Now, with experience - GT50 or ST50?

styling alone is worth the difference in price to me............................i dont care what reviewers say the st50 is very unattractive black box. Whether you want to believe it or no but your tv is actually considered furniture in your home and thus needs to look good.

Only you can decide that.

They have the exact same panel, exact same AR filter, and pretty much the same electronics. The only difference is the design and features. The picture quality is virtually identical between the two when using the same picture modes (such as Custom or Cinema), with the exception that the GT50 also adds the two THX modes that are popular. I really like the THX Bright Room mode for watching primetime HD programming. I use Custom for everything else.

The extra features that the GT50 has over the ST50 are listed in post #2 of the GT50 thread, so look at them and decide for yourself if one or more of them will justify you spending more for a GT50.
Edited by RandyWalters - 9/4/12 at 7:10am

I've been looking at the 65" versions. I kinda wish the forum threads would have been separated a little more, as it is a bit difficult to discern PQ and performance from Movies/Sport and Gaming based on the all the posts
Gaming performance seems to be well over half the posts.

Anyways, this is what I've been able to sort out so far for my Movie watching and very rare gaming needs;

The ST and the GT panels are the same type and are producing the same PQ, with the GT having more settings along with THX

The VT is bigger step up in PQ over the ST and GT.

Then there's the performance on the panel sizes with 50/55 in one group and the 60/65 in another.

As for the GT and VT having dual-core processors, the best I can determine is that it's for SMART functions and not about PQ. I have an HTPC, so the SMART functions are almost worthless to me.

So for my soon to be purchase, I've short listed the 65ST50.

But at the moment, everyone is sold-out of the 65ST50 and now I'm looking towards the 65VT50.


Ultimately if there was a model with 65VT50 PQ but without all the SMART and 3D like the U50 series, that would be my ideal. I can't even consider the Business TH series anymore, they have 3D and are basically the xT30 series.

Hello,
I ended up going with the 60GT50 and could not possibly be happier. The only real differences are the GT50 using a Dual Core Processor for all the Viera Link Applications, subjectively a more attractive Industrial Design with the GT50, and the THX Modes. I am not so sure about the differences with the GT offering the same 24,576 Shades of Gradation as the VT Series whereas the ST50 offers 12,288. Not easy to tell any real difference at the store and I have only had the GT50 setup at my house. I will say that I was quite impressed at how THX Cinema looks with no adjustment. That being said, I was in the insane situation where the GT50 was initially only $100 more and came with a free Panasonic 3D BDP. Given this, it was the easiest decision I have ever made. And it only got better from there.

I am not sure what the difference in cost is for you, but if the difference is not vast I would decidedly go with the 50GT50. All the same, if you could get a 55ST50 for close to the same price and can accommodate it, the larger screen size trumps the advantages with the GT50. This is truly one of those situations where you cannot really go wrong.
Cheers,
AD

Hello,
I recommend checking out Paul's TV. There is currently a $300 Restaurant.com Gift Certificate promotion which will offset the difference as it is only offered on the GT Series. Actually there is a $50 one on the ST Series, but it is not enough to make me not go with the GT.
Cheers,
AD

If you need to finance it, BB's 36 Month 0% is going to be tough to beat. I think it only applies to the VT/GT and other Magnolia TV's. Other positive is BB's PSP covers Burn In. However, I have not even experienced even a trace of IR.

BB offers 18 Month Financing on the ST's and like I thought 36 Month on the GT. However, the 50ST50 costs amazingly far less than Amazon does currently. If needing to finance, I would absolutely go with the 50ST50 at BB. As it is so far below MSRP I cannot disclose the price, but all I can say it is well worth putting it in your cart and proceeding to checkout. The 50GT50 is almost twice as much there currently.

With that being the case, get the 50GT50 and the $300 Gift Certificate.

The answer would depend on what your needs are and whether you plan to have the tv calibrated.

IMO, since the GT has more options that look amazing without calibration it is very much worth the price I paid for the 60". If you are placing the tv in a room that is mostly dark then spend the difference on getting the ST calibrated you'll have one mode that will be equally amazing. If you watch tv with bright lights on, and/or have windows and watch tv during the day, and/or an open floor plan then I believe you would be happiest with the GT.

No it isn't and I've owned both- 55VT50 & 60GT50. The difference is very slight and the image on the VT is slightly darker/more dim than the GT because of the filter. Also the VT50 has the same motion problems I saw in the GT50, so it doesn't even handle motion better. I returned the VT to get the 60GT50 back and I couldn't be happier. When I had the VT I literally felt like something was missing especially when watching Game of Thrones and John Carter. I wasn't impressed and certainly didn't feel like the difference was worth the extra $$ and that difference for me was only a little more than $100.

BTW, you won't even find a reputable review that says the VT is a bigger step up in PQ.

Hello,
Due to what it seems like BB getting rid of almost the entire ST Series, when I searched for the 50ST50, the top result was the 50UT50. The 50ST50 is a Special Order Only and the 60ST50 no longer is the BB Computer. The 50ST50 is actually $1099 there which is the same as Amazon. Sorry about the confusion.
Cheers,
AD

A calibrated ST has the same pq on one mode only- Custom. I'm a picky person and narrowing my options rubs me the wrong way also I do use more than one mode often. Also, I will have someone calibrate my 60GT50 sometime in the future.

The issues I mentioned were mostly dithering and you can read a lot about that in the VT50 thread. There are also panning problems reported there. I think I saw it once but can honestly say nothing about panning has bothered me so far.

Just to be fair- Samsung does handle motion better and I haven't heard complaints about dithering from Sammy owners. However there are other issues that took Samsung out of the running for me.

BB offers 36 months for ANY purchase of $899 in home theater, not just on magnolia products. So any TV above the 50UT50 would qualify.

And the 50ST50 isn't in our warehouse for whatever reason, so it takes a longer time to get. We just ship it to the customer's home.

Just walk into a best buy and price match amazon and then finance it, that's what most peole do