

Does the PW6 support PAL and NTSC Progressive Scan though ?
How much tweaking did you have to do for the best picture adn did you use DVE or anything ?
Thanks
guys

 

[Jasonjo]

To start with, I can't recommend AV-Sales enough - they have been great and get a top recommendation from me. Best thing is to ignore the website and give Liam a ring, he should be able to customise the deal so that you get the best inputs to meet what you need. He may even price match nexnix

In theory, BNC connectors are meant to be better, but up to you really as its just the way the cable connects...I liked the idea of BNC as once secured, the cable is very unlikely to work loose like RCA ones can.

I would recommend BetterCables (www.bettercables.com) as I have been very impressed with the build and picture quality since getting mine. I bought mine from a forum regular called Joe @ www.tmfsolutions.co.uk - he imports them direct from the US. My cables were about £100 ea. for 2m ones (I bought 3RCA=>VGA for DVD and VGA=>5BNC for NTL). Although, bluejeanscables are very well rated on avsforum.com.

Yes, both the PW6 and PWD6 fully support PAL and NTSC progressive scan.

Probs worth using DVE to setup the screen, although you can use THX Optimiser on some THX DVD's as a good starting point - I have spent a couple of hours with basic DVE patterns and just setting what looks good to me. I was advised to let the screen settle for the first 100 hours and set the contrast and brightness quite low initially (Contrast wise, NTL is 0, DVD is -15). Once the screen is properly run in, it is then worth having a run through with DVE or AVIA or even getting an ISF like Gordon in to do a proper job.

HTH

JJ

 

[briggsy]

Thanks for the advice it has been really helpful.
Its a big investment for me and I want to get my facts straight so I don't have to waste time learning once I have the screen.
I'll take your suggestions onboard.

Happy Viewing
Cheers !

Briggsy