Should I bother looking past the Panasonic P50V20B ?
Discussion
Hi guys, as per many a thread I am looking for advice on my next TV, (apologies for length of post), but I want to make the right decision.... to set the scene:
My trusty old Sony KV-32FQ75 just won't die after 11 years excellent service, but I've lost patience in it giving up the ghost to make the decision easy, so time to take the plunge and upgrade anyway.
What do I want/need.
A TV that will hopefully last for another 10 years and have the functionality/quality to keep me satisfied.
Questions from me:
1. I will be sitting 3 metres away – is 50” the right size?
2. I have no real preference for LCD/LED/PLASMA technology – should I – its the quality that counts – especially for movies/sports (Motorsport/Footie) – no blurring please.
3. I won’t be using it for my Xbox 360 and I only have a normal DVD at the moment.
4. I have a surround sound system (Sony STR-DB940 AMP) still going strong – what is the sound quality like on the new thin model TV’s - will this need to be in constant use, rather than occasional like today?
5. I see lots of TV’s come with Freeview & Freesat built in? (I have sky already), can I take a sat feed from my existing Sky decoder in to the TV for Freesat ?
6. What input is used for Freeview HD Would I bother using them at all if I have sky?
7. I don’t have Sky HD, but seeing as this will be my first HD TV it pains me to say I will probably chuck yet more cash at Murdoch.
8. What does “wifi ready” actually mean in reality – I’ve seen the ad for the Sony/Google TV and that kind of functionality is going to win – can I expect that functionality in time with TV’s being bought now with "wifi ready"?
9. Does it have a wifi card or a wired Ethernet port (I do hope not!)?
10. I have an iOmega DLNA network drive – can I stream my pics/movies/music straight to the TV ?
11. Should I bother looking past the Panasonic TX-P50V20B? (Or should that be P50G20B?) As per lots of comments on here?
12. Is the Panasonic TX-P50VT20B worth the extra ££ over the V20B (Not sure how much - £700??) Not sure I care about 3D if that is all it is buying me ?
13. What sort of money should I be paying for a G20B / V20B / VT20B ?
14. Should I wait a little longer if there is a better technology/functionality around the corner?
15. Should I look anywhere other that Digital Direct to buy ?
16. What other questions should I be asking ?... :-)
Thanks for your time in reading and replying!
Andy.
My trusty old Sony KV-32FQ75 just won't die after 11 years excellent service, but I've lost patience in it giving up the ghost to make the decision easy, so time to take the plunge and upgrade anyway.
What do I want/need.
A TV that will hopefully last for another 10 years and have the functionality/quality to keep me satisfied.
Questions from me:
1. I will be sitting 3 metres away – is 50” the right size?
2. I have no real preference for LCD/LED/PLASMA technology – should I – its the quality that counts – especially for movies/sports (Motorsport/Footie) – no blurring please.
3. I won’t be using it for my Xbox 360 and I only have a normal DVD at the moment.
4. I have a surround sound system (Sony STR-DB940 AMP) still going strong – what is the sound quality like on the new thin model TV’s - will this need to be in constant use, rather than occasional like today?
5. I see lots of TV’s come with Freeview & Freesat built in? (I have sky already), can I take a sat feed from my existing Sky decoder in to the TV for Freesat ?
6. What input is used for Freeview HD Would I bother using them at all if I have sky?
7. I don’t have Sky HD, but seeing as this will be my first HD TV it pains me to say I will probably chuck yet more cash at Murdoch.
8. What does “wifi ready” actually mean in reality – I’ve seen the ad for the Sony/Google TV and that kind of functionality is going to win – can I expect that functionality in time with TV’s being bought now with "wifi ready"?
