25 replies to this topic

[dwayne]

G'day all just a quick one, as title suggests looking to buy a 50" plasma (suggestion for friend).
Now samsung are cheaper starting at round $1000 for basic then $1150 for a smart option, panasonic $1288 for basic and $16-1800 for neo version. All plasma are full hd and 3d.
What are your opinions he wants to buy today, I would day he is leaning to spend no more then$1200 is the neo pana that much better?
Thanks everyone in advance cheers Dwayno

[unclemack]

Panasonic all the way... The UT is great but the ST is at another level. I have heard that the ST is available for $1399 online from Good Guys or something....very cheap for such a prime TV.

cheers

M

PS. Here's the link http://dicksmith.com...uot-th-p50st50a

Edited by unclemack, 03 June 2012 - 11:38 AM.

[cableconnoisseur]

They're both good brands.

Heed all advice on this forum.

Then decide which one your friend likes better...........and you can't go wrong.

I have both brands of TV's in my home and like them both equally.

[dwayne]

Thanks guys absolute champs as I suspected pana, but samsung close second, will look into the pana st series thanks uncle Mack, nothing at jbhi? As I recall you would know. Cheers and thanks again will push for the more expensive pana.
Cheers Dwayno

[~Spyne~]

Pana if all you want is a display device.
Sammy if you want a multi-media device (streaming content, internet browser, etc)

The brand new Pana ST models are supposed to be excellent for PQ, even better than last year's VT models. With the ST50A (50") available for $1300 from some online stores.

Edited by ~Spyne~, 02 July 2012 - 01:22 PM.

[bwhitesox]

I have the Panasonic 46" GT30 and the picture quality is amazing from it...The level of picture adjustment is fantastic and even has a THX calibrated picture mode.

[pmcewan]

I just acquired the panasonic 65 vt 50a (plasma) and had it calibrated by Aaron Rigg last week.He agrees there a big step up from last years st series. Had to relocate a Samsung 63 inch plasma to make room for it.No complaints at all with the Samsung but have been blown away with the 3d on the Panasonic.Just finished watching journey 2 bluray 3d with the two kids, all three of us sitting there with our glasses on going wow!! I felt a bit like Pavlovs dog throughout the flick hardly believing how good this new medium is becoming.The extra depth is so immersive ,even the wife was gobsmacked .The 3d images are stunningly bright , clear and flicker free.
I'll say it..for me .2d bluray is passe'.

[dwayne]

Hey all just an update, my mate went with a pana, ended up getting a sweet deal on a 55" ut series (they are made I Japan) his preference was panasonic, so is extremely happy with his choice. Spyne must say the pana does YouTube really well and all his add on hd stuff and smart gear. One thing to note turn all the motion crap off makes a huge difference, pmcewan i have undertaken a class from Aaron, he truly is the master!

[Jventer]

Check out recontioned models on graysonline. Panasonic for half price.

[ozmillsy]

I bought a new pana ut50a for $924, and am very happy with the PQ and SMART capabilities. Dlna streaming off my NAS is seamless, ABC iview and YouTube all very easy.

I would have bought the ST, if my finance manager wasn't cracking the sheets over recent hifi purchases. :-\ But I have to say the UT50 at that price is pretty darn good value.

Edited by ozmillsy, 25 July 2012 - 05:40 PM.

[Juicester]

hunting about for a 65st50a now.... a few people have managed $2800 at JB - but I haven't had anywhere near that offer....

[ozmillsy]

I got my ut50a at myer where they were offering a "$15 off for every $75 spent" 2 day sale.

Might be worth watching out for this, as the price I ended up paying was significantly cheaper than anyone else was offering on that model. I also had the added bonus of additional myer points going on the better halfs myerone card.

[naggots]

Panasonic bought the Pioneer Kuro plasma technoloy from what I understand. Pioneer stopped production as they were too expensive to manufacture and the market were buying cheap LCDs.

My Kuro still amazes me after 3 years.

[Juicester]

hopefully getting the 65st50 this weekend. was much better than the "U" i felt, and not far enough behind the "vt" to justify the extra expense on the top model.

can't wait!

[Juicester]

Just pulled the trigger. Will start a new thread with pics when it arrives. Can't wait! wahooooo!

[Grumpy]

Just pulled the trigger. Will start a new thread with pics when it arrives. Can't wait! wahooooo!

This is all very interesting, my Son is looking for a big Pana . A bit confused with all the ST, U, VT though.

[Juicester]

This is all very interesting, my Son is looking for a big Pana . A bit confused with all the ST, U, VT though.

Quick run down.

Bottom end- UT. Mid range- ST. Top end- VT.

No experience on specs of the UT, but have compared side by side to ST and didn't come close imho. ST is considered from most online reviews as best bang for buck TV of 2012 by a long stretch. Apparently as good if not slightly better than last year's VT30 ($5k flagship TV).

