# Plasma TVs (again)



## WozzaTT (Jan 15, 2006)

There have been a couple of good threads recently discussing this subject, with some good recommendations.

I'm in the market to get one now, which will hang on the wall, but I read somewhere that if you sit 3.5 metres or less from the screen you really shouldn't get anything bigger than a 37" screen.

I will be sitting practically exactly that distance away (ie 3.5 metres) but fancy a 42" screen.

Anyone got any comments on this? Will a 42" screen be too big either in terms of dominating the room too much, or just too 'in your face' if sitting that close?

Also, if I get a 42" does spending approx Â£1,000.00 get a fairly decent one (will re-read previous threads later but can't be arsed at the moment as am at work). TIA.


----------



## CH_Peter (May 16, 2002)

I'm in the market for a smaller one and have been keeping an eye on reviews. If you will still be watching a lot of SD stuff and you can't sit far back from the screen, I would say that 37" is enough.

If, on the other hand, you're going to be watching lots of HD stuff (PS3? Sky HD? HD DVD, etc), then 42" will be all lovely and yum yum. Make sure at 37" plus you get full HD.

As for budget, a really cracking 42" is likely to set you back more than Â£1k. That will get you "good, but not great". A really good 32" is about Â£700 if you know what model and Â£1k for top of the line stuff, like Phillips and their ambilight all-singing, all-dancing numbers.

Trusted Reviews is a good place to brush up on who's making what and how their ranges work.


----------



## WozzaTT (Jan 15, 2006)

CH_Peter said:


> I'm in the market for a smaller one and have been keeping an eye on reviews. If you will still be watching a lot of SD stuff and you can't sit far back from the screen, I would say that 37" is enough.
> 
> If, on the other hand, you're going to be watching lots of HD stuff (PS3? Sky HD? HD DVD, etc), then 42" will be all lovely and yum yum. Make sure at 37" plus you get full HD.
> 
> ...


Thank you!

I think my issue is that I don't want to get a 37" one and then constantly be sitting there thinking the 42" would have been better. It's difficult to know, especially as I'll probably upgrade to HD in the near future.

I've recently read several rave reviews of a Panasonic 37" model which most places are selling for Â£1,000 but Currys are doing for Â£650.00. I think there was a link on a previous thread - if I find it I'll post back here.

Thanks again.


----------



## CH_Peter (May 16, 2002)

WozzaTT said:


> CH_Peter said:
> 
> 
> > I'm in the market for a smaller one and have been keeping an eye on reviews. If you will still be watching a lot of SD stuff and you can't sit far back from the screen, I would say that 37" is enough.
> ...


Price slash means the next model is out / due out. Currys and Tesco love to sell cheap stuff that looks fantastic on paper - only you dins it's 1-2 models old and missing newer image processing engines / other features. Depends what you can / can't live without.


----------



## Rogue (Jun 15, 2003)

WozzaTT said:


> I think my issue is that I don't want to get a 37" one and then constantly be sitting there thinking the 42" would have been better. It's difficult to know, especially as I'll probably upgrade to HD in the near future.


You'll probably think that anyway.
I bought a 50", and now I'm used to it I wished I'd bought a bigger one.
There's plenty of room for it too.










Rogue


----------



## CH_Peter (May 16, 2002)

Rogue said:


> WozzaTT said:
> 
> 
> > I think my issue is that I don't want to get a 37" one and then constantly be sitting there thinking the 42" would have been better. It's difficult to know, especially as I'll probably upgrade to HD in the near future.
> ...


F***ing hell... why didn't you just mount it _on _the ceiling! :wink:


----------



## was (Mar 24, 2003)

if you are unsure about screen size, why not make a cardboard cut out of a 37' & 42'. this should give you a better idea of which is more suitable


----------



## Rogue (Jun 15, 2003)

CH_Peter said:


> F***ing hell... why didn't you just mount it _on _the ceiling! :wink:


 :lol: 
I've already been through all this with JampoTT.
It's at a great height for viewing whether you're seated or standing, and it's high enough to keep it out of harms way when the nephews and nieces are over.
I tried it at different heights before deciding, and it just didn't look right any lower either.
Plus all the AV equipment is hidden in the ledge underneath, so it balances it up better. 

