Which 50" Plasma?

[marcgti6]

Hello.

I've got a fancy new X-Box 360 but it's not compatible with my aging 28" CRT TV in my room.

So, I'm after a new Plasma. I'm thinking I might as well do it right and get a 50 incher.

The TV will be used predominantly for X-Box 360 gaming (Forza 3, FIFA 11, COD etc) and Blu-Ray playback.

I'm looking at spending between £600-£700. Ideally, I would like full 1080p HD and at least three HDMI ports.

After a bit of searching, I've narrowed my search down to these two -

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsung-PS50C550-Widescree...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/LG-50PK590-Widescreen-Inte...

I've seen some reviews of the LG that suggest that they are not the best when used in gaming applications due to input lag (51ms) but I can't find any reviews of the Samsung to compare this.

The LG has Freeview HD whereas the Samsung has to make do with standard Freeview. I must admit, I do like the idea of Freeview HD but if the Samsung is a better TV, I'll go for that.

So, my question is, which of the above would you recommend for gaming? Or, which alternative sets can you recommend?

Would be nice to hear from people who've seen both in action as well, if possible.

Cheers!

[Original Poster]

Typically 30-35ms lag is classed as acceptable, anything more and people say you start noticing a difference, personally I think there will be very few people that can tell the difference in lag between say 30ms and 50ms.

Out of those two, the LG gets my vote, when asking for a recommendation for a plasma the answer is very rarely Samsung.

[PJ S]

Panasonic S20 is worth factoring into your equation - Plasma cells are still quite a lot faster than LCD pixels in response time.
Take your 360 to a good AV dealer, and compare the PQ on both types of display, and see for yourself how well gaming on a Plasma is.

Edited by PJ S on Friday 1st October 14:00

[marcgti6]

Thanks for the replies.

I am swaying towards the LG. I must admit, I've seen a few Samsung plasmas in action and I've never been that impressed by them.

Can't seem to find a 'Panasonic S50' do you have any links?

This seems to be the cheapest 50" Panasonic about with Full HD - http://www.play.com/Electronics/Electronics/4-/135...

You reckon this is likely to be much better than the LG?

[marcgti6]

I've been playing my X-Box on my 37" Sharp LCD downstairs and haven't noticed any issues with any lag.

I presume that, as it's a Plasma, the LG would cope with high speed motion better and therefore be more suited to gaming applications than my Sharp LCD?

[MacW]

marcgti6 said:

Thanks for the replies.

I am swaying towards the LG. I must admit, I've seen a few Samsung plasmas in action and I've never been that impressed by them.

Can't seem to find a 'Panasonic S50' do you have any links?

This seems to be the cheapest 50" Panasonic about with Full HD - http://www.play.com/Electronics/Electronics/4-/135...

You reckon this is likely to be much better than the LG?

I think the poster meant the 50" S20

[PJ S]

Oh the shame of it all.....

Indeed I did mean the 50" S20, sorry for the brain farting - it does that the odd time!

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0039SLYIM?m=A3P5ROKL5A... - out of stock, but read the second review.
Short but succinct.

Try our resident member resellers - Derestrictor or E31Shrew.

Edited by PJ S on Friday 1st October 14:13

[marcgti6]

Cheers guys.

Looks like it's worth spending the extra and going for the Panasonic then.

You get what you pay for I suppose, like everything.

Replies appreciated

[CO2000]

http://www.richersounds.com/product/tv---all/lg/50...

£660 inc 5 year warranty, very pleased with ours.

[Mr Trophy]

Hi,

I am currently in the same boat as you looking for the above.

Anyone care to shed anymore light?

I have been looking at this one -

http://www.comet.co.uk/shopcomet/product/651109/SA...

Thanks,

[S1M VP]

Don't bother with an LG.

Mine "looks good" and is the right price, picture is pretty good too most of the time, but black is awful (more grey and cant seem to show variations of really dark) and freeview HD seems to have intermittent issues too ... Loss of signal etc

It is brilliant for the xbox, especially games like rainbow 6, modern warfare and halo .... But that's down to size and HD rather than LG

I would pay extra for a decent make

If you are insistent on an LG, buy mine cheap and I'll get myself a new one! ;-)

[marcgti6]

I bit the bullet and got one of these on Saturday - http://www.play.com/Electronics/Electronics/4-/135... - Not from Play.com though.