VT takes performance of the ST up a notch with a quad-core processor and a few other whizz bang features (such as being THX certified) - HOWEVER I do not personally think the extra performance justifies the massive price difference. Approximately $1200-1600 more for the VT over the ST. (List price is $2k more, but probably won't be that high after discounting)

The Panasonic list price of the ST I think is $4k. I picked it up with a 2 year extended warranty (total 3 years), bracket, and delivery, for only a shade past $3050. Pretty hard to beat at that price! Sure I didn't need to get the extra warranty and could have saved myself the $200, but I'll be sleeping better at night because of it.

Edited by Juicester, 06 August 2012 - 12:36 PM.

[Grumpy]

Thanks for that info J. Wow it's a big jump in price from the U to the ST's . Not sure what the son will think of the prices.

[Juicester]

Thanks for that info J. Wow it's a big jump in price from the U to the ST's . Not sure what the son will think of the prices.

nah not really. List price of 60UT is $2.3k and 60ST $2.6k. The BIG jump is 60" to 65"... Bigger jumps from ST to VT than UT to ST. And ST is SO much worth the extra few hundred.

Chris

[ozmillsy]

Quick run down.

Bottom end- UT. Mid range- ST. Top end- VT.

not quite right.

The current 50" models are......

U50A (entry)
XT50A
UT50A
ST50A

The ST has better blacks on paper, but other specs from UT to ST are very similar, 2500hz, etc. When I compared in fully lit conditions there was bugger all between the UT and ST.

It's also easy to mix up the U50A and UT50A, the model numbers are so close, and often not well labelled in the stores. I felt the U50A was a fair margin behind the UT.

[Juicester]

not quite right.

The current 50" models are......

U50A (entry)
XT50A
UT50A
ST50A

The ST has better blacks on paper, but other specs from UT to ST are very similar, 2500hz, etc. When I compared in fully lit conditions there was bugger all between the UT and ST.

It's also easy to mix up the U50A and UT50A, the model numbers are so close, and often not well labelled in the stores. I felt the U50A was a fair margin behind the UT.

no idea where you got the XT50a from? Is it LCD? Didn't know about the U50A - haven't seen it in a store anywhere. Must be unpopular for retailers.

Guess it depends what conditions you saw both TVs - because I felt the same about ST compared to UT as you did for UT to U50A. And for only $200 difference - why not get the better model?!

Main differences I can see are:

UT does not have the AR filter - and therefore looks worse in bright conditions with a lot of reflections
UT colour uniformity doesn't measure quite as well
UT does not have fine tune calibration settings in the menu for things like white balance
UT has no inbuilt wifi
UT stand doesn't swivel
UT only has 2 hdmi inputs.

Edited by Juicester, 07 August 2012 - 09:15 AM.

[Orpheus]

Yes, well when I ignored all the information available about the Samsungs v the Panasonics, I noticed that I greatly preferred the picture of the Samsung, in whatever store I saw it.

Sure, fine-tuning would bring them pretty close to each other, but why not just buy what you think looks best?

And, if you are buying a Panasonic, why buy a model which is $200 more if you don't notice any improvement?

I also thought that the LCD/LED TVs were pretty good too, but there is something about the plasma screens which seems to give greater depth and richness, like the paintings of the great Dutch masters!

As with Hi-Fi, I find it is much easier to make a sensible choice by putting to one side all the "information" that you have about the technology and relying on your senses.

[DAMO 1147]

I also thought that the LCD/LED TVs were pretty good too, but there is something about the plasma screens which seems to give greater depth and richness, like the paintings of the great Dutch masters!

Agree on plasma PQ

[ozmillsy]

no idea where you got the XT50a from? Is it LCD?

Panasonic website, plasma.

Didn't know about the U50A - haven't seen it in a store anywhere. Must be unpopular for retailers.

I've seen it at 2 shops, and in both they were using it to upsell onto an ST.

Guess it depends what conditions you saw both TVs - because I felt the same about ST compared to UT as you did for UT to U50A. And for only $200 difference - why not get the better model?!

if I was getting a 65" an ST is a no brainer, and I would've done the same as you.

At the 50" price point, after discounts the ST was 20% more, I couldn't see a difference and didn't feel compelled to argue with the CFO about it in this case.

[ozmillsy]

Oh, btw, I was watching the 3d Olympic demo loop the other night. Just amazing, many layers within layers, sharp, looked great. Gunna have to get more 3d glasses. If anyone is onto a cheap source for some compatible generics, let me know.

[Juicester]

Oh, btw, I was watching the 3d Olympic demo loop the other night. Just amazing, many layers within layers, sharp, looked great. Gunna have to get more 3d glasses. If anyone is onto a cheap source for some compatible generics, let me know.

keen to look at that. bit of a 3d sceptic myself....