Jb-hifi's $999 Sd Plasma!

[Doug1503559538]

I'm just a little worried that plasma is inherently unreliable......but at least if you go ahead with it and it only last 18mths, you haven't blown too much dosh.

Let us know how it goes anyway.

If you are that paranoid then just buy the JB 5 year extended warranty. The warranty cos tis based on the RRP of the item so a $1,000 plasma won't cost too much .

I myself wouldn't bother- never had a problem with any of my Plasma or LCD TV's and don't know anyoen who ever has.

Remember that forums like this always produce the exceptions.

[50mxe20]

Remember that forums like this always produce the exceptions.

Yep, there are a lot of extremists and perfectionists and fanatics herein.

Meant in the kindest way, of course.

[altomic]

Plasma displays (monochrome) actually came out before LCDs at the dawn of portable computers. However LCD tvs have been around far far longer than plasma TVs. I remember when EXPO was on there was a display of LCD colour Tvs (very small) that were basically the same screen as today although probably passive matrix whatever.

Plasma touchscreens were brought out about 25-30 years ago as tools for engineering designs and architects. they used light pens thingos.

They were installed as a desk top (literally) for the designer/engineer guy to work on.

They were quite large. 30 inch or so.

I remember seeing them in about 1984-84 and thinking "plasma!?!?, plasma rifle?!?".

I was into sci-fi back then.

So it puzzled me when they (electronic companies starting talking about "Plasma TVs = new technology".

Just like VCR's when they first came out in the 70's. The first VCR's were produced in the late 20's/early 30's

Colour TV's were first constructed in the early 1940's.

To research the first wave of any technologies development is extremely interesting, as it always pre-dates the commercial "development " by 10 to 20 years. though this gap is closing .

2 years ago I was working in Japan at Matsuahita's (panasonic) mobile phone research and development centre in Sendai City, Japan. They were developing their 4th generation mobile phone for release in 2010. they already had working prototypes. It was cool.

Edited May 16, 2007 by altomic

[mrmaxwell1503559518]

I think the average family will have no problem enjoying a Soniq 42" plasma for $999! I think it's great that the price has come down, and let's face it most people out there just don't know how good a picture can actually look...only members on here.

What happens if you get the 5yr warranty with one of these Soniq's and it bites the dust in 2yrs when SD 42" plasmas are obselete?

[daOutlawz]

hi guys,

just signed up to let you'se know that i have bought the soniq from JB.

I have personally spent the last 12 months trying to justify spending 2k-2.5k on an LCD/Plasma and whenever I got pshyced up (about 3 times now in 12 months), I would go down to all the department stores and carefully examine all the panels to choose the best, I always thought that the 780p panels were crap (especially the LCD ones, always very pixelated, and I know you shouldn't sit close to them, but if I just spent 2.5k on a TV, I want to be able to sit as close as I bloody want, just like the CRT's, without worrying about noticable pixelation) and would always ask the sales people how I could justify the ticket price for a panel that IMO looked worse than my current 68cm Sony Trinitron? I would never get an answer that would get me to dish out the cash. So I would leave upset, and forget about it for a few months. The SD panels always looked better, but I would always think to myself, I don't want to get non HD stuff, and I felt like they were OLDish, so I never paid much attention to them, and at the time they were only a few hundred cheaper, so I thought whats the point, might as well spend an extra few hundred and get the new stuff.

Now I went down today with the same buzz, and saw the 999 Soniq, I thought OK, looks good, lets have a look at the rest to compare. I tell everyone right now truthfully, that for all the others I could not justify (once again) spending the extra 70% - 100% on something that REALLY looked no better. The Soniq shined amongst all of them. And for the first time, I saw a difference in comparison with the Soniq, and that was the Sony Bravia running at 1080p with a PS3 connected to it, this was truly amazing, but once again, 6k? for a tv? that will not even display Foxtel properly? please....I'm personally sick of big companies using us as a testing ground, we buy the crap, until the good stuff comes out, when 780p was out, it was considered TRUE HD, now 1080p is out, and thats True HD, when SD was out, IT was true HD....please...

