Are Panasonic still the Pinnacle

[Douglas Arfempty]

Guys,

I've just ordered Sky Q (Got one heck of a deal switching from Virgin - £68 for 12 months for FULL package), and so would like a 4k TV to make the most of the SkyQ.

I've always had Panasonic TV's on the understanding that they are market leading in terms of quality.

I'm not a huge AV tecky, so I'm looking at well under a grand.

I've seen this, and was wondering if the PH Guru's can better the TV for the money? 50", 4K and £600 are the key stats.

http://ao.com/product/tx49dx600b-panasonic-dx600-t...

circa 50", 4K and £600 are the key stats.

Thanks all.

Matt

[Evolved]

At that kinda budget you're going to be on the low end of quality whatever brand you buy tbh. Could you not wait a bit and save to buy a decent panel?

LG if you want OLED, unless you can afford the Panny OLED's but you're talking £1.5-8k ish last time I looked.

Everything else is a compromise IMHO.

[Douglas Arfempty]

I probably could wait and save. However, I've never spent more than £500 on a TV. I've been unconvinced to date that I would 'need' too.

I guess this is the wrong sub-forum for that sort of admission, but I'm honestly quite happy with a £500ish Tele.

On that basis, are they all much of a muchness at my price point?

[Monty Python]

If you want a 4K TV now, the Panasonic TX-40CX680B looks to be reasonable.

http://www.whathifi.com/panasonic/tx-40cx680b/revi...

[JackReacher]

I've been watching some of the treads in this section as I consider a new TV, but seems like anything less than an OLED or an old Pioneer/Panasonic is just not worth considering, but then this is PH after all!

I would visit a John Lewis or RicherSounds and see if they have one you are looking at and judge it for yourself against your expectations with the source you intend to use. I had a look at the 50" Panasonic 700B and 750B this weekend and thought they both looked excellent.

[irocfan]

the answer at this price point is a visit to Richer Sounds and a good look at all the various teleboxes for sale, get advice and then splurge

[Porsche911R]

I am quite shocked what people will put up with quality wise

I run last of the Panasonic top end Plasma's and NO LED/LCD comes close, and most still judder, even the cheaper oled seem not so good.
4k is a con for cheap large TV's as no one can watch 4k content and built in up scalers are st on cheap units.
put a SD channel on a £500 LCD 4k unit and its shocking poor.

show rooms have 4k very high saturated content to show off the TV's

SD still looks great on my Plasma and very passable.

get a 2nd hand Panasonic Plasma or go OLED HDR £3k entry fee !!! every thing else inbeteen seems pointless and substandard.

I visit friends houses and I am shocked just how bad their pictures are, most have blocky judder, with grey blacks and motion blur, yuk.

you can pick up a Panasonic 50" plasma for £400 off the bay.

4k is a bit of a joke imo

[Monty Python]

Porsche911R said:

I am quite shocked what people will put up with quality wise

I run last of the Panasonic top end Plasma's and NO LED/LCD comes close, and most still judder, even the cheaper oled seem not so good.
4k is a con for cheap large TV's as no one can watch 4k content and built in up scalers are st on cheap units.
put a SD channel on a £500 LCD 4k unit and its shocking poor.

show rooms have 4k very high saturated content to show off the TV's

SD still looks great on my Plasma and very passable.

get a 2nd hand Panasonic Plasma or go OLED HDR £3k entry fee !!! every thing else inbeteen seems pointless and substandard.

I visit friends houses and I am shocked just how bad their pictures are, most have blocky judder, with grey blacks and motion blur, yuk.

you can pick up a Panasonic 50" plasma for £400 off the bay.

4k is a bit of a joke imo

I doubt the vast majority of people have never had a plasma TV. You're in the minority here - someone who cares a lot about picture quality - most people don't and will buy whatever the salesperson convinces them is the best one. TBH there's so little decent content nowadays it's almost not worth having a TV at all.

[HRL]

I recently got a Panasonic TX58-750B, or something similar, for £1049 at RS.

The smaller version of the same model is probably only slightly over your budget. Cracking set for the money though.

[P700DEE]

Picked up a 42 inch Panasonic plasma for £27 last year off the bay for my other room and to match my other. Collected in the XKR, fitted perfect behind the seats There are bargains to be had

[mp3manager]

Panasonic TV's have never been the pinnacle at anything, even their Ultra HD OLED is an LG panel.
Back in the day, they were outshone by Pioneer, and I've never seen hide nor hair of the Pioneer 10th gen Kuro technology, they bought way back in 2009.

[legzr1]

mp3manager said:

Panasonic TV's have never been the pinnacle at anything, even their Ultra HD OLED is an LG panel.
Back in the day, they were outshone by Pioneer, and I've never seen hide nor hair of the Pioneer 10th gen Kuro technology, they bought way back in 2009.

The last of the ZT Pannies are commonly regarded as the best plasma had to offer usurping the 9 series Pioneers.

A modern oled displaying 4K HDR material has moved things on considerably.

Both are better than a <£1K LCD no matter who makes it.

[Legend83]

I did the 2nd-hand thing and bought a £325 Panasonic ST50 plasma as I favour natural picture quality and smooth motion over eye-bursting contrast and judder you get with even the latest LED TVs.