Rogue


----------



## QuackingPlums (Mar 10, 2004)

Did you build the ledge or did you buy one that happened to fit perfectly? I want something similar to hide all my kit but am having difficulty finding anything suitable.



was said:


> if you are unsure about screen size, why not make a cardboard cut out of a 37' & 42'. this should give you a better idea of which is more suitable


Warning though, as this can be expensive. I did this and ended up wanting a 50"... 

It's not just about how far away you are, though at 3.5m I would definitely go for 42" - if your wall is quite big then a small TV will make the wall look even bigger (or rather the wall will make the TV look smaller.

I have the problem that I have to watch TV across the short dimension of my living room (there are windows/doors at either end) which means although I can easily fit a 50" or 60" plasma on the long wall, I'll never be more than about 12ft away from the screen. At 12ft it's debatable whether a 42" would suffice!


----------



## CH_Peter (May 16, 2002)

Rogue said:


> CH_Peter said:
> 
> 
> > F***ing hell... why didn't you just mount it _on _the ceiling! :wink:
> ...


LOL. Ok, then!


----------



## jampott (Sep 6, 2003)

Rogue said:


> CH_Peter said:
> 
> 
> > F***ing hell... why didn't you just mount it _on _the ceiling! :wink:
> ...


Still think its too high. :lol:


----------



## Hannibal (Dec 1, 2003)

You can get the 42" version of the Pioneer that Rogue is displaying (admittedly slightly too high!) for just a touch over 1k now (as the new model is out). Was 2.3k around 10 months ago. Pioneers seem to be the best there is by a country mile at the moment.

H


----------



## Rogue (Jun 15, 2003)

Hannibal said:


> You can get the 42" version of the Pioneer that Rogue is displaying (admittedly slightly too high!) for just a touch over 1k now (as the new model is out). Was 2.3k around 10 months ago. Pioneers seem to be the best there is by a country mile at the moment.
> 
> H


The prices just now are fantastic.
Mine's was nearly Â£4k when I bought it last year.

Oh, and for those who think my tv is too high:

YOU ARE WRONG!



Rogue


----------



## ColwynC (Sep 8, 2003)

Just bought a 47 inch LCD after looking for a 50 inch Plasma. Reason was I finally found some good advice (PC World believe it or not!) and with a picture being fed from a sensible source to compare the different SD HD inputs.

50 inch was simply too big for my room, we sit about 8-10 ft from the TV and the blur was too bad on anything we looked at for 50 inch. Figured we would have to sit further away to make it watchable, so what was the point?

We bought a Samsung 47" LCD 1080i for 1400 including delivery and have not been disappointed as yet. ACtually going to buy SKY HD now to make the most...

Choices choices..


----------



## WozzaTT (Jan 15, 2006)

John Lewis are doing the Panasonic Viera TH42PX7B for Â£899.00 with a 5 year guarantee and free delivery. Seems reasonable?

Anyone have any experience of this model? Is it worth paying more for one of the 'newer' Vieras i.e. the TH42PX700 and the like?


----------



## J55TTC (Apr 25, 2005)

Ive got the TH42PX70 and the only real advantage of going for the 700 was the better sound quality. All a bit of a waste for me as Ive got a decent surround sound setup.

Â£899 is the going price for the model with the pedestal mount. Be aware that numerous outlets are offering the 5 year panasonic warantee.


----------



## QuackingPlums (Mar 10, 2004)

Rogue said:


> Oh, and for those who think my tv is too high:
> 
> YOU ARE WRONG!
> 
> ...


I don't think it's too high. When I'm in "lazy" mode on my sofa, I'm slouched so far down on the "chaise" bit that my head naturally aims my eyes upwards. It would be far too tiring on the eye muscles to aim them lower DOWN the wall - I say stick up as high as it goes (oo-er missus)...


----------



## Hilly10 (Feb 4, 2004)

Rogue Defo to high you will get a stiff neck after a week :lol: :lol:


----------



## ResB (Apr 17, 2005)

Rogue said:


> WozzaTT said:
> 
> 
> > I think my issue is that I don't want to get a 37" one and then constantly be sitting there thinking the 42" would have been better. It's difficult to know, especially as I'll probably upgrade to HD in the near future.
> ...