I made my decision very quick this time, this is a big price jump to the next level (780p) so I said "I want that one", talking to the sales person (pointing to the Soniq), he ranted that it wasn't that good, and that I should instead spend an extra 600 and get the Panasonic, I asked why? He said because its a better panel. I said to him, they are both identical spec wise, they have both the same amount of warranty (12 months) and the Panasonic is silver and the Soniq is all black (which is what i prefer), so I asked him again, why? And he said it's up to you. Exactly...no idea...

I figure this much, new technology is on the way, SED panels are said to have the best black levels there is (with proven CRT technology), they are due to be released mid year overseas. OLE is already out with 15inch (i think) selling in Japan, paper thin panels that probably weigh less than a few kg's and use bugger all energy wise, I can forsee these being available in larger scales around 2010, which brings me to my next point.

I bought the Soniq with 3 yrs warranty, so I figure by the time it runs out, even if it blows up, I won't care because it was only 1k, and newer and far better technology will be out, with picture qualities worth ranting about, atleast by that time foxtel might be up to 1080p?

I just can't see how people can't see that the current technology is just a stepping stone to better things, companies have been using us as test rats for at least the last 6yrs, when will people wake up? I personally think that Plasma's and LCDs are crap technology, and thats why spending 1k is justifyable.

sorry for my first post being a long one.

[nico6]

Good work, daOutlawz. Your thoughts in general are very much like mine. Will be interested to hear about the panel once you've set it up at home.

BTW, it's 720p, not 780p So the panel is already 60 lines closer to HD than you thought

[PanaSung]

I made my decision very quick this time, this is a big price jump to the next level (780p) so I said "I want that one",

I just can't see how people can't see that the current technology is just a stepping stone to better things, companies have been using us as test rats for at least the last 6yrs, when will people wake up? I personally think that Plasma's and LCDs are crap technology, and thats why spending 1k is justifyable.

sorry for my first post being a long one.

I also thought about getting this Sonic{but only for a few seconds, lol}.....and I hope it ends up looking good enough for you.....thing is though, once you've seen either a 46in 1080 LCD or 50in 720p plasma with decent HDTV, you'd know what all the fuss was about.

LCD must be feed HD or upscaled SDTV, you can also use the LCD as a PC monitor....but NEVER FEED LCD Fox or plain jane DVD and expect much of a WOW factor.....Plasma seems to handle Fox and lower grade signals better.

I agree that the HDTV world is a joke overall and that many people have paid way too much for lowly spec-ed tech.....but I think that both 2007 LCD and Plasma are excellent as long as you know what you're doing.

I also agree that 2008-9 are going to be exciting yrs for people who believe that technology should be advancing forwards{not sideways}.

[daOutlawz]

Indeed.

That was my point exactly, when I saw the 1080p panels viewing the PS3, it was the first time my eyes popped out, but still couldn't justify the price tag for content that would only be viewed at that amazing quality 10-20% of the time, and if you don't have a blu-ray/hd-dvd player, then that percentage gets knocked off. And I cannot for the life of me invision blu-ray/hd-dvd staying for a long time, solid-state technology is the future, actually not the future, it's here now, its just companies don't want to invest in it because of what I stated above, they like to make us wait in anticipation for technology that is already here.

And sorry to say, but I see 780p as the pure stepping stone here, and I have seen it displayed in all different shapes and forms (DVD, tv feeds), once I was so unimpressed that when I told the salesperson, he said that it wasn't hooked up right. I then said to him, then hook it up properly! He asked if I was serious about buying it, I said "YES"!, 30mins later, they hooked it up, with not much difference.

Sorry, I have never seen a 780p panel that would justify the 2k - 2.5k price tag, at least with this 'cheapo' panel, it will display all my content (dvd, foxtel, tv) at 100%, I am no way interested in blu-ray for the reason stated above. And if it breaks, I won't cry, because it was 'cheapo'. If new crap comes out in 3yrs time (which it will), I won't cry, because I got it dirt cheap. I pity the people that 1yr ago spent 8k for a 780p panel that is now worth around 3k, and they called that panel True HD, I would have cried if I were them when I saw the 1080p's come out the next few months. I can invision panels being around $900 in 3 yrs time, but not $300.

....my rant continues

I just don't see how you could go wrong with a $999 tv? 6-7yrs ago when 51cm tv's dropped below 1k, people were excited, no HD, no widescreen, just a box...