Bloody awesome it is too.

[XB70]

legzr1 said:

The last of the ZT Pannies are commonly regarded as the best plasma had to offer usurping the 9 series Pioneers.

A modern oled displaying 4K HDR material has moved things on considerably.

Both are better than a <£1K LCD no matter who makes it.

I have a Panasonic 65VT60 - the image is absolutely stunning. I only wish I had bought two more of them - AU$3200 so a bargain.

[Digitalize]

The sort of people you're asking based on whether Panasonic are still market leaders are also the people who will say you can't get a good TV for around £500 unless it's discounted, and definitely not a 4k one!

OLED is the future, I'm just saving/waiting for them.

Honestly if you're looking of spending sub £1000, try and get a discounted 2015 model, or wait until Christmas/New Years. Last years LG OLED range are 4k, HDR etc and are a very decent price now.

Worth taking a look at this, but as with most TVs this price, black levels aren't great - https://www.avforums.com/review/philips-6501-49pus...

Edited by Digitalize on Thursday 22 September 19:34

[Klippie]

Porsche911R said:

I am quite shocked what people will put up with quality wise

I run last of the Panasonic top end Plasma's and NO LED/LCD comes close, and most still judder, even the cheaper oled seem not so good.
4k is a con for cheap large TV's as no one can watch 4k content and built in up scalers are st on cheap units.
put a SD channel on a £500 LCD 4k unit and its shocking poor.

show rooms have 4k very high saturated content to show off the TV's

SD still looks great on my Plasma and very passable.

get a 2nd hand Panasonic Plasma or go OLED HDR £3k entry fee !!! every thing else inbeteen seems pointless and substandard.

I visit friends houses and I am shocked just how bad their pictures are, most have blocky judder, with grey blacks and motion blur, yuk.

you can pick up a Panasonic 50" plasma for £400 off the bay.

4k is a bit of a joke imo

I couldn't agree more...I love my 42GT50 Panny Plasma it won't be going anywhere until I see something better, that could be a while away yet though.

[tdm34]

mp3manager said:

Panasonic TV's have never been the pinnacle at anything, even their Ultra HD OLED is an LG panel.
Back in the day, they were outshone by Pioneer, and I've never seen hide nor hair of the Pioneer 10th gen Kuro technology, they bought way back in 2009.

Interesting statement, i've worked in the trade for over 25 Years, and in that time the people i've worked with have consistently chosen Panasonic as the set they choose when they have to put their hands in their pockets.

At the place I work at these days, there are eight staff members seven own Panasonic TVs as their primary TV, (The 8th has an LG 4k OLED)
Pioneer actually did let out some of the 10G stuff in the very last KRP500 model there was a batch that had a fully integrated tuner (not the standard two box design) they only did about 100 for the whole of Europe and the UK got a small number 15-20 units, I've seen one and the picture was stellar. the closest Panny was the TXP60ZT65 which to all intents and purposes was the same thing..

I currently own a Panny TX58DX902 which is a full array local dimming set, which I chose over the LG OLED because I absolutely hate the WEBos operating system and in my case I found the motion handling miles better on the Panasonic. now my previous set's include Pioneer Kuro's and VT series Panasonic Plasmas, and I wouldn't swap my current set for any of them, i've got UHD Disc, 4k Satellite and Streaming which looks utterly stunning.

[gizlaroc]

mp3manager said:

Panasonic TV's have never been the pinnacle at anything, even their Ultra HD OLED is an LG panel.
Back in the day, they were outshone by Pioneer, and I've never seen hide nor hair of the Pioneer 10th gen Kuro technology, they bought way back in 2009.

I always preferred the Panny commercial plasma panels over the Pioneer Kuros.

On paper the Kuro had it licked, in fact when calibrating them them the Kuro had better colour, greyscale and went blacker, but I still preferred watching the panny commercial panels, cleaner, sharper image and nicer motion.

I never liked my VT65 though and hated the VT30 I bought, which were the only 2 domestic plasma I bought from Panasonic.


Having said all that, the new OLEDs are where it is at, but I also think the KS7000 or 8000 from Samsung is a very impressive set for the money, if you can live with LCD.
The Sony ZD9 is also very impressive, but starts at 65" which is a shame.

But I think my money would be on an LG 55" 910V Oled from last year, it may only be 1080p but it is excellent, and can be had for about £800 if you search around.

[Alucidnation]

Pioneer stopped making TV's a few years ago as they were way too expensive for the average buyer.

[shaunsmith]

I have one of the last Pioneer Kuro KRP600P 60' from late 09.
The only time considered replacing it was when Plasma's died several years ago, luckily got a Panasonic VT65 last of the last. Both are still outstanding, out the two Kuro is preference and still in the lounge, VT in the bedroom.

I've lost count the amount of friends etc that have commented on the Kuro's picture quality and don't believe and dismayed it's nearing 8 years old.

Contemplated the Panasonic 65 OLED, don't fancy a curved tele, didn't bother after seeing one, I'm more than content at this time staying with old Plasma's plus keeps both rooms warm....

Edited by shaunsmith on Wednesday 28th September 18:12