Very impressed so far, it's a beast of a TV. I can't say I've had much use out of it yet, to be honest. Looking forward to getting a few hours of XBox 360 in this evening and possibly trying a Blu-Ray film.

For what it's worth, I thought the Panasonic produced a better picture than the equivalent LG and Samsung that I saw in the shop. Granted, I wasn't sure what settings/quality of the input each TV was using but the Panny was sharper.

I really like the on-screen menus and Freeview menus. Everything is slick to use.

Going to have a proper fiddle with all the menus later - no doubt I'll tweak until the picture looks worse that it did originally like but, as they say, God loves a tryer!

Oh, HDMI cables. I got a £20.00 jobbie thrown in with the TV - am I likely to notice any difference in quality if I upgrade to a decent one, something like this - http://www.richersounds.com/product/av-interconnec... ? I've always been under the impression that the better the interconnects, the better the results but from what I've read on various sites, expensive HDMI cables maybe a false economy?

Thanks

Edited by marcgti6 on Tuesday 12th October 15:51

[marcgti6]

Meant to mention that I got a free 5yr Panasonic warranty on the TV, which was nice.

I believe they are offering this on selected TV's until the end of October.

Big bonus in my mind!

[_dobbo_]

If you ask me £20 is already an expensive HDMI cable....

[marcgti6]

_dobbo_ said:

If you ask me £20 is already an expensive HDMI cable....

Hmm, see what you're saying but I think it was overpriced in the shop - it doesn't appear to be the best quality (in terms of manufacture). I think it's only v1.3 as well.

I'm gonna do it right and get a decent quality 5m v1.4 version.

You've gotta be future proof haven't you?!

[Webber3]

marcgti6 said:

Oh, HDMI cables. I got a £20.00 jobbie thrown in with the TV - am I likely to notice any difference in quality if I upgrade to a decent one, something like this - http://www.richersounds.com/product/av-interconnec... ? I've always been under the impression that the better the interconnects, the better the results but from what I've read on various sites, expensive HDMI cables maybe a false economy?

Thanks

Better interconnects might help with analogue signals, but HDMI is digital. The data coming through is either a one or a zero, quality doesn't come into it.

HDMI isn't exactly new at 7 years old, yet there's still a market for these £50 - £100 cables.

[tdm34ds]

Webber3 said:

marcgti6 said:

Oh, HDMI cables. I got a £20.00 jobbie thrown in with the TV - am I likely to notice any difference in quality if I upgrade to a decent one, something like this - http://www.richersounds.com/product/av-interconnec... ? I've always been under the impression that the better the interconnects, the better the results but from what I've read on various sites, expensive HDMI cables maybe a false economy?

Thanks

Better interconnects might help with analogue signals, but HDMI is digital. The data coming through is either a one or a zero, quality doesn't come into it.

HDMI isn't exactly new at 7 years old, yet there's still a market for these £50 - £100 cables.

You've just opened a can with a picture of a worm on it for sure....

[marcgti6]

tdm34ds said:

Webber3 said:

marcgti6 said:

Oh, HDMI cables. I got a £20.00 jobbie thrown in with the TV - am I likely to notice any difference in quality if I upgrade to a decent one, something like this - http://www.richersounds.com/product/av-interconnec... ? I've always been under the impression that the better the interconnects, the better the results but from what I've read on various sites, expensive HDMI cables maybe a false economy?

Thanks

Better interconnects might help with analogue signals, but HDMI is digital. The data coming through is either a one or a zero, quality doesn't come into it.

HDMI isn't exactly new at 7 years old, yet there's still a market for these £50 - £100 cables.

You've just opened a can with a picture of a worm on it for sure....

A MASSIVE can of worms it would appear. I've just been reading a thread on AVForums.com where they were discussing the merits (if any) of expensive HDMI cables. The vast majority of posters seemed to think that spending over £10-£20 appears to be a massive waste of time and money.

So, I'll be getting a cheap and cheerful v1.4 cable I think.

[Original Poster]

Yup, expensive HDMI cables are a complete con.

I bought 1m HDMI cables (1.4) for £3.22 from here, they are perfect.

http://www.cablesuk.co.uk/

Very quick delivery as well.

[headcase]

Ive always found LCD screens better for gaming, yes i know technically plasmas are better but maybe its my eyes i cant stare at my Plasma for too long, an LCD seems to be a lot easier on the eye.