New Plasma Panasonic

[craig1912]

Whats the difference between the Panasonic Viera TX-P37X10B Plasma
and the TH-37PX80

Cheers

[rwniel]

The X10 is this year's model, but at the moment the differences do seem more evolutionary rather than revolutionary. It uses a different panel with a somewhat greater contrast ratio and it uses the later v-real 4 picture processing. The styling is a bit different (as it doesn't have the same wedge-like stand, it's a bit more rounded) - I'm not a fan of the new remote.

Robert

[sparkyrob]

So I'm looking at getting a Panny plasma - what are the views/differences on these two, and which would be the recommendation from forumites?

(Assume that I can afford both):

John Lewis Plasma (http://www.thedvdforums.com/affiliatelink.php?localaffiliateid=57&url=http://www.johnlewis.com/230489209/Product.aspx)

http://www.richersounds.com/showproduct.php?cda=showproduct&pid=PANA-TXP42X10

[charlie angel]

So I'm looking at getting a Panny plasma - what are the views/differences on these two, and which would be the recommendation from forumites?

(Assume that I can afford both):

John Lewis Plasma (http://www.thedvdforums.com/affiliatelink.php?localaffiliateid=57&url=http://www.johnlewis.com/230489209/Product.aspx)
http://www.richersounds.com/showproduct.php?cda=showproduct&pid=PANA-TXP42X10

Can't get your first link to work - what's the model number?

[Kryten]

I've fixed the link :)

I have the non-Freesat version of the John Lewis Plasma (http://www.thedvdforums.com/affiliatelink.php?localaffiliateid=57&url=http://www.johnlewis.com/230489209/Product.aspx) and it is fantastic!

That one at Richer Sounds is only 1024x768 and not 1920x1080 (e.g 1080p) so at 46" I would get 1080p, for 42" there is not as much difference, but I would still go for the 46" 1080p

[sparkyrob]

What is the 46" like for standard definition? The only exposure I had was in-store, and the picture looked pretty naff, but that's probably due to a) the settings and b) the source?

Also, there is this:

http://www.richersounds.com/showproduct.php?cda=showproduct&pid=PANA-TXP50X10

Which is cheaper than the 46" and is 1080p...but I can't find any reviews on it.

[charlie angel]

Also, there is this:

http://www.richersounds.com/showproduct.php?cda=showproduct&pid=PANA-TXP50X10

Which is cheaper than the 46" and is 1080p...but I can't find any reviews on it.

Richer's details are wrong - the 50X10 is not 1080p; it's the big brother of the 42X10 that you linked to earlier (only with slightly increased resolution)

Here's a review - click (http://www.trustedreviews.com/tvs/review/2009/03/26/Panasonic-Viera-TX-P50X10-50in-Plasma-TV/p1)

[sparkyrob]

Makes sense now! Cheers.

Does £999 for the 46" sound like a good deal, or should I hold off a month or so - are prices likely to drop further?

[charlie angel]

Makes sense now! Cheers.

Does £999 for the 46" sound like a good deal, or should I hold off a month or so - are prices likely to drop further?

Seems like a reasonable price & by all accounts it's an excellent TV, & you get the 5 year warranty thrown in at JL too - it's a discontinued model, so if you want it I wouldn't wait too long either.

There are all sorts of other things to consider as well though, that may or may not be important to you; how far do you sit from the screen? What will you be watching (SD or HD material)? Do you want to future proof right now? The new Pannys are meant to be more energy efficient also, but I don't know what that means in real terms - I guess it all depends on how much you'd be using it.

[sparkyrob]

Sit about 10-12 foot away, and will be using it mainly for gaming and SD content although I'm sure once I have a HD TV I'll be investing in some HD content and a blu-ray player too. FreeSat would be a bonus since it'll be coming with more free HD channels at some point soon (I assume?). The 46" Panny looks like it's fairly future-proof in terms of my needs.

[Sam]

I've fixed the link :)

I have the non-Freesat version of the John Lewis Plasma (http://www.thedvdforums.com/affiliatelink.php?localaffiliateid=57&url=http://www.johnlewis.com/230489209/Product.aspx) and it is fantastic!