This is exactly what happens. I bought the 43" then after a while thought.....should have got the 50" (mind you it was Â£6k for the 50" when I bought my first 43" Plasma), so after the prices came down, I did exactly that. Bought a 50". 

I believe the rule of thumb for sitting distance is 2Â½ x the Screen size. So 50" is 125" (10' 5") or in real money 3.175m. 

[edit]

and it is too high.  L & R speakers too low also.  unless you watch movies on the floor with your legs crossed like in primary school assembly, then they are the right height. 

Clean installation though, I like it.


----------



## Rogue (Jun 15, 2003)

@Hilly10

Well, it's been in for more than a year now, and I've no stiff neck problems :wink:

@ResB

I'm actually finally getting round to replacing my home theatre system.
It's currently an old Sony system, which is good but not great for vocal clarity.
Pioneer are bringing out a new system to match the same piano black gloss of the TV, and it does upscaling etc., so that might get my vote.
It's something like this one, but a different model number

Rogue


----------



## WozzaTT (Jan 15, 2006)

What are these HDMI inputs all about? Are they an upgrade from SCART?

I reckon I'll just have the Sky Box and a surround sound system (with in-built DVD player) so does this mean I'll need a minimum of 2 HDMI sockets? :?


----------



## QuackingPlums (Mar 10, 2004)

Yes, like SCART, but for a hi def signal. You won't *need* them unless your kit currently has them, but it's worth getting as many as you can as they'll become as ubiquitous as SCART.


----------



## digimeisTTer (Apr 27, 2004)

Slightly OT but what's the difference between Full HD and HD Ready?

My 42" plasma is 5 years old now so thinking of upgrading and putting the Phillips in the bedroom.


----------



## shelley (Nov 22, 2004)

Apologies if this is a dumb question, but if you have a wall mounted flat screen, how big do you need to have the trunking to hide all the wiring between the screen and your other AV stuff (+ power)? Enough to wire SCART lead(s) in and out?

I'm having building work done and would like them to put in the trunking/ conduit for a couple of TVs (Brick & Plaster walls) but wont be able to get the TVs themselves till later - should this be okay?


----------



## QuackingPlums (Mar 10, 2004)

Put in two conduits - one for power and one for signal. Keep them as far apart as you can bear, though 6" is enough. Juicy SCART/HDMI cable can be chunky, so cater for 3 or 4 of these. If you're hiding it in the wall anyway then just go for the biggest you can find. :wink:

"Full HD" refers to a full 1920x1080, 1080 progressive signal, and is a little bit different to "HD Ready" which as far as I can tell, just means you have an HDMI socket. This discussion goes into much more depth over on AVForums but you don't really need to know it if you're just going to spend up to Â£2.5k on a new telly... just make sure you have a look at the screen before you buy


----------



## Toshiba (Jul 8, 2004)

WozzaTT said:


> John Lewis are doing the Panasonic Viera TH42PX7B for Â£899.00 with a 5 year guarantee and free delivery. Seems reasonable?
> 
> Anyone have any experience of this model? Is it worth paying more for one of the 'newer' Vieras i.e. the TH42PX700 and the like?





J55TTC said:


> Ive got the TH42PX70 and the only real advantage of going for the 700 was the better sound quality. All a bit of a waste for me as Ive got a decent surround sound setup.
> 
> Â£899 is the going price for the model with the pedestal mount. Be aware that numerous outlets are offering the 5 year panasonic warantee.


Both the TVs above are not full HD and have a very small pixel count. You need the TH42PZ700 to get full HD output (and thats about Â£2400). Then you need a good amp as the std sound from these TVs is very flat. SA-XR58 or XR700 are good.


----------



## QuackingPlums (Mar 10, 2004)

If you're looking at the PX700 or PX70, then the PH10 is also very good (some argue better) but it is a professional panel which means no speakers and no freeview. 
You also need to spec which input board you want at time of purchase as it won't come with the standard array of HDMI/SCART/RGB/whatever. One for the purists... :wink:


----------