[emdx]

Whats the standard warranty conditions on this Soniq? And how much is the total cost including a JB 5 year warranty?

Over at Kmart they have the Magnavox 106cm plasma, with 2 year in-home warranty, for $999.

The Magnavox lists its contrast as 8000:1, and the soniq?

They are probably very similar technology, does anyone know any major differences between the two?

[Nefarious*au]

Whats the standard warranty conditions on this Soniq? And how much is the total cost including a JB 5 year warranty?

Over at Kmart they have the Magnavox 106cm plasma, with 2 year in-home warranty, for $999.

The Magnavox lists its contrast as 8000:1, and the soniq?

They are probably very similar technology, does anyone know any major differences between the two?

Unfortunately on Soniq's (the spelling is important as there is both a Sonic and Soniq) website, the contrast ratio of the QV420PH is 400:1, but it also says response time as 8ms. Someone will have to correct me if I'm wrong but I didn't think response time was something associated with plasma, only LCD?

Edit: I've been and d/l the manual for the QV420PH/2, and contrast ratio is 4000:1. It's got a pretty good set of inputs, inc VGA and will do up to 1024x768 @ 75hz. I think the website listed stats are up the ****, so just go by what the manual says. Based on it tho, I'd be looking at the magnavox from kmart.

Edit x2: Looks like the only difference between the qv420ph-2 and the qv420ph is that the former is PAL only, and the latter is PAL/SECAM/NTSC. So I daresay you'll only be able to buy the qv420ph-2 here.

Edit x3 : I can't find any documentation on the Magnavox KM42010P, even on Magnavox's website. In fact the info on Magnavox's website is so piss poor it's hard to tell if you're looking at an LCD, Plasma or Rearpro TV.

[daOutlawz]

in the JB catalogue, it lists 10000:1 contrast ratio, don't know if its true though.

A good friend of mine works there, and I bought it through him at cost, I ended up getting the Panel, 3yrs warranty, a wall bracket, 2xcomponent, 1x foxtel connection all for just over $1300.

[Nefarious*au]

I'd be taking the word of the manufacturer over the word of someone trying to make a buck regarding any of the TV specs.

[daOutlawz]

yeh true, but the funny thing is that Soniq is a jb brand

[Nefarious*au]

Meaning what? That JB are the only stores in Aus to stock Soniq products? Or Soniq is a owned by JB?

[daOutlawz]

soniq is owned by JB

i hope they are wrong, if they are and i dont like the tv, i can return it based on those specs

[ozcal]

soniq is owned by JB

i hope they are wrong, if they are and i dont like the tv, i can return it based on those specs

Just a few obs based on my recent experience.We have a projector in the lounge/ht for the 'spectacular' stuff but it was a pita for watching the news etc.Target had a recent electronics sale a we took a bit of a punt and purchased one of the 27" Telefunken lcd's.Long story short , it ended up costing us $450 rather than the advertised $699.Like some other posters I had not been a fan of LCD displays based on in shop demonstations.Having set the unit up in the lounge connected to a hi-def stb and upsclaing dvd player I have to say the picture quality is stunning.LCD tv looks crap if you stand about 1m away, as we often do in shops but at normal veiwing distances the picture quality is amazing.

I have not seen the Soniq 106cm plasma but had a look at the Magnavox 106cm unit in Kmart the other day , this also sells for $999.Physically it is a very impresive unit , all black and looks well put together but here's the problem : a 106cm sd display is going to look a lot more crap than a smaller HD lcd unless you can sit 3-4 m away and even sitting that far away ,with such a large screen the image from sd will still be fairly poor.I haven't had a plasma in the house but we had a fairly good quality 100cm rearpro for a while ,which was sd and my oppinion is that once you get above standard crt sizes sd is simply not good enough unless you can sit a fare distance away from the screen.

So basically if you have to sit closer than 3-4m from a 106cm screen and finances allow buy a hd display unless picture quality is not that important,

Just my experience guy's and I am very picky about picture and sound quality so bare that in mind.

