Do you still run a plasma ?
Discussion
Still using a Pioneer LX508D
Sure it’s not 4k, but it’s got a great picture and so far nothing we’ve seen has persuaded us to change it.
I think we bought it in 2007, I remember a chap turning up to deliver it, with card payment machine in a suitcase, plugging into our phone line and mains and taking payment in the hallway.
Sure it’s not 4k, but it’s got a great picture and so far nothing we’ve seen has persuaded us to change it.
I think we bought it in 2007, I remember a chap turning up to deliver it, with card payment machine in a suitcase, plugging into our phone line and mains and taking payment in the hallway.
Still driving steam powered cars as well?
If you’re walking in to a shop, looking at screens and trying to judge picture quality they will all look rubbish... the viewing environment is nothing like the average living room and the sets are all running dynamic picture mode and all the processing s
t.
Properly set up, even a mid range lcd looks better than a plasma in anything other than a pitch black room… in a typical brightly lit living room a modern LCD is miles better. And an entry level LG OLED is light years ahead of any plasma in any viewing conditions… night and day better.
If you’re walking in to a shop, looking at screens and trying to judge picture quality they will all look rubbish... the viewing environment is nothing like the average living room and the sets are all running dynamic picture mode and all the processing s
t. Properly set up, even a mid range lcd looks better than a plasma in anything other than a pitch black room… in a typical brightly lit living room a modern LCD is miles better. And an entry level LG OLED is light years ahead of any plasma in any viewing conditions… night and day better.
NiceCupOfTea said:
Panasonic TX-P 50GT60B - last year of the plasmas. (2012? 2013?)
Still a fantastic picture, still smart enough to cut it in the modern world IMHO. Had a scare a couple of months ago when it wouldn’t switch on, but a chap on ebay diagnosed and repaired the board in question for less than £100 so it fights another day.
Same here, same model. I have the 7 blinking red lights of death. Google says it is one of 3 boards, although you can do some tests to narrow it down to 2. Still need to summon the time and energy to order the boards and fix it.Still a fantastic picture, still smart enough to cut it in the modern world IMHO. Had a scare a couple of months ago when it wouldn’t switch on, but a chap on ebay diagnosed and repaired the board in question for less than £100 so it fights another day.
The last of the Panny plasmas were thrown together - mine had about 300 hours on it (spare room, rarely used) before it failed. Shocking how little use it had before going *fut*.
In contrast I have a TH-42PZ700 from 2007 that refuses to die (one of the first 1080 plasmas).
Chris Stott said:
Still driving steam powered cars as well?
If you’re walking in to a shop, looking at screens and trying to judge picture quality they will all look rubbish... the viewing environment is nothing like the average living room and the sets are all running dynamic picture mode and all the processing st.
Properly set up, even a mid range lcd looks better than a plasma in anything other than a pitch black room… in a typical brightly lit living room a modern LCD is miles better. And an entry level LG OLED is light years ahead of any plasma in any viewing conditions… night and day better.
OLED is better than Plasma but LCD is far far inferior in every wayIf you’re walking in to a shop, looking at screens and trying to judge picture quality they will all look rubbish... the viewing environment is nothing like the average living room and the sets are all running dynamic picture mode and all the processing s
t. Properly set up, even a mid range lcd looks better than a plasma in anything other than a pitch black room… in a typical brightly lit living room a modern LCD is miles better. And an entry level LG OLED is light years ahead of any plasma in any viewing conditions… night and day better.
Another one here still using plasmas:
55" Panasonic VT50 and a 42" Panasonic GT50 both bought November 2012.
The 55" gets less use nowadays as we got a projector a couple of years ago in that room which tends to be the preference now for movies (due to screen size, not picture quality).
The picture on the plasmas is still great (I did calibrate both properly, and re-check them every couple of years), and better than any LED or "QLED" I've seen.
