New Panasonic 8 Series Plasmas - Cheaper?!?!

[ekkieTHUMP]

Terrible picture quality? lol you gotta be joking.

Well i laughed when i read it

[scottylans]

Terrible picture quality? lol you gotta be joking.

I wish I was, it's just my opinion - you're welcome to disagree.

I was very disapointed too, I had money in hand, I had confirmed a store which would send a TV to me after business hours to get after work - all I had to do was walk down to JB and see a picture I was happy with to confirm I would buy, virtually an impulse purchase but sadly it was not meant to be.

The colours / blacks / movement / crispness all seemed pretty good if not the best of the on display plasmas, problem is the 'noise' on top of the image absoloutely sucked.

Shimmer / wavyness / ants moving across the surface, some guy on whirlpool tells me it's called "pulse wave modulation" and part of how a plasma works, shows up in some more than others.

ALL the Panasonics do it substantially more than the other Plasma's - I have checked 3 diff models at 2 diff stores.

If you don't notice it, awesome for you

Edited June 10, 2008 by scottylans

[tabsina]

I wish I was, it's just my opinion - you're welcome to disagree.

I was very disapointed too, I had money in hand, I had confirmed a store which would send a TV to me after business hours to get after work - all I had to do was walk down to JB and see a picture I was happy with to confirm I would buy, virtually an impulse purchase but sadly it was not meant to be.

The colours / blacks / movement / crispness all seemed pretty good if not the best of the on display plasmas, problem is the 'noise' on top of the image absoloutely sucked.

Shimmer / wavyness / ants moving across the surface, some guy on whirlpool tells me it's called "pulse wave modulation" and part of how a plasma works, shows up in some more than others.

ALL the Panasonics do it substantially more than the other Plasma's - I have checked 3 diff models at 2 diff stores.

If you don't notice it, awesome for you

which store already has 46" for purchase?

[ledge]

We gettin the 850 models as well, or just the 800s , anyone know?

"but I think the Panasonic plasmas have a terrible picture quality :/ "

Interesting comment, and ur definately entitled to your opinion.

I have found the pq great, not only bluray material, but FTA as well ..... Ch 10 football,

Letterman, HD Doco's, Nascar, etc .... cant wait for the NFL...

[graemelow]

The colours / blacks / movement / crispness all seemed pretty good if not the best of the on display plasmas, problem is the 'noise' on top of the image absoloutely sucked.

Shimmer / wavyness / ants moving across the surface, some guy on whirlpool tells me it's called "pulse wave modulation" and part of how a plasma works, shows up in some more than others.

Just gone through the effort at looking at various displays like you, and did see the same thing - after a bit of mucking around I noticed that its much easier to see straight on and not at the angle, so in my case sitting in front of the panny and looking sideways at the pioneer, it showed up more in the panny but when I swapped positions and concentarted on the pioneer i saw it there too. The other issue is it only lasts for a second or so and so glancing across to the other panel you are comparing is too late to see the same effect.

Secondly, this happened big time when watching free to air local content - ie news. The guy at JB, who is ex nbn tv tech, told me its the digital cameras they use (portable ones?) and is far more noticeable on any news content and kids programs. Of course its also a factor of lookinmg at screens from 2m away, which doesnt help.

Now, on a hdtv loop at another store, i couldnt see it except for very occasionally - would take 4 or 5 minutes to get an example (panasonic versus pioneer).

For me, the decision is between better blacks and slightly less pwm noise on FTA (pioneer 50xda), and a cheaper unit but with fast channel changes (panasonic px80a). I'm really unsure as to how much the pioneer channel changes will drive me nuts.

[spicorr]

We gettin the 850 models as well, or just the 800s , anyone know?

"but I think the Panasonic plasmas have a terrible picture quality :/ "

Interesting comment, and ur definately entitled to your opinion.

I have found the pq great, not only bluray material, but FTA as well ..... Ch 10 football,

Letterman, HD Doco's, Nascar, etc .... cant wait for the NFL...

I thought the px80a looked quite average in the shop, however i bought it based on what my friends px70a looked like at his house and from the comments in this forum. However, at my house, I have found the PQ to be fantastic. I can't see the ants problem that scottylans has described, although i do sit 3m away. Extremely happy with the purchase.

