What to replace my plasma tv with?

Jay Marie

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So I have a Panasonic TH42PE30 plasma which measures 54" in size although screen size is 42". Obviously this takes up a huge footprint which I am looking to reduce along with its energy consumption. However, given the specifics I need I have no idea what TV to look at hence this post.

So I dont have home broadband currently only use phone data for internet use although at some point in the future may change. I also use my Panasonic SA PT550 home theater system for sound using RCA to RCA cable. I have freeview box that I connect via scart to scart although it does have HDMI socket. There is a PS3 and a Wii which I connect to scart socket on TV.

I'd be looking for screen size around the 42" and that would be able to use my home theater system for sound (tv and game consoles)

I'm really struggling to know what I need now as scart seems to be going out and not sure what will work, please help
 
I don't think you will find SCART connections on any current tvs. Adapting devices are available but are not suited to every connection. I guess you might have to explore the 2nd hand market.
 
I don't think you will find SCART connections on any current tvs. Adapting devices are available but are not suited to every connection. I guess you might have to explore the 2nd hand market.
Hi, thanks for the reply. I'm trying to work out if my equipment that I currently use will allow me to use other connections resulting in no loss of functionality
 
I was faced with this situation recently, having a 15 year old Panny plasma, with PVR connected via scart.
Unfortunately Scart is a dead technology. I did a complete refresh and went totally digital. I got a new Sony Bravia UHD TV, and Manhattan T3-R Freeview PVR, with HDMI output, and 4K capable. I loved my Plasma, but got to say, the picture quality difference is huge. Once you've witnessed UHD, you won't want to go back.
Still have the Panny kit in another room though.
 
Can your audio system take a digital optical input? Most modern TVs have this output (I use this for my amp, which precedes HDMI by some time!)
 
Can your audio system take a digital optical input? Most modern TVs have this output (I use this for my amp, which precedes HDMI by some time!)
Hi thanks for your suggestion. I've looked at the distructions and it has optical in will replace my RCA to RCA connection then?
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An optical audio input from the TV to your audio system will very likely work fine for sound (though you may need to fiddle a bit with the TV settings, and it'll be hard to be 100% without trying it or querying it with the manufacturer). Can you book an appointment at a store like Richer Sounds to try different TVs and get advice on what will work with your kit? If you say what your budget is, people here might be able to make suggestions. Could you fit in a 55" TV? You'd have better value options, and the bezels on a lot of modern screens are tiny.

Worth mentioning that your home theatre system probably won't be able to decode the latest codecs via an optical connection, but it probably won't be compatible with these anyway - so I'd guess it'll sound as good as it does in your correct setup, and a good soundtrack will still sound good :)
 
Thanks again. Well as far as cost goes I was trying to keep it fairly low and was probably going to go down the refurbished route, maybe 300-400

I'll give the richer sounds option a try
 
You may find you end up with a new TV with a worse picture, on that budget, unless you find a bargain. Unless you're keen to save space/get a bigger screen, I'd personally stick with the plasma for now. You could upgrade once you've had a chance to save up a bit more...
 
I was given a very heavy Fujitsu P50XTA40ES tv this weekend still works to its a very good picture not one mark on it.
Do have a much newer LG CX OLED though but plasma were very good tvs.
 
Hi, thanks for the reply. I'm trying to work out if my equipment that I currently use will allow me to use other connections resulting in no loss of functionality

You can connect your PS3, Freeview box and surround sound DVD system to a new TV via HDMI (so you'd need at least 3 HDMI inputs but preferably 4 for future, additional equipment).

The Wii is a little trickier because, up until fairly recently, most TVs still had composite inputs which could be used for the Wii but these seem to have fallen by the wayside in recent years. A quick look at a couple of random 50" Samsung and LG LCDs on the Currys site (for example) showed that they didn't have composite inputs listed, however a 50" Sony LCD did. Other options would include a 3rd party Wii HDMI adaptor (example) or upgrading your surround system to an AV receiver or system that had the necessary composite or component (via a 3rd party lead) inputs.

Your current surround system looks to be a 5.1 system capable of decoding Dolby Digital, Pro Logic and DTS audio so it should work fine for audio from the TV's Freeview tuner (plus all the equipment you mentioned) via the optical SPDIF (toslink) connection, I would have thought.

As your current TV has large bezels, you would be able to go up to around 50" without increasing the overall size of the TV but bear in mind that new TVs of that size will have a 4K resolution, so standard definition sources such as the Wii, Freeview box and surround system's DVD player may look worse on the new TV than your old one, due to the large amount of upscaling required. This will depend on your viewing distance to a certain extent though - if you're sat a fair way back, the difference may not be as noticeable.

On a more positive note, a Freeview HD channel viewed via the new TV's HD tuner is likely to look better than the standard definition channels you're currently watching and you'll benefit from the PS3's 1080p output via HDMI too, which should look far better than it does via the analogue connection you're currently using with your SD TV.

So it looks to me that you should be able to upgrade your TV and continue to use your current external sources fairly easily but, ultimately, upgrading to a Freeview HD PVR (if your current model isn't HD) and a 1080p or 4K Blu-ray player would be recommended in order to get the best from a new 4K TV :) (Edit - I forgot you'll obviously be able to play Blu-rays on your PS3)
 
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Its not a problem at all for all your sources. PS3 and Freeview you just connect via HDMI.
The Wii you can get a HDMI adapter for, converts it from component to HDMI. This will be better quality than using composite anyway.
For your home theatre in a box system, an optical cable can be used to connect to the TV for audio, and HDMI if you want to play back DVDs on the TV.

TVs tend to come in 43", 49", 50" and 55" sizes. The size is measured by the daiganal of the panel, not the bezel. I'd consider visiting a shop or making some cardboard cut outs of different TV sizes since going from a 42" Plasma to a 55" TV really may not be as big as you think once you consider the bezels are smaller.

Which TV you go for also depends on many factors. The main decision to make when you want to keep the budget low is what kind of panel is suited to you. If you watch your TV from a variety of angles, probably you should go with a Sony or LG 43", 49" or 55" model...but make sure to check the type of panel is IPS before buying.

If you view only direct in front, then that changes which TVs are recommended.
 

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