Have to concede that OLED has surpassed them though, so will not be too upset if they give up the ghost and need to be replaced with an OLED upgrade.
Having said that, prior to the plasmas, we had a Panasonic 36" widescreen CRT, which I was waiting for it to die as an excuse to upgrade, but it lasted over 12 years without missing a beat and eventually I donated it to the FiL. He passed away 6 years later at which point it was given away, so don't know what happened to it, but it was still working perfectly even then.
55" Panasonic VT50 and a 42" Panasonic GT50 both bought November 2012.
The 55" gets less use nowadays as we got a projector a couple of years ago in that room which tends to be the preference now for movies (due to screen size, not picture quality).
The picture on the plasmas is still great (I did calibrate both properly, and re-check them every couple of years), and better than any LED or "QLED" I've seen.
Have to concede that OLED has surpassed them though, so will not be too upset if they give up the ghost and need to be replaced with an OLED upgrade.
Having said that, prior to the plasmas, we had a Panasonic 36" widescreen CRT, which I was waiting for it to die as an excuse to upgrade, but it lasted over 12 years without missing a beat and eventually I donated it to the FiL. He passed away 6 years later at which point it was given away, so don't know what happened to it, but it was still working perfectly even then.
Chris Stott said:
Still driving steam powered cars as well?
Nah, drive an EV these days.No, the reason I still use it is broadly covered by the following points:
- when new it cost a big wedge of cash, it’s nice that it brings the “cost per year” down nicely.
- it still looks good
- it still works just fine
- it’s a “panel” TV, no speakers, so replacing it with a 4K OLED means a new AV Amp etc.
- those 4k services start costing more per month too.
Each to their own though. The HiSense 4k I bought for peanuts for the gym looks quite good. Who knows how things will pan out.
Harji said:
Panasonic Viera 42” from 2008, still in daily use and I had calibrated it with one of those DVD calibration discs so it still gives a stunning picture.
Snap. Watching latest gen uncalibrated TVs at friend's houses, with everything still turned up to 11, gives me a kind of vertigo for a few minutes. CFCardinalFang said:
Harji said:
Panasonic Viera 42” from 2008, still in daily use and I had calibrated it with one of those DVD calibration discs so it still gives a stunning picture.
Snap. Watching latest gen uncalibrated TVs at friend's houses, with everything still turned up to 11, gives me a kind of vertigo for a few minutes. CF21TonyK said:
CardinalFang said:
Harji said:
Panasonic Viera 42” from 2008, still in daily use and I had calibrated it with one of those DVD calibration discs so it still gives a stunning picture.
Snap. Watching latest gen uncalibrated TVs at friend's houses, with everything still turned up to 11, gives me a kind of vertigo for a few minutes. CFI didn’t know they needed calibrating?
RUSTILLDOWN said:
Chris Stott said:
Still driving steam powered cars as well?
If you’re walking in to a shop, looking at screens and trying to judge picture quality they will all look rubbish... the viewing environment is nothing like the average living room and the sets are all running dynamic picture mode and all the processing st.
Properly set up, even a mid range lcd looks better than a plasma in anything other than a pitch black room… in a typical brightly lit living room a modern LCD is miles better. And an entry level LG OLED is light years ahead of any plasma in any viewing conditions… night and day better.
OLED is better than Plasma but LCD is far far inferior in every wayIf you’re walking in to a shop, looking at screens and trying to judge picture quality they will all look rubbish... the viewing environment is nothing like the average living room and the sets are all running dynamic picture mode and all the processing s
t. Properly set up, even a mid range lcd looks better than a plasma in anything other than a pitch black room… in a typical brightly lit living room a modern LCD is miles better. And an entry level LG OLED is light years ahead of any plasma in any viewing conditions… night and day better.
RammyMP said:
I’ve got one in the bedroom too, it’s been great for years but I turned it on last night and after about a minute it kind of restarted, switched itself off then back on again so I don’t know if it’s on its way out?
