Is it time to buy a flat panel TV yet?

I'd say hang on a while. 1080 line plasmas have just started to appear (although only in 50" and higher) but are rather pricey - most other plasmas are 768 lines (so need to perform some conversion for even 720p sources). LCDs seem to be getting better all the time but even the best sets seem to have reports of slight motion blurring and blacks not as black as plasmas.

In some ways I guess it depends what size panel you want.

However, have you got any HD sources yet? If not then that's another reason to wait IMO.

Matt.

Thanks, Matt. I plan on going to 42" next (probably no bigger). I have ntl's cable package and their Samsung box - don't know if that constitutes an HD source or not. Part of holding out this far was to skip Plasma and go to LCD (when its good and big enough).

quote:

Originally posted by Alex S.:
Thanks, Matt. I plan on going to 42" next (probably no bigger). I have ntl's cable package and their Samsung box - don't know if that constitutes an HD source or not. Part of holding out this far was to skip Plasma and go to LCD (when its good and big enough).

If your NTL set up is HD then yes that would be an HD source.

If I was after a 42” HD panel then I’d be sorely tempted by the Panasonic TH42PH9. This is the pro-version – no TV tuner and you buy whatever input boards you need – perhaps just one HDMI board if you are able to video switch elsewhere. It is said to be a superb plasma but it is a 768 line model (not that any 42" 1080 line plasmas exist anyway). Best bit is the cost: £1295 plus another £100 for an HDMI board (http://www.av-sales.co.uk/TH42PH9-AVFORUM-PK-278-.htm). You won’t see them in Comet/Currys as those people have no concept of a panel without TV tuners etc.

I’m tempted with the 50” version (I have a big wall that can take it) but that one is a grand more and I have no HD sources at the moment (and a perfectly good 42” SD Panasonic panel – again a pro one with input boards). Actually one great thing about these is that they are “picture frame” designs so there’s very little extra metal outside the screen i.e. they are as discrete as a big panel can be). One thing to add though – they don’t come with speakers – you can buy them separately which suits me as I don’t want them or to pay for something I’m not going to use.

The other thing that concerned me was the 768 line issue – I mean why not 720 lines to correlate exactly with 720P sources. It’s obviously because there is a (PC) market for 768 line panels so manufacturers can cover both markets. Anyway, I’m told that these panels do a very good job of upscaling 720p sources to 768 lines and downscaling 1080 sources accordingly. However, the ultimate add on would be a (£1500!) video processor to convert all signals to 768 lines de-interlaced before sending them to the panel. Kind of irks me a bit that I should even have to consider this because manufacturers rarely make 720 line plasma panels.

I guess the alternative is something like the Sony 2000X LCD – I’ve never viewed one but people (in the business) I trust still swear by plasma, even against the latest LCD panels – I’d like to see with my own eyes though. Mind you – the price of that Panny 42” panel is a lot less than the Sony LCDs.

Finally – I guess the other question is – how does 768 lines compare with 1080 lines from a picture quality perspective. Again I’ve no compared personally so this is here say but I’m given to understand that once you get a few metres back from the screen you’d be hard pushed to appreciate the extra details offered by the additional lines.

Hope this helps.

Matt.

Alex, if your NTL box is a Samsung, then it isn't HD.

The only way you'll get HD on NTL is with their TVDrive box - same as Telewest have had for the last 10 months, due to roll out across the UK on NTL over the next couple of months.

The best you can get out of your Samsung is a 576 line interlaced picture via scart in RGB.

Matt - find a dealer with a well set-up Sharp XD1E panel - full HD 1080P - and they make a 46 and 52 incher.

We have just taken delivery of the new Sharp LCD 46" 1080p thingie. It's much cheaper than equivalent plasmas (£2.5k against £6k). I haven't seen it 'doing its thing' with HD yet since we don't have an HD feed, and certainly no HD-DVD/BluRay devices (too early). With standard def images, it's far better on motion than any other LCD I've seen yet with virtually no trailing to speak of. There is a little worry about general picture quality. Colours are not as vibrant as a plasma it seems, although reds are excellent (they have a dedicated 'crimson' colour). I'd love to see what it does with 1080p.

I guess the really interesting thing is how good it is with real HD content. Sorry - no info on that yet, but at such a low price compared to the equivalent plasma I wonder if it'll be a big seller.

Thanks again, I like the pro idea with as little metal and crap around it as possible - I bought my widescreen TV too early so its ugly as sin. Certainly don't want speakers in the package and I also agree that its silly to just throw bits of plastic away, filling more land-fill (the only reason I buy printer ink instead of a new printer each time it runs dry). I gave away my AV-system-on-the-cheap, it was hideous both visually and sonically - Shahinian Super Elves give me all the surroundicity I want. Either way, I'll wait 'til Xmas is over.