9. Does it have a wifi card or a wired Ethernet port (I do hope not!)?
10. I have an iOmega DLNA network drive – can I stream my pics/movies/music straight to the TV ?
11. Should I bother looking past the Panasonic TX-P50V20B? (Or should that be P50G20B?) As per lots of comments on here?
12. Is the Panasonic TX-P50VT20B worth the extra ££ over the V20B (Not sure how much - £700??) Not sure I care about 3D if that is all it is buying me ?
13. What sort of money should I be paying for a G20B / V20B / VT20B ?
14. Should I wait a little longer if there is a better technology/functionality around the corner?
15. Should I look anywhere other that Digital Direct to buy ?
16. What other questions should I be asking ?... :-)
Thanks for your time in reading and replying!
Andy.
Just to add to Plotless' reply, but some I can't answer hope it's useful:
1,2 it will seem big at first, but you'll soon get used to it and take it for granted. No bluring issues with Pannasonic plasmas, more likely with LCD.
3. DVD upscaling will give a reasonable picture but you might look at getting a BluRay player and renting discs online for some HD goodness.
4. TBH I haven't heard a flat panel TV that I could stand to listen to for more than just the news and basic viewing. Thin TVs have no space for decent speakers IMHO, but so what...just use the '940.
5. I believe so, but check first if it's important for you.
6. FreeVIEW HD uses an aerial (rather than a dish). You may need an upgrade and it depends what area you are in as to whether HD is broadcast from your transmitter. You'll get BBC HD, ITV HD and Ch4 HD free of charge. IIUIC through FreeSAT you'll get BBC HD and ITV HD only.
7. You don't have to give Sky your money for HD given the answer to 6.
8 & 9 Don't know.
10. I thought that was the point of these DNLA compliant TVs, but I'm definately no expert on this front.
11. I'm looking at the G20 myself, but I do have a projector for 'serious' viewing...it depends on your budget really I suppose.
12. A different screen filter and faster phospers is my understanding of it, but I stand to be corrected.
13. While Google is your friend, maybe a good local dealer might be worth haggling with rather than risk an online firm that takes your money and then won't help if things go wrong.
14. You can wait forever. Next year will no doubt be a VT30 or whatever, with some other 'killer' feature, but you've got to buy at some point. Maybe the smart money is on waiting for the new model to be launched and buy 'last years model'. I did this with my last TV...it was £2k at launch and I bought it with a 5 year manufacturers warranty for £750 just as the new model came out (I was aware and didn't need the new 'feature' of 24p as I only watch BluRays on my PJ anyway which does 24p).
15. I would look elsewhere personally, but then last time I voiced concern about this company my post was removed...
16. Dunno...
1,2 it will seem big at first, but you'll soon get used to it and take it for granted. No bluring issues with Pannasonic plasmas, more likely with LCD.
3. DVD upscaling will give a reasonable picture but you might look at getting a BluRay player and renting discs online for some HD goodness.
4. TBH I haven't heard a flat panel TV that I could stand to listen to for more than just the news and basic viewing. Thin TVs have no space for decent speakers IMHO, but so what...just use the '940.
5. I believe so, but check first if it's important for you.
6. FreeVIEW HD uses an aerial (rather than a dish). You may need an upgrade and it depends what area you are in as to whether HD is broadcast from your transmitter. You'll get BBC HD, ITV HD and Ch4 HD free of charge. IIUIC through FreeSAT you'll get BBC HD and ITV HD only.
7. You don't have to give Sky your money for HD given the answer to 6.
8 & 9 Don't know.
10. I thought that was the point of these DNLA compliant TVs, but I'm definately no expert on this front.
11. I'm looking at the G20 myself, but I do have a projector for 'serious' viewing...it depends on your budget really I suppose.
12. A different screen filter and faster phospers is my understanding of it, but I stand to be corrected.
13. While Google is your friend, maybe a good local dealer might be worth haggling with rather than risk an online firm that takes your money and then won't help if things go wrong.
