Which Budget 50" Plasma to look out for in the approaching Boxing Day/January sales?

bery_451

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Which TV should i go for? Panasonic, LG or Samsung?

What are the pro and cons of the 3 manufacturers when it comes to plasmas? For example which manufacturer has the best IR, black levels, best quality etc. I think panasonic comes out 1st. Which manufacturer will come out in 2nd? LG or Samsung?

Do any of these manufacturers have rising/floating black level problems on their 2011 models?

3D features? What do I look out for when buying the 3d version?

which budget tv has the best input lag?
 
I wont bother explaining why as im on my iphone but panasonic plasmas are better than lg and samsung for every reason other than aesthetics :)
 
I wont bother explaining why as im on my iphone but panasonic plasmas are better than lg and samsung for every reason other than aesthetics :)

ok panasonics come out first.

Which is better, samsung or lg?
 
For all comparisons (including input lag):
Panasonic -> Samsung --------------------------> LG

The Panasonic ST30 is the best value plasma this year.
 
Panasonic by a million miles then Samsung then LG. Wouldn't even go near an LG TV.
 
Have a read of the following reviews.
Panasonic VT30, GT30, ST30, Samsung D8000 and Samsung D6900.
All depends on needs like your environment, features, looks and uses.

Panasonic have deeper black levels, but Samsungs can go brighter, Panasonics get less IR, Samsungs dont have the 50hz bug, Panasonics have better colour in 2D and 3D out the box, many icluding some calibrators prefer the samsungs for calibration.

With lag on all modes Panasonics I think are 26-30ms on the VT30, 20-22ms on the GT30 and 16ms on the ST. Samsungs are around 30ms but have a PC mode at around 16ms. This is off the top of my head, reviews have these figures anyway.

In a lot of ways the Samsungs are very close especially when you get down to the ST30. Id not go Samsung over my GT30 myself, but many Panasonic owners have sent back 2011 sets and are happier with their Samsungs.

LG this year are not even close plasma wise, very light blacks and still bad IR compared to the others, amazing prices but for a good reason.

Ill wake up in a min doh! budget wise for 3D its the Panasonic ST30, Samsung D6900, Samsung D550 and Panasonics low end UT30. Non 3D are cheaper, G30 and S30 are good sets though the G30 is around the price of the ST due to some features the ST lacks. U30 and C30 are the low end sets based on last years tech, with the price of the ST30, G and S so low Id not bother looking unless cash is really tight.
 
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Have a read of the following reviews.
Panasonic VT30, GT30, ST30, Samsung D8000 and Samsung D6900.
All depends on needs like your environment, features, looks and uses.

Panasonic have deeper black levels, but Samsungs can go brighter, Panasonics get less IR, Samsungs dont have the 50hz bug, Panasonics have better colour in 2D and 3D out the box, many icluding some calibrators prefer the samsungs for calibration.

With lag on all modes Panasonics I think are 26-30ms on the VT30, 20-22ms on the GT30 and 16ms on the ST. Samsungs are around 30ms but have a PC mode at around 16ms. This is off the top of my head, reviews have these figures anyway.

In a lot of ways the Samsungs are very close especially when you get down to the ST30. Id not go Samsung over my GT30 myself, but many Panasonic owners have sent back 2011 sets and are happier with their Samsungs.

LG this year are not even close plasma wise, very light blacks and still bad IR compared to the others, amazing prices but for a good reason.

Ill wake up in a min doh! budget wise for 3D its the Panasonic ST30, Samsung D6900, Samsung D550 and Panasonics low end UT30. Non 3D are cheaper, G30 and S30 are good sets though the G30 is around the price of the ST due to some features the ST lacks. U30 and C30 are the low end sets based on last years tech, with the price of the ST30, G and S so low Id not bother looking unless cash is really tight.

why did the panasonic owners sent their 2011 sets back for samsungs?

I heard that the 2011 U series by pana have the best input lag.
 
Got the Samsung 51D550 too, review in review section

How much money do you have - get the best TV you can afford

I think ST Panasonics have the best lag, better than all Samsungs

Presume you've had a proper demo of the options
 
why did the panasonic owners sent their 2011 sets back for samsungs?

I heard that the 2011 U series by pana have the best input lag.

Best to ask them.:)
 
only issue with 50hz I have found is a slight discoloration of the 1/2 way line when fast panning on the footie, minor issue for me
 
I dont notice any issue with 50hz on my set, and the blu rays, 3d nand games are incredibly detailed :)
 
Have a read of the following reviews.
Panasonic VT30, GT30, ST30, Samsung D8000 and Samsung D6900.
All depends on needs like your environment, features, looks and uses.

Panasonic have deeper black levels, but Samsungs can go brighter, Panasonics get less IR, Samsungs dont have the 50hz bug, Panasonics have better colour in 2D and 3D out the box, many icluding some calibrators prefer the samsungs for calibration.

With lag on all modes Panasonics I think are 26-30ms on the VT30, 20-22ms on the GT30 and 16ms on the ST. Samsungs are around 30ms but have a PC mode at around 16ms. This is off the top of my head, reviews have these figures anyway.

In a lot of ways the Samsungs are very close especially when you get down to the ST30. Id not go Samsung over my GT30 myself, but many Panasonic owners have sent back 2011 sets and are happier with their Samsungs.

LG this year are not even close plasma wise, very light blacks and still bad IR compared to the others, amazing prices but for a good reason.

Ill wake up in a min doh! budget wise for 3D its the Panasonic ST30, Samsung D6900, Samsung D550 and Panasonics low end UT30. Non 3D are cheaper, G30 and S30 are good sets though the G30 is around the price of the ST due to some features the ST lacks. U30 and C30 are the low end sets based on last years tech, with the price of the ST30, G and S so low Id not bother looking unless cash is really tight.

Forgot to ask if the 3d models mentioned have ver. 1.4 HDMI ports?
 
Forgot to ask if the 3d models mentioned have ver. 1.4 HDMI ports?

Yes 1 :) you dont need it though unless you want the audio return. 1.3 is fine for 3D if you use optical out to your AVR or have a player with two HDMI, so you can send one to the set and one to the AVR.
 

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