That one at Richer Sounds is only 1024x768 and not 1920x1080 (e.g 1080p) so at 46" I would get 1080p, for 42" there is not as much difference, but I would still go for the 46" 1080p

And I have the 50" non-freesat version and agree that its brilliant. The inbuilt upscaling makes SD look very very good. My folks are blaming me for them spending a ******* fortune as they went out and bought the same TV, a Sky HD box and a new HC amp and speakers after seeing my TV LOL.

[Kryten]

The SD upscaling is excellent on the 46" Panny, I have Sky+HD (http://www.thedvdforums.com/affiliatelink.php?localaffiliateid=75) too and it really shows off the TV nicely. Blu Ray's and upscaled DVD's look fantastic.

[anephric]

I'd be wary of buying a plasma mainly for gaming as this is the material most likely to exhibit phosphor lag. Such as:

<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/lVw_VvFcV1U&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/lVw_VvFcV1U&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

That guy's played around with his colour settings to make it looks as bad as possible, mind. It doesn't look far off that on some maps in Call of Duty 4, though.

[Deron]

In addition please note Anephric's eyes are inverted and he can see them on all plasma's...

He's a freak

;)

You may not be able to see them. If you haven't seen them on the plasma's you've been looking at you should be ok.

Although he still thinks we're making it up and we can see them but are ignoring it.

[anephric]

:p I should reiterate that not a single person I've shown it to couldn't see it on CoD4, though. Gaming brings out the worst in plasmas. See Resident Evil 5 also for horrible, horrible fringing. If you can't see it in that, you really have the wonderful eyes that can see no badness.

[S1LVERBACK]

im sure the reviewed g10 didn't show any signs of phosphor lag.problem is the other option is lcd :oh-hum: so its either that special lcd "fakeness" on sd you always get from lcd or hopefully take the word of others and get a demo of the g10 and try and hook a console upto it.

im going back to plasma myself :) as soon as the panasonic v10 is out,as i cant stand the sd picture on the lcd anymore.lcd is a strange one,as you kind of get use to the picture.it wasnt untill i view the old plasma i had that you realise how poor the actual picture on the lcd is.

[Ywap]

:p I should reiterate that not a single person I've shown it to couldn't see it on CoD4, though. Gaming brings out the worst in plasmas. See Resident Evil 5 also for horrible, horrible fringing. If you can't see it in that, you really have the wonderful eyes that can see no badness.

I have the same problems as you do. I really want a larger tv but i can´t cope with the smeary motion blurring mess from LCD:s or Phosphor trails on the plasmas. I even bought 2 crt:s computer monitors so i don´t have to be forced to use an lcd when my current crt fails.

I hate everything with lcd: Unnatural colours, obvious backlightning with bad black levels, bad viewing angles and way to slow respons times for gaming even on the fastest 2ms displays.

The plasmas are way better and actually pretty good for normal tv and movie viewing. My sister has a 50" plasma and i decided to try my 360 on it: Man, that what an horrible experience! The only thing i could focus on was those horrible phosphor trails. Personally i would rather be without a tv completely than have to cope with the pain that is phosphor trails.

Im really jealous of you guys who can live with this, the other of us have to hope for SED or something else to take off.

[sparkyrob]

I've been looking at the TX-P42G10 - reviews seem decent enough, but it's hard to work out if it is worth going for this new technology over the PZ81. As I'll be using it a lot for gaming, I definitely want to check out phosphor trails on the 360, so I'll have to take the kit in and hook it up.

I can get the 46" PZ81 at John Lewis for the same price as the G10 at Richer Sounds. However, is it worth getting the latter just because it is "newer"?

Any comments appreciated.

[anephric]

The newer screens are supposed to have better contrast and a slightly nicer design. I'd have a look for yourself and see if you think they're worth the extra outlay over the older models. I don't think they're supposed to be any better for phosphor lag.

[LouBarlow]

In addition please note Anephric's eyes are inverted and he can see them on all plasma's...