14. You can wait forever. Next year will no doubt be a VT30 or whatever, with some other 'killer' feature, but you've got to buy at some point. Maybe the smart money is on waiting for the new model to be launched and buy 'last years model'. I did this with my last TV...it was £2k at launch and I bought it with a 5 year manufacturers warranty for £750 just as the new model came out (I was aware and didn't need the new 'feature' of 24p as I only watch BluRays on my PJ anyway which does 24p).
15. I would look elsewhere personally, but then last time I voiced concern about this company my post was removed...
16. Dunno...
Edited by OldSkoolRS on Wednesday 28th July 08:29
Agree with Plotloss unless you want 3D then go for the VT series.
8 and 9 ....A wireless dongle is available to enable you to view various sites such as You Tube etc. Understand that iplayer will shortly be available too.
Cracking set...Might be worth looking at your local Panasonic dealer for peace of mind and a 5 year manufacturers warranty.
Sound quality on these sets better than most by the way.
Also...to add . Q5 You just need to run another cable from your dish to the set directly. If you intend to stick with Sky HD then no real advantage except you can watch Freesat and record two others all at the same time. Might need to change the LNB[ the thing that points at the dish] from a dual to a quad. Have a look at it and se eif theres a couple of spare outlets.
8 and 9 ....A wireless dongle is available to enable you to view various sites such as You Tube etc. Understand that iplayer will shortly be available too.
Cracking set...Might be worth looking at your local Panasonic dealer for peace of mind and a 5 year manufacturers warranty.
Sound quality on these sets better than most by the way.
Also...to add . Q5 You just need to run another cable from your dish to the set directly. If you intend to stick with Sky HD then no real advantage except you can watch Freesat and record two others all at the same time. Might need to change the LNB[ the thing that points at the dish] from a dual to a quad. Have a look at it and se eif theres a couple of spare outlets.
Edited by E31Shrew on Tuesday 27th July 23:53
Thanks for the feedback guys, after seeing a video of vieracast and tracking down the TV manual plus your comments I think the decision is made.
Any suggestions as best place to order from, or I'll just do a normal trawl of the net - plus how much value do you put on exended guarentees (1yr vs 5yr) ?
Nice one,
Andy.
Manual
http://tda.panasonic-europe-service.com/docs/2z4c5...
Any suggestions as best place to order from, or I'll just do a normal trawl of the net - plus how much value do you put on exended guarentees (1yr vs 5yr) ?
Nice one,
Andy.
Manual
http://tda.panasonic-europe-service.com/docs/2z4c5...
andy_vtec said:
Thanks for the feedback guys, after seeing a video of vieracast and tracking down the TV manual plus your comments I think the decision is made.
Any suggestions as best place to order from, or I'll just do a normal trawl of the net - plus how much value do you put on exended guarentees (1yr vs 5yr) ?
Nice one,
Andy.
Manual
http://tda.panasonic-europe-service.com/docs/2z4c5...
The 50" VT20 seems to be approximately £1,950 now, including a Panasonic 5 yr warranty. I would definitely recommend getting the extended warranty - just make sure you don't pay over the odds for it. Do a trawl on the internet for the best (retailer) price in the UK, then get John Lewis to 'price-match' - it and away you go!! Any suggestions as best place to order from, or I'll just do a normal trawl of the net - plus how much value do you put on exended guarentees (1yr vs 5yr) ?
Nice one,
Andy.
Manual
http://tda.panasonic-europe-service.com/docs/2z4c5...
It's best to get the VT20 with 3D capability to allow you the flexibility to get the Sky 3D channels switched on once you get your HD box!
bobthemonkey said:
Ordered a G20 on Wednesday; arrives next Thursday.
Couldn't justify the loveliness of the V20 unfortunately.
Would be interested to see anything anybody has on Vieracast and what services it supports or is likely to support.
This vieracast vid is more central european content, but should be tidy with UK content:Couldn't justify the loveliness of the V20 unfortunately.