I didn’t know they needed calibrating?
Strictly no, but it's an easy picture upgrade you can do. The basis is that all TV's come defaulting to a "display" mode, so if they end up on the shelf at Curry's with 50 others, they stand out. It means everything - brightness, contrast, colour balance is on max & therefore not natural or realistic. So, you can pay an AV specialist to come in & do it (which would make sense for a higher-end system) or you can DIY, for a straightforward TV & Soundbar. I didn’t know they needed calibrating?
Google may be your friend now, but back when our tv was new, LucasFilms had a THX (their own pic/sound standard) calibration menu in all their (& Pixar??) films. You paid a fiver for the 3d-like glasses & off you went. Took about 15 minutes & absolutely transformed the picture, especially sports pitches, grass, anything natural, or skin tones. See here:
https://www.whathifi.com/news/how-to-set-your-tv-t...
It's easy - promise! I'm not a tech guru by any means & have zero interest in DIY or taking things apart. Honestly worth doing with any decent TV.
CF
I'm still running a Panasonic Viera (TH-42PX600B) 42" plasma as my main telly. Owned since new, and showing no signs of dying.
It looks pathetically small these days and the bezel size is somewhat comical, but it still has a great picture especially with SD feeds. Plasma has an almost analogue ability to do that whereas LCD technologies hate anything that isn't native resolution.
One of these days I will have enough disposable income to sadly move to a 65" OLED
It looks pathetically small these days and the bezel size is somewhat comical, but it still has a great picture especially with SD feeds. Plasma has an almost analogue ability to do that whereas LCD technologies hate anything that isn't native resolution.
One of these days I will have enough disposable income to sadly move to a 65" OLED
Edited by Clockwork Cupcake on Tuesday 19th April 23:18
Bought a 42" Panny G10 Plasma in 2010. Realised when i got it home that it was too small. Called Richer Sounds: agreed to let me swop it (plus extra cost) for a 50" 
Had to take the 50" home (15 miles) in a black cab cos it wouldn't fit in the boot of my car lol.
Brilliant TV. It had the black-level-getting-lighter fault (apparemtly an issue with the 2010 G series Pannys?) I bought a widget from a bloke on eBay that resets that internal hex counter to restore the black levels. (Still have it i think!)
Ended up selling the TV a few years ago when i bought a 55" Hi Sense U7A. The 1080p of the panny was much better, but it lacked 4K support etc.
The Panny Plasmas were awesome. Honestly if Panasonic had ventured into 4k Plasma tech i would have bought one rather than QLED etc.
What i dont miss from the Plasma is the energy use and the way it heated the living room up :O)
Had to take the 50" home (15 miles) in a black cab cos it wouldn't fit in the boot of my car lol.
Brilliant TV. It had the black-level-getting-lighter fault (apparemtly an issue with the 2010 G series Pannys?) I bought a widget from a bloke on eBay that resets that internal hex counter to restore the black levels. (Still have it i think!)
Ended up selling the TV a few years ago when i bought a 55" Hi Sense U7A. The 1080p of the panny was much better, but it lacked 4K support etc.
The Panny Plasmas were awesome. Honestly if Panasonic had ventured into 4k Plasma tech i would have bought one rather than QLED etc.
What i dont miss from the Plasma is the energy use and the way it heated the living room up :O)
Yep, a panasonic tx-p42g10b, biught nov 2009 for £650ish from M&S!
Still waiting for the gas to run out! ( Remember that story doing the rounds when plasma first came out )
Looked big when I bought it, my old place front room was 4x4M. Now looks tiny in a room double that size. Would love to replace it , but other than size, can't fault it.
Still waiting for the gas to run out! ( Remember that story doing the rounds when plasma first came out )
Looked big when I bought it, my old place front room was 4x4M. Now looks tiny in a room double that size. Would love to replace it , but other than size, can't fault it.
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