He's a freak

;)

You may not be able to see them. If you haven't seen them on the plasma's you've been looking at you should be ok.

Although he still thinks we're making it up and we can see them but are ignoring it.

It's definitely something that every people reacts differently to. Much in the same way only certain people see 'rainbows' with DLP projectors. I've used both my Kuro's for gaming, and never noticed anything, though I have on a friends Samsung, so who knows?

[sparkyrob]

Well, Richer Sounds are ordering a G10 in and setting it up in the demo room for me to have a look at, plug the 360 into, etc. Can't fault their customer service!

[anephric]

If you've got them, definitely try Call of Duty 4, Gears of War or Dead Space out on it. If you can't see green/yellow fringing on those when you move the camera about, you'll be good with anything. Also, film-wise, Sin City is about the worst (or best, I suppose) possible candidate for noticing phosphor lag in.

[LouBarlow]

Yeah Sin City was rainbow-central when I had a DLP projector, so I'm guessing it will show lag on a plasma too. It's entirely possible though, that certain panels will be more prone to this, depending on the quality. It's not a case necessarily of plasma = lag, period.

As mentioned, I noticed it on a Samsung plasma of my friend, but haven't noticed it on either of my Pio's or a Panny of a mate.

[anephric]

It's apparently to do with the speed of the phosphors used in the panels, and Pannys use slower green phosphor.

[GAmbrose]

I've had 2x Panasonic Plasmas in the past 6 years (PWD6 in the pre-HD days and a PHD8 that is coming up for 4 years old) and I've never seen any phosphor lag.

In those 6 years i've played PS2, Xbox, Gamecube, Xbox 360, Wii (All connected via Component) and PS3 connected via HDMI...Call of Duty 4 was a favorite of mine and I ALWAYS noticed tearing and lag on LCD monitors i've used. Never had any problems with these Plasmas.

Infact, I don't even have to bother with audio/video calibration in Guitar Hero/Rock Band as it's spot on by default.

Gary A

[LordoftheDance]

Like Gary, I've also had 2 Panasonic TVs in the past 6 years - a series 4 6 years ago, and a series 7 or 8 (can't remember) now.

I've never noticed any of this phosphur lag or purple trails, or whatever you want to call it, either. Then again, I never notice PAL speedup either so I guess me and Gary are two of the lucky ones. :)

[anephric]

I'm not calling people liars (:p) but when EVERY SINGLE person that I've sat in front of Killzone 2 or CoD4 can see terrible phosphor lag on my PZ80, then I tend not to believe this "99% of people can't see it" jazz.

I'm not debating there's next-to-no input lag, though, but I'd expect that of a plasma. Outside of interlaced handling.

[baffled]

I see it my px80 while playing fps and some driving games, also notice it now and again while watching tv or films.

[GAmbrose]

Could it be more prevalent on the more recent models for some reason?

Gary A

[sparkyrob]

If you've got them, definitely try Call of Duty 4, Gears of War or Dead Space out on it. If you can't see green/yellow fringing on those when you move the camera about, you'll be good with anything. Also, film-wise, Sin City is about the worst (or best, I suppose) possible candidate for noticing phosphor lag in.

Thanks, I have COD4 and GoW - will try and get Sin City from somewhere.

[anephric]

Bear in mind that Sin City is about as bad as it can possibly get - it's a worst-case example. Although, if you watch a lot of old B+W films, you'd see fringing a lot on a plasma because the green's got no other colours to "hide" in.

[Ywap]

You´re truly blessed if you can´t see phosphor lag!

I played both the RE5 and Fracture demo and i couldn´t enjoy the games because the trails were so obvious.

[goosee]

I've had the TH-37PX80 for a year now and use it with SD Freeview (standard aerial), upscaled DVD (@720p) and xbox 360 (@720p).

Obviously purely subjective, but for me, the picture is absolutely stunning. Gaming is great and I see no lag at all across a variety of games (inc CoD4). The upscaled DVD is cracking. I haven't seen enough HD to even attempt to compare, but the picture is very, very good, even on 'poor' transfers or strange transfers. Sin City looks superb. SD TV is also brill. Football and Snooker both look great.

