[Tpiers]

So I am moving into a new apartment at the end of this month and require a nice tv to fit in my living room. I have looked over an insane amount of sites trying to decide on one, but I seem to have very little luck.


The only thing that I can't stand is blacks that are not uniform. The blacks do not have to be ink black, but as long as there is no bleed through I can handle it. Flash lighting and ghost effects are an absolute no go for me as far as a television goes. I play video games and I watch net flix and amazon on the television, but I have a roku 2 so smart tvs are not a must and 3D is not important to me in the slightest.

 

[Mik James]

Plasmas:

Panasonic tcp50u50

A no frills plasma model no 3d, no smart tv, no anti glare filter or contrast improving louver filter but perfect uniformity and very deep black levels.

Samsung e550: I haven't heard to much about this model as it's new for 2012 and hasn't been reviewed yet but samsung does very well with black levels on their plasmas and i believe even the low end models in 2012 have the real black filter which improves contrast in a bright room.

Lg pa6500

Lg plasmas haven't had very deep blacks in the past they usually focus on color and sleekness.


Lcd's:


samsung eh6000: Good uniformity due to full led back light not the deepest blacks.
http://reviews.cnet.com/flat-panel-tvs/samsung-un46eh6000/4505-6482_7-35159621.html?tag=results;prodInfo


Here's an lcd from last year, lcds will likely give you better brightness uniformity vs edgelit led lcds

If you can find it around on amazon or another site/store that is still selling last years models it can likely be had for a good deal.


samsung d630: An older model that might be a good deal. 120hz
http://reviews.cnet.com/flat-panel-tvs/samsung-ln46d630/4505-6482_7-34468754.html?tag=results;prodInfo


It's tough to find an lcd that can do good in the areas you are looking for as plasmas are inherently better in this price range for things like black levels, uniformity and response times (ghosting).

 

[Tpiers]

What about the Panasonic VIERA TC-L47E50?

http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-VIERA-TC-L47E50-47-Inch-LED-LCD/dp/B00752RABI/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1339639490&sr=1-2&keywords=panasonic+e50


I see some great reviews from both it and the u50 and the ut50 ( I guess these are the same tv with one lacking "smart" functionality and 1 usb port) but I see very few professional reviews of the LCD counterpart.

 

[Mik James]

The tc-l47e50 is an edge lit model, uniformity in edge lit models isn't as good as it is in full led back lit or ccfl back lit due to the way the light has to be directed in an edge lit.

I think you will definetly be happier with a plasma if you watch tv in a low light environment and if you watch tv in an area with a lot of ambient light then you wouldn't notice the clouding in dark areas of an edge lit LCD. Good luck

 

[Nielo TM]

Stay well away from Panasonic LCDs

 

[Mik James]

I guess it would help to know what lighting you will be watching the tv in.

Bright room, medium room, dim room, pitch black room, or a mix of both daytime and nighttime viewing with medium or bright during the day?

 

[Tpiers]

The room (roughly 12 x 16 feet) has 3 large connected windows (roughly 8 feet wide and 6 feet tall) on one end. There are blinds, but it is still a very large window. I would be watching the television in the day mostly and at night.


Most of my television viewing in the day is EXTREMELY casual. I would be working at a computer and regularly glance at the television as it stays on in the background. At night (dark) I am much more picky with my television and the visuals (blacks especially) it presents.

 

[Nielo TM]

If you're after good black level during night and day, then opt for VA panel.


Samsung plasmas are very bright but Panasonic has better screen filter. Personally I would opt for PDP (unless TV has to be placed facing the window).

 

[Tpiers]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Nielo TM  /t/1415552/best-42-51-under-1k#post_22130608


If you're after good black level during night and day, then opt for VA panel.

Samsung plasmas are very bright but Panasonic has better screen filter. Personally I would opt for PDP (unless TV has to be placed facing the window).

The black levels in the day don't really hinder any purchase choice. As long as it is watchable in the day I am content. At night, though, I turn into a videophile and like my stuff to look as nice as possible and I can't stand leaks or clouding.

 

[Nielo TM]

In that case opt for 2012 Panasonic PDP (ideally ST50). If you're willing to go above 50", then also consider 8000/9000 series Samsung PDPs.

 

[Tpiers]

Ok, so I have settled on a Plasma for sure, and specifically a Panasonic. My fallback is to get a 50UT50.


If moving up slightly (size/cost) at around 1k, would it be better to get the 55UT50 (1000) or a 50ST50? And why?

 

[Nielo TM]

Coating coating and I think ST has grayscale and CMS (well the UK version does). Hopefully someone will clear that up

 

[RandyWalters]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Tpiers  /t/1415552/best-42-51-under-1k#post_22130935


Ok, so I have settled on a Plasma for sure, and specifically a Panasonic. My fallback is to get a 50UT50. If moving up slightly (size/cost) at around 1k, would it be better to get the 55UT50 (1000) or a 50ST50? And why?

The ST50 has a very good Anti Reflective Filter and does a good job of rejecting ambient and overhead light as well as muting the severity of any reflections, whereas the UT50 has no filter at all and is like looking at a dark mirror in dark scenes and dark areas in brighter scenes (exactly like you see on the glossy/reflective LED LCD TVs). The UT50 is great at night or in a very dark room, but not during the day or with the lights on. I have a smaller LED LCD with a UT-like glossy screen and it's extremely irritating to watch during the day even with the blinds partially closed and i can still see my reflection in the screen in all but the brightest scenes. My friend has an older U2 (which like the UT50 has no AR Filter) and it's almost unwatchable during the day (he didn't want to spend more for the higher S2 series with AR Filter).


The ST50 also adds a Pro Settings menu in Custom mode which can be set differently for each individual input, and also has a Gamma adjustment setting as well as a Screen Brightness setting (the UT50 lacks all of these).


The ST50 has 3 HDMI inputs vs 2 on the UT50.


The 50" ST50 stand swivels, but none of the UT50 stands swivel.

 

[Joxer]

You can get an excellent deal this week on a sale of the 50UT50 and 55UT50 at Sears stores, at or under your price point with the sale.

But you would need to go up a couple hundred or more to the 50ST50 if you need the anti-glare filter, the UT50s have no filter and are best in a darker room.

 

[Nielo TM]

So the US version of the ST50 is identical to the UK version? Usually some features are limited to certain regions

 

[Joxer]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Nielo TM  /t/1415552/best-42-51-under-1k#post_22130958


Coating coating and I think ST has grayscale and CMS (well the UK version does). Hopefully someone will clear that up

\

The US ST50 does not have CMS controls or 10point whitebalance.

The US ST50 only adds custom mode pro settings with 2 point white balance, gamma control, and a few other minor features compared to the US UT50 which lacks those extras.