Tiny or What?

Mainly RCA inputs.

P.S: I actually don't know what I was hoping for. :blush:
Maybe a card with all the necessary inputs for my DVD player, SKY, PS2 and Xbox. :D
 
ddlooping may i suggest that if you were to buy from a proffesional AV dealer not an IT reseller they would be able to furnish you with the correct boards when you buy the plasma, also mounts etc........
Trust me buying boards seperatly is a chore and you will pay Full RRP..................
 
hornydragon said:
Trust me buying boards seperatly is a chore and you will pay Full RRP..................

That is a rather disappointing situation - IMHO, the ability to add and swap boards on the Panasonic is a pretty damn big selling point.
 
We make no money on boards, they are a service we provide. Why should I provide a service to someone who's gone off to some internet t****r and paid 2 1/2p for a screen then expect me to do all the work. You guys need to get a grip of this, us retailers are not in business to rip folks off, but do need to make a living. So yes you'll pay full price for a board if not bought with a screen.
And BTW if you have the complete board and are still unable to connect your stuff you should pay more attention to what is posted. It's actually cheaper to get the right amplifier than waste money on loads of boards, and have a system so complex your wife won't understand to boot. A JS box for sky is the only add on you need. As I've said before, 3 out of 4 of my installs have no video boards. Others have them just to get PinP for fun, or the 7 series boards for more serious stuff, like wireless connection.
 
MAW said:
So yes you'll pay full price for a board if not bought with a screen.

I'm more concerned about how hard it can be to get a board, rather than how expensive it is.

MAW said:
It's actually cheaper to get the right amplifier than waste money on loads of boards, and have a system so complex your wife won't understand to boot.

There are reasons for adding more boards and swapping them. For example, a collection of games consoles attached to one board, whilst the DVD, video etc. is connected (possibly through an amp) to the other. Or, you may start out with a single SCART connection because all of your existing equipment can work through that single SCART, but what about later on when you upgrade other parts of the electronis, move up to HDTV, etc? You might want to put in a component board or DVI board at that point to make best use of the new equipment.

It's also an issue when it comes to resale value - being able to change the boards so that the new owner has something that is suitable for their system.

Your points are valid, but it should be easier to get hold of terminal boards.
 
it is easy but you have to go to a panny dealer get them to order them from panny and PAY the SRP for them..... you cant go to www.pannyboardsforpeanuts.com and order them for next to nothing.....But if you buy from a proper dealer MAW, Joe, gordon......etc they will sell you the boards you need and as MAW says there are often no need for extra boards. But thats why dealers are dealers andendusers with experience of screen/set-up are not always the best people to ask.......
 
hornydragon said:
it is easy but you have to go to a panny dealer get them to order them from panny and PAY the SRP for them.....

Sorry, but that is where I draw the line between 'easy' and 'possible'. Easy means you should find plenty of places that stock them - probably starting with where you buy the plasma from.

But AV-sales.com won't sell the boards seperately. The Richer Sounds, Ebuyer's, etc. of the world - how many of them sell the boards? That's why it isn't *easy* to buy the boards - but it's certainly possible once you find out who will sell you them seperately.

That they are £100 and not £50 and you can't feel good that you've 'saved' some money (is it really saving money if everyone was doing the same thing for the same amount, even though it is less than the suggested price?), isn't really the issue - they cost what they cost - although if I was buying a number of boards, I would have to factor it into how much the panel as a whole was costing me.
 
It's easy to buy them, just go to a decent dealer. any shop@panasonic will sell them to you, or as Horny says, Joe, myself, quite a few others. But it's not a living, more like a favour. I only sell them to people who ask nicely!
 
grahamtriggs said:
Sorry, but that is where I draw the line between 'easy' and 'possible'. Easy means you should find plenty of places that stock them - probably starting with where you buy the plasma from.
Thats why you shuld buy from a reputable dealer not IT reseller or Box shifter and ideally go to "YOUR LOCAL PANASONIC CONSUMER DEALER" or a reputable online dealer who can provide the support and back up you will require...... EG AV-sales
 
Thanks, HornyDragon. :)

I think I'm gonna stick to CRT for a while longer though.
At least until plasma/lcd display get good enough to eliminate color banding (if that is the right term). ;)
 
They already have, Mr Looping, but at a price. More than an LG I'm afraid, which are shockingly prone to solarisation, banding and other artefacts. You need a Pioneer 43MXE-1, or a Panasonic PHD model. The high definition panels have the processing sorted. I'm afraid it puts the price right back to the 'nearly £3k' bracket.
 