[sparkyrob]

Well I spent an hour and a half in Richer Sounds looking at various DVDs and games on the G10. I'm not 100% convinced.

On CoD4 and GoW I kept seeing green flashes and noticed it was generally where I was looking at white objects (brightly-lit areas, railings, etc). I panned slowly across one of the railings and saw a green hue around the entire railing. Stopped panning, and it disappeared. It wasn't noticable enough for me to be completely put off, but always this nagging doubt - especially when it comes to forking out a grand for a TV.

I asked the guy in RS and he claimed it was due to the source (i.e. 360) despite it being connected via HDMI. Has anyone had experience of this and know whether he is right, or if it is specific to the TV (or plasmas in general?).

Cheers.

[rwniel]

Sounds like phosphor lag to me (due to the different colour sensitivies) - if you're someone prone to seeing it then you are going to see it on every plasma regardless of the make/model; it is something that settles down a bit over time though always present depending on the source and content. Only you can decide if it's something you can live with. Every model and technology has its particular pros and cons.

Robert

[einstein]

Well I spent an hour and a half in Richer Sounds looking at various DVDs and games on the G10. I'm not 100% convinced.

On CoD4 and GoW I kept seeing green flashes and noticed it was generally where I was looking at white objects (brightly-lit areas, railings, etc). I panned slowly across one of the railings and saw a green hue around the entire railing. Stopped panning, and it disappeared. It wasn't noticable enough for me to be completely put off, but always this nagging doubt - especially when it comes to forking out a grand for a TV.

I asked the guy in RS and he claimed it was due to the source (i.e. 360) despite it being connected via HDMI. Has anyone had experience of this and know whether he is right, or if it is specific to the TV (or plasmas in general?).

Cheers.

Jeez I bet they loved you. An hour and a half! ;-)

I just got a Panasonic 37" X10....Brilliant TV. I spent an hour and a half on GOW via a VGA cable (at home) and it was superb, no PL just hardcore graphical gameplay heaven!

[mr starface]

My new Panny TH50PZ80 looks amazing with everything I have thrown at it and have done a fair bit of 360 gaming now with no PL or other problem.

[sparkyrob]

So the question is, will new technology (LED/OLED?) sort this out, or will it have its own issues?

[anephric]

It makes no difference about what type of connection was used. If you can see phosphor lag, you'll always see phosphor lag. There are things you can do to minimise it, like calibrating the set professionally (if possible) or just finding the best contrast/brightness settings. Also, the way the room is lit might make a difference. I've found a bit of backlighting helps reduce it. A bit.

You might get used to it in time, or you might not. I see it all the time, everyday.

[rwniel]

So the question is, will new technology (LED/OLED?) sort this out, or will it have its own issues?OLED displays are available now abeit mostly at small sizes and low resolution (so suited more to the likes of mp3 players, digital cameras and mobile phones initially) - the main issue is one of cost, at least for now. But otherwise they appear to have very few downsides. The main one used to be the life-time of the individual materials used, but that is something gradually being improved.

Robert

[jester]

I only ever see fringing on my Panny if I stand very close and move a white mouse cursor around a black background.

[anephric]

I wouldn't expect OLED to be around at realistic prices in decent screen sizes for years yet. So you're stuck with either plasma or LCD (or projection if you go down that route).

[Boink!]

How about the Panasonic Viera TX-P42C10B (http://www.thedvdforums.com/affiliatelink.php?localaffiliateid=57&url=http://www.johnlewis.com/230586990/Product.aspx) that's currently up at John Lewis (http://www.thedvdforums.com/affiliatelink.php?localaffiliateid=57) for £549 delivered and free 5 year guarantee? I'm sorely tempted with that for my first plasma.

[Boink!]

OK I bought one of the TX-P42C10B when the last one wasin store (damn, I'm weak). Now, how easy is it to mount the damn thing on a chimney breast? I'm thinking of one of these (http://www.dekomount.co.uk/product-15-Fixed-Plasma-and-LCD-TV-Wall-Bracket-dm101.html).