Would be interested to see anything anybody has on Vieracast and what services it supports or is likely to support.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2UnW-1MJHc
The Skype VideoConf looks cool as well.
Search on youtube for vieracast there are few up there although some are a little old.
I'm still sold on the V20 and hope to sort out an order in the next week (iplayer on viera cast will be another nice win!), but have I made a mistake in reading the V20 posts on AVforums.com ? There are pages and pages of picture quality issues being reported.
I'm hoping most of the guys on there are super keen and maybe see issues the average joe(me!) won't notice ???
Also, with the myriad of settings available should I look for / pay for some kind of calibration or will the out of the box settings get the most out of the picture quality ?
I'm hoping most of the guys on there are super keen and maybe see issues the average joe(me!) won't notice ???
Also, with the myriad of settings available should I look for / pay for some kind of calibration or will the out of the box settings get the most out of the picture quality ?
I think that all AVForums is showing is that no TV is perfect...even Panasonic. You'll always find something bad about anything on the web (holidays, cars, etc) and people tend to be quicker to post complaints than just going on line to say how happy they are about something. There will be issues with some of the TVs, although it seems that the black level rise issue has been dealt with on the '20 models, from what I read. I think you really just need to go and look at some in the better shops (preferably a decent independant dealer that takes the trouble to set them up properly IMHO), to see if any of the issues are obvious to you. I think maybe some on AVF are a little picky, but equally these TVs aren't cheap, so you can't really blame people for wanting 'perfection'...even if it doesn't really exist.
RE calibration, you could spend out to get it done (it'll be a few hundred pounds though as it's not a 5 minute job to do properly), but I understand that just using the THX mode will give a pretty accurate colour temperature and gamut out of the box. If you do deceide to get it calibrated, then wait until you have a 100 hours at least on the screen to ensure that there are no early failures (you won't get a refund for your calibration if the TV goes wrong afterwards). Also it allows the panel to settle in, so that the expensive calibration doesn't drift so quickly.
Unfortunately I too spend time on AVForums and subsequently change my mind daily as to which TV to get as well.
RE calibration, you could spend out to get it done (it'll be a few hundred pounds though as it's not a 5 minute job to do properly), but I understand that just using the THX mode will give a pretty accurate colour temperature and gamut out of the box. If you do deceide to get it calibrated, then wait until you have a 100 hours at least on the screen to ensure that there are no early failures (you won't get a refund for your calibration if the TV goes wrong afterwards). Also it allows the panel to settle in, so that the expensive calibration doesn't drift so quickly.
Unfortunately I too spend time on AVForums and subsequently change my mind daily as to which TV to get as well.
I sold my Pioneer KRP500A a few months back and bought a 'stop-gap' Pansonic 50X10, hoping the new VT20's would surpass the KRP (as it is supposed to have Pioneer tech in it.
However, by all accounts, the new VT20 still isn't quite there and there isn't enough 3-D material around to justify spending £2k on this panel. So either go for the V20 or an even cheaper Samsung 3-D TV, while you wait for the next gen of Panasonics. Yes, Samsung has its flaws and build-quality issues, but at least you'll have a lot of change in your pocket!
Alternatively, if you really need to spend the £2k, just buy the 63" Samsung model and enjoy that!!
However, by all accounts, the new VT20 still isn't quite there and there isn't enough 3-D material around to justify spending £2k on this panel. So either go for the V20 or an even cheaper Samsung 3-D TV, while you wait for the next gen of Panasonics. Yes, Samsung has its flaws and build-quality issues, but at least you'll have a lot of change in your pocket!
Alternatively, if you really need to spend the £2k, just buy the 63" Samsung model and enjoy that!!
I would say the V20 is at the very least a match for last years Pioneers. We had a 6090 in store two weeks ago and against the V you would easily opt for the Panasonic. The VT20 gives a lift again. I wouldn't say the difference is worth selling a 500a for but it is there , particularly on SD content.
Nick
Nick
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