MATSU****A is whom the brand name Panasonic and Technics are made by.

We don't need to worry that we've let out a big secret, it states it on their instruction books, warranty cards and I believe the back of their products.
 
You're right, MAW. :)

The plasma screens on which I noticed this excess of solarisation/banding were indeed SD.
LG, Sony, Panasonic, JVC...

HD models are well above my budget, hence me sticking to CRT.
I know they are bulky, geometry is not perfect...
However, for about £1200 I can upgrade my Hitachi 32" 50Hz to a Toshiba 36" that will occupy the same space, that has all the inputs I presently need, and most importantly a picture that, IMHO, is far better then all the SD plasmas I have seen.

That will do me nicely until HD plasma (or LCD) prices go down to a "reasonable" level. ;)
 
MAW said:
More than an LG I'm afraid, which are shockingly prone to solarisation, banding and other artefacts. You need a Pioneer 43MXE-1, or a Panasonic PHD model. The high definition panels have the processing sorted. I'm afraid it puts the price right back to the 'nearly £3k' bracket.

Of course, that's why the LG is one of the best large screen TVs around - because it is 'shockingly prone' to artefacts.

I can and have shown that with a decent DVD feed, visible artefacts (as seen on the LG) are almost entirely present *in the source*.

Whenever you have a digital image/processing - with current digital technology - artefacts can and will occur. HD is a large step to removing those, but HD processing of an SD source is not enough to remove (all) the artefacts from an SD signal.

What I don't understand is the claim that these artefacts are not visible on CRTs (when watching a digital source) - because they are.
 
Graham, I don't pretend knowing much about the technology behind all this.
My opinion is only based on what I saw.

Using "LOTR: ROTK" I do not see solarisation/banding on my 4 year-old Hitachi (RGB via scart from a Denon DVD3800), and the picture on the Toshiba 36PZ48 was simply gorgeous (front composite output from a combi DVD/VCR that could have been a Sony).
The same DVD showed a very noticeable and distracting amount of solarisation/banding on several plasmas (see my previous post).
Granted, they were connected to all-in-one Sony systems via scart (I don't even know if RGB or S-Video was outputed) but they did not compare well to the Toshiba composite input.

P.S: believe me, I'd rather I had liked the picture from the plasmas, even if they'd cost me at least £400 more than the Toshiba.
I leave in a fairly small flat, and would have appreciated the gain in space, and the bigger, more cinematic size. ;)

P.P.S: you can drop the sarcasm, it doesn't suit you. :nono:
 
MAW was talking about the 'cheaper' LG screens that run about £1500-1700 not the 'beast' that is 60 or 62"!

Koing
 
ddlooping said:
My opinion is only based on what I saw.

Using "LOTR: ROTK" I do not see solarisation/banding on my 4 year-old Hitachi (RGB via scart from a Denon DVD3800), and the picture on the Toshiba 36PZ48 was simply gorgeous (front composite output from a combi DVD/VCR that could have been a Sony).

I've had a number of DVD players over the last 7 or so years, connected in the best way (generally RGB SCART) in various combinations to a 25" Sony Trinitron, 32" Panasonic Tau, and 32" Philips Pixel Plus CRT sets. With *every* combination, certain amounts of solarisation / banding have been visible for some discs/scenes.

ddlooping said:
The same DVD showed a very noticeable and distracting amount of solarisation/banding on several plasmas (see my previous post).
Granted, they were connected to all-in-one Sony systems via scart (I don't even know if RGB or S-Video was outputed) but they did not compare well to the Toshiba composite input.

With a Sony DVP-NS930, progressive component connection to an LG 42PX11, and the same disc/scene, the only noticable solarisation is in the very brief fade in of Smeagol's face at the very start. In the greater scheme of things, that can't really be described as distracting.

