Dr_No_77

Q9 isn't the newer one, its a parallel model. It is the same as the C9 but with a few more features..... ultrabright screen filter, one more HDMI input and Movieplus(?) mode I think. Both have same panel inside but the C9 is normally cheaper by around $300

What are these 21 models.....Q21 and C21?

Latest Harvey Norman catalogue has the 42C91 for $1999 and 50C91 for $2999 and there should be further discount on that. Makes me wonder if the 50" is worth the extra $1000..... 50% extra cost

I think you guys are really exaggerating plasma burn in. These are modern displays with pixel shift and other anti burn-in features. To say that you need to stop gaming every 20 minutes sounds a bit over the top. I think you can safely watch regular tv or play games without the risk of channel logos or games burning into a plasma. If you were using it as a commercial display showing the same content every day, then burn in might be an issue but not for normal usage.

So, has anyone got a street price on the 50Q9 yet? Is it the same as the Q7?

http://www.tgdaily.com/2007/01/09/ces2007_...ouse_quad_hdtv/ So, how many years before we get any content for this resolution? I suspect it would only be computer generated imagery initially

I was quoted $2230 for the 40S at harvey norman today or $2350 with 5 year warranty. Sounded like he could have still done a little bit better but I wasn't really pushing. I will probably shop around a bit and then get David Jones to price match since I have some gift vouchers for there to spend. Does anyone know if they need a written quote to price match? Anyone seen better prices on the 40" S series?

The a10 is the old model with no built in digital tuner so it should be cheap

I saw the ads for these on TV LG has 42" LCD and 50" Plasma with built in HD tuner and 250Gb DVR Has anyone seen these or know what sort of price they are going for? Are they any good? I assume they only have one digital tuner

I saw that in the catalogue. Very cheap. Has anyone see if they are ok. Might make a good second tv

Sony DVD recorders also have component output. We bought the cheaper version recently and it has component out and I believe it will do component in via scart too

The HD MediaStar box does this and is meant to be pretty reasonably priced ($500ish?). One was included with a Sony HD plasma I bought and I have had no problems with it. Note that it only has one set of RCA audio outputs (Plus a Digital one) so if you want to send audio to the tv and vcr via RCA cables, you will either need to pass the audio through one of the devices (ie, into the tv then tv has an output to the VCR or vice versa) or you will need some piggyback RCA audio cables. This wont be a problem if you using digital audio or an amp.

It was Radio Rentals in the Adelaide Mall store that had them side by side on their wall. It used to have the old sony and tha panasonic side by side and the panasonic made the old sony look terible. Then they put the new sony up there instead and I couldnt decide which was better. Both looked very good but with slightly diferent colour profiles. I ended buying the Sony because it was so much cheaper after you ad a stand and speakers and HD STB to the panasonic (which are all included with the sony) Another shop (Truscotts) had the Hitachi and Panasonic and again, they both looked comparable, panasonic slightly better. Both some of the better screens I had seen. I came to the decision that the sony, panny and hitachi were all around the same good picture quality so bought the one that was the best deal

Many Plasmas have a DVI. Not all are HDCP compatible though, which is some protocol to stop copyright issues (I think). LG have a HD STB with DVI but it is HDCP so if your plasma doesnt accept HDCP DVI, then it wont work. I believe the Sony should (I am using the HD STB that came with the X1 which doesnt have DVI output but is still a good box)

Can anyone recomend the best place to buy an MX-500. BlueDo.com seemed ok for $99US but $40US for shipping seemed a bit much. Anyone know a better place or any Australian distributors. There dont seem to be any on Australian ebay at the moment but I don't know if they are any cheaper there anyway. Thanks

Yeap, thanks for the advice. I did misunderstand how the favorites thing works. It is the equivalent of taking channels out of your list. I thought you would have to select favorites every time you changed channels. Didnt realise that your favorites list is always selected so the up and down channel buttons just scroll through your favorites.... which is what I wanted. Now just have to find a decent but simple learning remote