Gordon

[Doug1503559538]

Just a few obs based on my recent experience.We have a projector in the lounge/ht for the 'spectacular' stuff but it was a pita for watching the news etc.Target had a recent electronics sale a we took a bit of a punt and purchased one of the 27" Telefunken lcd's.Long story short , it ended up costing us $450 rather than the advertised $699.Like some other posters I had not been a fan of LCD displays based on in shop demonstations.Having set the unit up in the lounge connected to a hi-def stb and upsclaing dvd player I have to say the picture quality is stunning.LCD tv looks crap if you stand about 1m away, as we often do in shops but at normal veiwing distances the picture quality is amazing.

I have not seen the Soniq 106cm plasma but had a look at the Magnavox 106cm unit in Kmart the other day , this also sells for $999.Physically it is a very impresive unit , all black and looks well put together but here's the problem : a 106cm sd display is going to look a lot more crap than a smaller HD lcd unless you can sit 3-4 m away and even sitting that far away ,with such a large screen the image from sd will still be fairly poor.I haven't had a plasma in the house but we had a fairly good quality 100cm rearpro for a while ,which was sd and my oppinion is that once you get above standard crt sizes sd is simply not good enough unless you can sit a fare distance away from the screen.

So basically if you have to sit closer than 3-4m from a 106cm screen and finances allow buy a hd display unless picture quality is not that important,

Just my experience guy's and I am very picky about picture and sound quality so bare that in mind.

Gordon

This is all tripe. I have a 50" Plasma and at 2.5m viewing distance the picture on SD, DVD and many FOXTEL channels is just simply amazing.

Why do people always speculate about PQ who have never even owned a 42" or 50"Plasma ????

[wheelz]

This is all tripe. I have a 50" Plasma and at 2.5m viewing distance the picture on SD, DVD and many FOXTEL channels is just simply amazing.

Why do people always speculate about PQ who have never even owned a 42" or 50"Plasma ????

Doug your 50 inch plasma is HD ,ozcal is talking about SD panels

[daOutlawz]

Well, i just hooked up the soniq, and it looks flawless.

[PanaSung]

In sit 3-4 m away and even sitting that far away ,with such a large screen the image from sd will still be fairly poor.I

Not true....SDTV or DVD will look good on a SD plasma{what it's been designed for}.............4000/6000/8000, the contrast ratio is high enough for the price.

It's nutsoid to criticize these plasma's unless they have a defective PQ, rather than a step down compared to HD panels.

The good quality Foxtel channels will look okay, but some channels might suck.

[PanaSung]

Well, i just hooked up the soniq, and it looks flawless.

How are you connecting the sound from your DVD player?

[PanaSung]

Doug your 50 inch plasma is HD ,ozcal is talking about SD panels

50 in should look worse than a 42 for SDTV.

[emdx]

soniq is owned by JB

"Soniq" is a JB brand, but that just means they buy the TV's from an OEM supplier in China and get the OEM to put a shiny Soniq logo on the front (which is not very different to what some of the big brands do anyway). JB would have nothing to do with the design or engineering of the unit. It would be designed, engineered and made by some Chinese company for the re-branding market in western countries. If you go to China and buy a container or two of TV's, they'll put your brand on the front as well!

[daOutlawz]

^^^

Thats what I meant, i'd say magnavox and soniq are probably the same TV, but branded differently.

I havn't connected the dvd player yet, i got the component cables but they are only for video, need to buy the audio cables, probably connect them through RCA as my dvd player doesnt have HDMI

I am just watching foxtel at the moment through component, looks pretty fantastic, especially for a 1k plasma.

I am convinced though that sales people are full of it, they told me I would have to upgrade my antenna to digital and buy a tuner for the plasma as it didn't have an in-built tuner, and also it didn't have standard AV connections, it has both!

2xcomponent, 1 X AV-Video, 1x s-video, 1 x HDMI, and 1 x VGA

I have the plasma connected through normal antenna for normal tv viewing.

I am getting a slight flicker through component on the foxtel, I tried connecting the foxtel through normal AV and it has no flicker at all, but a slightly lower pic quality. Anyone know why this would be happening? could it be the cables?

[Doug1503559538]

Doug your 50 inch plasma is HD ,ozcal is talking about SD panels

But when I watch a programme in SD on the 50" wouldn't the PQ be the similar to an SD 42" ????