As I showed in my other post, the same artefacts are present when taking a grab from a PC based player. Subtle graduations like that will always be a problem with current digital resolutions / colour depths - and should be visible on CRT sets.

If you are using composite connections, then there is an argument that the connection / cable is masking the faults of the picture, and what you are seeing on the Plasmas is because of the enhanced clarity of the connections being used.
 
Koing said:
MAW was talking about the 'cheaper' LG screens that run about £1500-1700 not the 'beast' that is 60 or 62"!

I know, and the 'cheaper' LG 42PX11 that comes in at around £1500 is listed in the latest Digital Home Mag in both the Top Ten list of Plasma TVs, and the Top Ten list of all 40+" TVs, and given a value award.
 
I've said it before. Journalists usually come below politicians as the least trusted individuals in Britain. AV journalist are paid peanuts, and rely on attracting advertizing to the mag for their jobs. Draw your own conclusions. And BTW just how many plasma TV's are there on the market in Britain? Especially bearing in mind that sky, techwood, Hyundai, relysis at least are identical
 
I've already stated that there is a question mark over the integrity and independence of reviews. However in a highly unscientific survey of a number of recent magazines, one recently discussed manufacturer did not feature in any of the adverts (hint: it's one that you don't sell! ;) )

Yes, a lot of the very cheap plasmas are identical, however, most of the 'big' manufacturers either have entirely their own plasmas, or at least differentiate themselves enough with their electronics. And quite a few of those produce low and high res variations.
 
All this crap about panny and boards, people just want a tv which can handle what that a tv can handle now! Without having to fork extra hundred quid to be able to plug your sky and dvd into it! Not to mention extra to get sound!

To get all the boards to cover most options your talking £400 quid! Thanks but no thanks! Then add your speakers or home cinema system! Oh yes and if you actually want to put on a cabinet or whatever dont forget another £150 for the stand!

I get the feeling these panny boards were buit for business displays rather than home viewing!

Wait till closer to xmas and those vierras will be down to near 2k! All in one solution which looks the part!

Otherwise get one of the tvs for around £1500 -£1600 and stick to your budget, you know what your getting for the price! and if you have a budget stick to it!
And if your are goning to quote prices make sure the damn place has them in stock!
 
Hello all

Is it me or do post always seem to get heated about this time of year!!!

trebor21 - as you say the idea of a TV where you have to understand the technology and think ahead is a new concept and not one the TV manufacturers actually fancy very much.

If we all 'thought' about what we want our TV to do the manufacturers would be in trouble and retailers would have to actually train staff to understand the technology - not just read the price tags.

You've missed the point when it comes to choosing to utilise a Plasma Display model over a PlasmaTV or Integrated PlasmaTV in your living room.

If you take a little time to work with your dealer you'll often find areas within an intended system where your buying 'duplicate' technology - why have an AV Receiver with ten or more Video Inputs and the ability to select Inputs from your armchair via its IR remote and also have a TV with Ten inputs and an IR remote; that usually leads to you having to use two remotes to switch inputs (one to tell the TV what to View and one for the AV Receiver to choose what to listen too).

These days the majority of Home users are not just buying a new TV they want a Home Cinema System and tend to upgrade the TV and HiFi in one go - that's when using a Plasma Display plus a fully featured AV Receiver makes much more sense than a Plasma TV or Integrated PlasmaTV; you can save a fair few quid utilising a Plasma Display and spend the 'saved' cash on other areas of your new system.

If you simply want a new TV in the corner then go with a PlasmaTV or Integrated PlasmaTV - usually I find the style of the screen bezel is the key determining factor in which one to choose (and you know who usually makes that decision in 90% of households :) )

Joe
 
trebor21 said:
All this crap about panny and boards, people just want a tv which can handle what that a tv can handle now! Without having to fork extra hundred quid to be able to plug your sky and dvd into it! Not to mention extra to get sound!
I that case i reconmend the TH-42PE30 PLasma Television from Panasonic Simple Sexy and the BEST PQ from a plasma TV available under £3k (inc Floor cabinet and Free DVD recorder) if that is more than you want to spend then you either look at the 37" Version or mess around with cheap stuff, boards and leads and stuff.....
 

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