[diesel]

For me, the decision is between better blacks and slightly less pwm noise on FTA (pioneer 50xda), and a cheaper unit but with fast channel changes (panasonic px80a). I'm really unsure as to how much the pioneer channel changes will drive me nuts.

Just to throw a couple of thoughts in the mix

Pioneer 508XDA stock is very thin if not all sold out. The channel change speed can be rectified if/when you buy a STB or PVR and hook it up to the TV.

The Panasonic also has a great EPG, but once again, this can be solved with the use of a PVR

[scottylans]

Just gone through the effort at looking at various displays like you, and did see the same thing - after a bit of mucking around I noticed that its much easier to see straight on and not at the angle, so in my case sitting in front of the panny and looking sideways at the pioneer, it showed up more in the panny but when I swapped positions and concentarted on the pioneer i saw it there too. The other issue is it only lasts for a second or so and so glancing across to the other panel you are comparing is too late to see the same effect.

I spotted it on the DVD they were cycling through at JB.

I sure hope it was a DVD because it was jaggy either way - wasn't free to air.

See the main thing is all the TV's in the store are getting the same signal, hence my disapointment.

[mantronic]

For me, the decision is between better blacks and slightly less pwm noise on FTA (pioneer 50xda), and a cheaper unit but with fast channel changes (panasonic px80a). I'm really unsure as to how much the pioneer channel changes will drive me nuts.

I had a bravia and the slow channel change killed it. Over 3 years I would probably have spent a week of my life waiting for channel changes!

I have a pana 7x and the channel changing and epg is a joy.

And I love the way it handles tv and movies, esp blacks and ...... MOTION! The motion is so sweet I could enjoy a game of netball on this thing.

I dont think anything is as important as motion handling ... if your set cant do motion, you might as well have bought a painting.

For anything but gaming, pana plasmas are the best and will outdo any LCD at double the price.

I personally cant game on plasma without an instant headache though.

[graemelow]

I spotted it on the DVD they were cycling through at JB.

I sure hope it was a DVD because it was jaggy either way - wasn't free to air.

See the main thing is all the TV's in the store are getting the same signal, hence my disapointment.

hi scotty, just been reading the full reviews to try and get to the bottom of it, it seems the differences I saw on news FTA was possibly posterization. The pwm effect isnt described on the hdtv review, which leads to a relatively obvious conclusion, that its an effect of "dynamic" store setting they use on the panasonics, unless of course you got them to change it?

In every store I've been into, the panasonic is way brighter than the samsung or the pioneer - by a really obvious amount. Secondly, the "store" setting would have edge enhancment/sharpness control set high to try and make the picture compete with lcd's (the main competitor), which also explains the overdone brightness. That an effect so obvious isnt in the hdtv review surely points to store setup - or mores the point, lack of setup, apart from selecting "store" on powerup

http://www.displaymate.com/ShootOut_Part_4.htm

http://www.hdtvtest.co.uk/Panasonic-TH42PX...icture-Quality/

[suv84]

Was looking on the panasonic site at their swim 2 win promotion and came across this in the prize list

One (1) Panasonic 50” Full–high definition Plasma (Model TH-50PZ800A) valued at $3,849;

I assume this is going to be the RRP on the 50 inch

[suparockin]

Was looking on the panasonic site at their swim 2 win promotion and came across this in the prize list

One (1) Panasonic 50” Full–high definition Plasma (Model TH-50PZ800A) valued at $3,849;

I assume this is going to be the RRP on the 50 inch

Any mention of the RRP for the bigger screens?

[Geforce]

.......I personally cant game on plasma without an instant headache though.

What is actually happening that causes headaches on a Pana plasma?

Are all plasma like this when gaming?

[suparockin]

What is actually happening that causes headaches on a Pana plasma?

Are all plasma like this when gaming?

Not for me, been playing hours and hours of Xbox on my Phillips 42" SD plasma and never got a headache!

[pneu]

I think it's pretty obvious we all have completely different opinions on what is good picture quality

Some people are saying they are intolerant of PWM noise/shimmer, but I can't see it at all unless I'm really close to the screen.

Others are saying the motion handling on the Panasonic is great, personally I think it's poor (not that the others are any better).