Radio Rentals in Adelaide... Rundle Mall store. We ended up buying it and a DVD recorder and they knocked $500 off the $6999 price they had it for and a bit of discount on the DVD Rec too. Includes speakers, stand and HD STB. The STB wasnt quite as good as I hoped. Works fine but has a few little quirks that annoyed me. I am sure most STB have similar problems or quirks I couldnt work out a way to delete all the repeted chanels it picked up.... so if you want to channel surf using the up and down channel buttons, you have to work your way through about 30 channels! You could set up favorites or scroll through a list of channels but that is always a few key presses on the remote just to change channel. PIP would be better if you could just press the PIP button and it gives you a PIP. At the moment, you press PIP then have to use the arrow keys to scroll to AUX and then press select. Not too bad but not as simple as just pressing the button. Anyone know if the remote extender is meant to be included in the box or is it an optional add-on. We couldnt seem to find it anywhere when we unpacked the box. Also, it can do SD output to a DVD recorder or VCR at the same time as putting out HD to the plasma. This one one thing I asked about earlier which sounded good and was told this box can do it.. One thing that they didnt mention is that there is only one set of RCA audio outs... so you can send audio to the Plasma speakers while watchign HD, but there is no way of sending audio to the DVD recorder or VCR to go with the SD that you are recording. Probably wouldnt be a problem if you had a surround sound amp and used the digital amp, but since it came packaged up with a plasma and speakers, it is simpler to use the plasma speakers... one less remote for my family to work out how to use. I might see if I can get a Y-cable or something for the audio althoguh it will probably screw up the quality or volume levels (which seem to be uneven anyway between HD and SD channels.... is this normal?) Pitty all this stuff had become so complicated to use... I find it ok but my family struggles... use one remote for Digital tv, pick up another and switch the plasma to the foxtel input, pick up the foxtel remote and change channels with that........ time for me to look for a universal remote

Great, those are pretty much all the features I wanted. I might consider buying this box even if I don't get the Sony plasma that it comes with.

Thanks for the info. That looks pretty good! Do you know if that box will output SD to a DVD Recorder at the same time as outputting HD to the Plasma.... so you can record what you are watching..Like the Toshi 25S which I was thinking of getting. Thanks

Woops, I posted this in the HD/SD STB section but it is probably more relevent here so will post again. I went High definition Plasma shopping again last night. Trying to narrow it down between the Hitachi and Panasonic ones which I have seen before that looked good. A few of the shops I went into had just got in a new Sony model PFM42X1 and it looked pretty damn good. So much better than the old one. One shop used to have the old Sony HD model mounted next to the Panasonic HD model and the Panasonic made the old sony look bad. This time when I walked into the shop, I thought they had swapped the screens around as the sony looked as good if not better than the Panasonic. I thought my eyes had gone funny until the sales droid started raving about the new model and its ultra high contrast ratio etc etc. The blacks did look excelent. Anyway, it came with speakers, stand and a HD set top box for $6999 and the guy said they should be able to give a decent discount on top of that. The HD set top box incuded was a MediaStar or some other name starting with M. I hadn't heard of it. Anyone know anything about it? I was planning on buying the Toshi 25S box but might not if this one is ok. For those of you who are interested, there is a little bit of info on the Sony site Sony PFM42X1 Now I can't decide whether to get the Hitachi 42PD5000TA and the Toshi HD STB or save some money and get this cheaper new Sony which includes the free HD STB. They both look good although I havent found a store that sells both so I can do a direct comparison... only stores that have them and the Panasonic so i am using that as a benchmark. The Panasonic is good but just getting too expensive as no one will include speakers and stand for a comparable price.

I went High definition Plasma shopping again last night. Trying to narrow it down between the Hitachi and Panasonic ones which I have seen before that looked good. A few of the shops I went into had just got in a new Sony model PFM42X1 and it looked pretty damn good. So much better than the old one. One shop used to have the old Sony HD model mounted next to the Panasonic HD model and the Panasonic made the old sony look bad. This time when I walked into the shop, I thought they had swapped the screens around as the sony looked as good if not better than the Panasonic. I thought my eyes had gone funny until the sales droid started raving about the new model and its ultra high contrast ratio etc etc. The blacks did look excelent. Anyway, it came with speakers, stand and a HD set top box for $6999 and the guy said they should be able to give a decent discount on top of that. The HD set top box incuded was a MediaStar or some other name starting with M. I hadn't heard of it. Anyone know anything about it? I was planning on buying the Toshi 25S box but might not if this one is ok. For those of you who are interested, there is a little bit of info on the Sony site Sony PFM42X1 Now I can't decide whether to get the Hitachi 42PD5000TA and the Toshi HD STB or save some money and get this cheaper new Sony which includes the free HD STB. They both look good although I havent found a store that sells both so I can do a direct comparison... only stores that have them and the Panasonic so i am using that as a benchmark. The Panasonic is good but just getting too expensive as no one will include speakers and stand for a comparable price.