We need a new TV for the house, and we're down to two models.. Open to suggestions, but my research has led me to believe that these are decent choices. Anywho, the Panasonic TC-P50G25 or the Sony 55EX500? The Panasonic is $800 and the Sony is $1100. Both are on hold at a local electronics store.. I'm leaning toward the Panasonic, picture quality is supposedly better and I prefer the wide viewing angles of the plasma. My dad prefers the Sony, he likes the extra 5" of screen space and doesn't really care about the picture quality, as the Sony is 'good enough'. Panasonic -Lower price -Internet connectivity -Picture quality -Viewing angles -THX certified (does it matter?) Sony -Price is higher, yet discounted more than the Panasonic -Bravia Sync (integrates with PS3, so basically gets internet connectivity) -Larger size -Matte screen, less issues with glare Any opinions? We're likely going to head down tomorrow night to buy one of these two. (TVs will be fed by our cable box + the PS3 + a PC occasionally)
I'm generally in favor of plasmas, especially the ones from Panasonic, because I care most about picture quality. Also, if that even matters to you, power draw isn't nearly as bad with plasmas as claimed. The reason is that power draw is variable with plasmas. A very bright (ie. white) picture draws much more power than a dark one. LCDs have a more constant power draw since most of it goes towards powering the backlight, which is always on. Panasonic's design is sadly not very easy on the eyes (mostly rectified in their 2011 line-up, though). Apart from that, the KDL-55EX500 (or rather the EX500 series) from Sony is a pretty good no-nonsense choice. The EX500 series is identical to the EX700 series, except that the latter uses an LED backlight. In some circles a conventional CCFL backlight (as used in the EX500) is actually considered superior to LED backlights. Oh, and for viewing angles, plasmas don't really have any (although you'd be pressed to see anything from the backside ). One more thing. Are you feeding a digital or an analog signal to the tv (via your cable box)? Plasmas handle analog signals much better than LCDs. I'd never attempt watching anything from an analog source on an LCD.
I'd go for the Sony, but mainly because I really don't like plasmas; -They're hot runners. (touch a panel after it's been on any length of time). -They're heavy buggers. -After long periods of use, they "burn" their image onto the screen (I don't know what happens here, but it's something I noticed with some of the plasma screens where I used to work). But to be fair; if I HAD to buy a plasma, it would be a Panasonic. They just seem to execute them better. (Sony do LCD's better IMO)
I voted Sony just because for those prices you quoted I wouldn't personally buy a TV with less than 4 HDMIs and the Sony has two sets of component, which you can verify when you physically see it on display. You already have the PS3 as well which swung it for me. Since both are 50in and above also get your room measured and ensure you can view it properly, I need a clear 2.5m to see a Bravia 32in properly as intended, so for 50in you might need even more space.
Sony. My friend has one and its just pure quality from the remote to the build of the actual tv. You cant really go wrong with either of those tvs though, so go into the shop and have a good fiddle with them and see which one you like best.
Voted for the plasma, made the decision myself a few weeks ago and made the decision to go plasma myself after a lot of recommendations and auditioning quite a few sets. I was worried about so called burn-in myself which as a problem on older plasma's but nowadays you'd actually have to go out your way in order to cause any lasting damage. like others have said; picture quality is a step up, they handle motion better, better contrast ratio's, improved viewing angles, modern ones are almost as thin as LED TV's. They are heavier due to the 2 large glass panels required to contain the cells and do run hotter but as long as you're not an idiot about where you mount it, it's not going to be much of an issue imo.
Personally I think my friends 42" plasma TV runs cooler than my 30" LCD monitor with W-CCFL backlighting. Who cares about power consumption, most people blast AC and leave lights on for no reason, which is times the power of a TV. Anyway, soft-burn in can occur within 6 hours of a still image but that will disappear. Permanent burn-in occurs in over 10 hours. If you left a still image on the screen and went to bed, then you deserve it since movies and cable TV won't have a still image. The TV would have some sort of screen saver or go into power saving mode if there is no signal. The only way you can really get screen burn without trying is using a plasma TV as a computer monitor, then you may very well burn the windows task bar on to it. Image quality is so much better than normal LCD TVs. The contrast is thousands of times higher, and im not talking about dynamic contrast (which counts for nothing btw). The colours are also better, better than cheap CCFL and W-LED backlighting at least. You can't find professional grade W-CCFL backlighting on TVs.
It's connected with component cables, pretty sure that's an analog signal.. Also need to point out that the Sony is 5" larger, 55" vs 50" for the Panasonic. ...This is all moot anyway since my dad went and bought the Sony yesterday while I wasn't around, he has 30 days to return it if he doesn't like it. I helped him hook it all up, it looks pretty good. Haven't used a properly high quality source yet though.. Thanks for the help everyone, even though it didn't end up getting used Rep distributed, and my love for the BT community has been increased!
Just bought a 42 inch panasonic plasma After seeing a mates lcd i wasnt impressed with the lag as the camera panned on football matches. The pitch seemed to blur alot (this was on a samsung lcd). Plasmas don't suffer from this. Not sure about internet connection. Mine only has connection to certain apps like youtube. So to me that is a gimmick as is the THX. I paid quite a lot for this plasma but for me the selling point was the built in freesat HD and the lag free picture. Very happy with it so far. I think you can also record to usb hard drive on the panasonic