Then I have issues with the colours on the Panasonics that no-one else seems to have.

But others rave about the awesome colours on the Panasonics and have no issues with plainbow/phosphor trails.

All I can say is when judging a TV in store be absolutely sure you check the settings because I have seen heaps of poorly set up TV's.

[scottylans]

Well well well!

I saw the Pana 50" 80a at Myer again and they had changed source on it.

I pulled up the couch close to it and I was quite happy with the picture quality.

I specifically pressed hold and used the menu - so it was single, solid images.

Pixel crawl - much better today!

Good stuff and the noise behind the unit was there but nothing too bad, overall good times.

I guess I might grab one today, tired of waiting.

EDIT: 42" full 1080p model was nearby with HDMI connection playing back a blu ray

Crisp image but TERRIBLE amount of white speckling - common problem with plasma or bad HDMI cables? what could cause it? awful

Edited June 12, 2008 by scottylans

[suv84]

Well well well!

I saw the Pana 50" 80a at Myer again and they had changed source on it.

I pulled up the couch close to it and I was quite happy with the picture quality.

I specifically pressed hold and used the menu - so it was single, solid images.

Pixel crawl - much better today!

Good stuff and the noise behind the unit was there but nothing too bad, overall good times.

I guess I might grab one today, tired of waiting.

From what I was reading early in the other forum I was under the impression all you wanted was a 1080p plasma??

Edited June 12, 2008 by suv84

[scottylans]

From what I was reading early in the other forum I was under the impression all you wanted was a 1080p plasma??

That was 2 weeks ago, I wanted to buy a high end model and last for a while.

I re-thought it, if I save 1000->1200$ getting a cheaper model plus put 50$ a month away, in 3 years time I'll end up being able to afford a newer, better TV with a nice picture and better tech.

Cream of the crop is often an unwise investment.

[scottylans]

BTW: anyone know if the 80a has 'discrete inputs' ? I don't wanna cycle AV, AV, AV to go from Xbox 1 to PS3 to Xbox 360, to receiver kind of thing - my toshiba doesn't have that and it kills me!

[diesel]

BTW: anyone know if the 80a has 'discrete inputs' ? I don't wanna cycle AV, AV, AV to go from Xbox 1 to PS3 to Xbox 360, to receiver kind of thing - my toshiba doesn't have that and it kills me!

I'd be interested to see the answer on this.

The previous 3 generations of Pana plasmas have not had discrete inputs and you needed to cycle through inputs via the coloured buttons on the RC. Using a universal remote like the Harmony though you do get discrete codes which makes it much easier

[twitch1503562349]

I'd be interested to see the answer on this.

The previous 3 generations of Pana plasmas have not had discrete inputs and you needed to cycle through inputs via the coloured buttons on the RC. Using a universal remote like the Harmony though you do get discrete codes which makes it much easier

This is how I do it; Press "AV" button which brings up a list of all the input options (and it immediately defaults to the previous used one in the background), press OK if this previous used one is what you want, otherwise use the "v" or "^" key and then "ok" to select the input you want.

Edited June 12, 2008 by twitch

[scottylans]

I'd be interested to see the answer on this.

The previous 3 generations of Pana plasmas have not had discrete inputs and you needed to cycle through inputs via the coloured buttons on the RC. Using a universal remote like the Harmony though you do get discrete codes which makes it much easier

Just had a peek at the manual and it looks like there's some kind of dopey menu you have to cycle through!

[scottylans]

This is how I do it; Press "AV" button which brings up a list of all the input options (and it immediately defaults to the previous used one in the background), press OK if this previous used one is what you want, otherwise use the "v" or "^" key and then "ok" to select the input you want.

Yeah but I need to programme my remote tochange inputs

If I'm on HDMI #2 and want to go to component #1 or s-video instantly it should be as simple as

"INPUT 1" or "INPUT 6" etc ? because my Toshiba programming on my remote is

"Input (wait, wait, wait) input (wait, wait wait) input " etc etc etc

ugh!

[pneu]

The inputs change quickly on the Panasonics and you can choose to skip inputs which have no use. It's not really an issue.

[SLE3551503562118]

Did you buy one Scotty?

Edited June 12, 2008 by SLE355