Home audio & video forum: Plasma TV - LG or Samsung?

Let's hope you are not counting on the Apps in these TVs. I find some folk are OK, some are upset by the lack of control or how such can fail when the maker's server goes down.

Put another way, some folk are expecting the same streaming we get on our Apple or Windows PC.
Bob

I did plan on using the apps if they were there, but I am not counting that into the purchase. I have an xbox and wii that can stream.

I am more interested on the picture quality and if there is any problem with gameplay like input lag or motion blur. I have also read a lot about samsung plasma cracking and wonder if anyone can speak to that since I have only seen it in forums and not on official sites.

I will step out of my nice cozy moderator suit for a second. Just this once. There is a problem with all vacuum glass based displays. In a quest for thin and light my bet is that there is something going on. I can't tell you if it's true or not since all it takes is a handful of folk to have an issue and then post widely about it. For me there is another area worth discussing and that's the designed life span of most of today's electronics.

Ready? Here goes. Notice that no maker is stepping up to give us 5 to 10 year warranty? I think I spotted a 2 year warranty but all this stuff is under extreme pressure for "price" and a race in features. Even if the feature barely works or depends on the maker's web server being up, down or sideways. One maker corrected me that their servers were not down but having operational issues. To me, that's down. What do you think?

My best advice is first hand inspection and keep the investment to something you can live with replacing in a few years.
Bob

As a cynic, I wondered the same thing. I am willing to accept the risks of the technology in general and that is one of the reasons that I selected this price range. I could save a get a more expensive one, but would be very unhappy if everything didn't go well.

As far as reliability, I am trying to mitigate that by only using reputable companies. In fact, one major manufacturer counted themself out when their customer service gave me an obvious canned response that didn't address my question. I have been please with LG and Samsungs Cust. Svc. so far, moreso with LG who I know (from living in Korea) works hard to make theirs top flight.

Thanks for the response. It will give me something to think about. Also, normally I swear off extended warranties, but I wonder if this might make it worth it as long as it is one of those 'replace for whatever reason' ones and weighs in a 15% or less of the product price.

If your budget can swing it, find either a U50 or UT50 Panasonic plasma. Much better PQ than those models you list above. If your budget is ~$800, you should at least be getting an HDTV that does 1080p as well.

I'll check out Panasonic today. A quick search showed that I could afford one at the very top of my budget ($900+). Can you tell me in what way the UT50 display is better than the ones I listed. I understand the higher res 1080p, but I don't think I'll use that much since I'll be sitting about 10 ft away. Maybe, I'll scoot up for Xbox360 use.

So, aside from 1080 v. 720 (which I know is better), what other display features make the Panasonic a superior display than the LG and Samsung series?

Thanks for your and everyone's input so far. This is why I always use Cnet and Cnet forums as my primary source for gadgets!

I was looking at Panasonic and love their warranty and service! I found a series more in my budget range (considering I would still need to buy 2 pairs of glasses for 3d). Would you say the display of the xt 720p series is comparable to that of the ut 1080p series (forgiving the difference in resolution)? I am certain that the viewing distance will diminish any real improvement that 1080 provides over 720 unless there is something with the 3d aspect, but all the marketing is that the res for active 3d is the same as 2d.

I was curious about that because the Panasonic seems like a better buy than what I was looking at based on their service and their inclusion of a 'game mode' to reduce input lag. I talked with LG and Samsung and they confirmed that their tv's don't have that type of mode. The UT is pushing my limit after glasses so the st would be a realisitic alternative for me.

How would you compare the xt to the LG and Samsung I mentioned.

Compared to the UT the PQ of the XT needed a lot more work out of the box IMO to get the picture just right. And the 3D was also not good, at least with the glasses I used (not Panasonic though). More glare and less visible detail overall.

You could go even one step further and grab a U50, a 2D model which will look more like the PQ of the UT50 than the XT50. 3D now is truly still a half baked sideshow IMNSHO. The U50 is only <= $799, FWIW.

What sort of viewing distance are you looking at now? Are we talking 20'+(?) I still feel that 42" is the largest HDTV you should buy for 720p resolution. PQ on larger panels starts to look a little too soft IME at less than 1080p, especially when you also factor in the amount of SD content that really starts to show its imperfections on the large panels.

I honestly would have to do a side by side with either one of those other panels since that's what is required to do it properly. The Panny may at first appear to be darker overal though. OTOH, it's likely that a professionally calibrated XT would win by a nose though with the engine being similar to the other Panasonics that are capable of excellent PQ after calibration. I haven't seen enough of the other features on either the LG or the Sammy to know if those would be a deciding factor.

The typical flat panel buyer now is too focused on everything besides maximizing PQ, which defeats the purpose, at least partially, of going with an HD display IMO.

I have been looking at the differences between the U50, UT50 and the original two and I think I will go with one of those Panasonics. I also re-measured the living room and see that my gaming postion will likely be about 5 feet away (much closer than thought). I do like the technology and cnet reviews of the UT50 and am awed by their cust. svc. after chatting with them yesterday. They blew away even LG in that respect.

Between the two in comes down to if the features are worth the extra money on the UT50. I was originally getting 3d because it was a small price increase and necessary for the features listed on the others so not sure on whether I will count that or not. I guess I could always get the UT50 and wait til later for the glasses or ask for them as a present. I appreciate your suggestion of Panasonic. I had originally counted them out when my budget was lower and as I raised my budget to equal what features I wanted, I was already mentally 'locked in' to searching within those brands.

Anyone have any experience with 3D content at home or 2D-3D conversion with Active 3D? That will probably be the deciding factor for me.

That was unknown to me until now

Back on track- I will reiterate. I believe 3D is still a bit of a fad. I don't yet see any sort of quality beyond a gimmick that let's them sell us more crap we don't need 99% of the time. 2D-3D conversion, at least what I saw at two different Magnolia stores, and at a relatives home theater in a dark basement, was still a little lame. Others might like it, but I do not.

When I upgrade my basement HDTV later on this year, I will likely grab an ST50, even though I don't care about 3D. My daughter will eventually push me to buy the 3D glasses though (LOL).

Interesting enough, I believe Panasonic uses the universal 3D standard, so one should be able to use other manufacturers glasses in most cases on the current crop of Panny 3D plasmas. Maybe they are cheaper if you are shopping?

http://www.cnet.com/profile/tpendlebury/?tag=posts;msg5311828

Thanks to everyone for replying. I got a lot of good information and have made my decision. Now I just have to wait for the next Fed. Holiday to see if the sales are going to put the ST50 in my price range. If not, the UT50 it is! I am sure either of these will be a great choice for me.