[Sushihunter]

New AVS member - First Post.


After researching for the last 3 months, I went in today to put a deposit on one of the very last Panasonic 60UT50's in Vancouver.


The salesman I have been dealing with gave me a last minute option - a Samsung PN60F5500.


I had chosen the 60UT50 as the best Plasma I could afford based on reputation and many many online reviews.


My salesman seems to think the the Samsung is a better TV, and it is a new 2013 model, where the Panasonic is last years model and is truly one of the last 2 in the store. All the other stores I've been looking at are sold out of this size/model.


The 60UT50 is being held with my name on it, but I was offered the chance to get the Samsung when I come back in about two weeks to complete the sale. It is also $20 cheaper than the Panasonic - not that that is a real consideration - I want the best TV that I can get for that price range.


The Samsung looked to have a brighter, nicer picture in the showroom, but I know how poorly showroom TV's are adjusted, so I'm discounting that. The question is, which is the better TV for the money?


I would truly appreciate some input before I close this deal. Thanks in advance!

 

[KOF]

Stick with the UT50. I've seen U50,UT50,F5500,E550,E8000,ST50,GT30,S60,F8500 in a showroom in Toronto, and I felt U50/UT50 was the second best to the Samsung F8500, black level wise. The F5500 seems more like a redux of E550, they both looked similiar. Processing wise, both were no match for E8000 let alone F8500. I would not get any other Samsung plasmas other than the F8500. Samsung's only just begun producing the second generation and only F8500 is such a product. Sure, I did not like how dim U50 and UT50 were, but it's not something I would trade their superior blacks for. I didn't really think F5500 had amazing brightness either, certainly not to the level of D8000.

 

[Sushihunter]

KOF: Thanks for the info!


I'm leaning toward sticking with the Panasonic 60UT50, I'm just afraid that after doing all the research for the past 3 months that I may be too focused on my choice and not open to a better TV that pops up at the last moment.


Also, this will be literally the last of its kind. All the other stores I'm aware of are out of stock, and by the time I go in to pick mine up, the other one that was available yesterday will be gone.


I was lucky to get a salesman who was willing to hold one for me for several days before I could get my deposit to him.


OT - WHY is it that in this day of computers and instant networking we can't get money transferred from one bank to another in less than four or five days???


I guess the other concern that I have is that if anything goes wrong with my new 60UT50, I won't be able to swap it for a new one - I'll have to pay extra to get the newer model.

 

[Yukon Trooper]

Consider the S60 if you don't need 3D. Slightly better blacks than the UT50, better processing, and more picture controls. I have the 60UT50, by the way. Considering the S60 entry price is near the UT50 exit price, I think it's the better buy (if you don't need 3D, that is).


If you do decide on the S60 over the UT50, it also gives you a chance to wait a few weeks to see what kind of reviews come out for the new mid-range Samsungs.

 

[Sushihunter]

Yukon Trooper: Thanks for the suggestion!


The 60S60 runs about $240 more than the 60UT50 including taxes.


Looks like a nice TV - and 3D is useless to me anyway, never could see it.

I'll have to see if I can close the gap a bit on the price difference - the S60 could be a contender.

 

[Sushihunter]

Just chatted with my salesman.


The Panasonic 60UT50 I have a deposit on is $1186


The Panasonic 60S60 is $1297


Difference of $111 +12% taxes. ($124.32)


I have about one week left to make a decision on this.


I like what I see about the 60S60, do I spend the extra and go for it, or stick with my original choice?

 

[Yukon Trooper]

I've thought about this some more. If all you're going to do is watch movies and TV (I read your post in the S60 thread), I think the UT50 is a better buy.


The UT50 in Cinema Mode with the Warm 1 setting is very good and about as accurate as you'll get anyways with the S60's extra picture controls. Furthermore, unless you have a pro calibrator come and calibrate your set, or buy a colorimeter and learn to calibrate yourself, you won't be able to achieve the marginal gains the S60 can provide. That's an extra ~$300 investment, or more. I have my own colorimeter but I haven't felt an overwhelming need to calibrate my UT50 like I did with my old S1. I will at some point, but the UT50 is good enough that I haven't been driven to do it.


About the S60's better processing: mostly I was referring to the better scaling. The 2012 Panasonics are pretty poor at scaling. However, this can be defeated by almost all source components. Just set your WDTV and disc players to output at 1080p, set your PVR to output at 1080i, etc.


In short, under your circumstances, I'd say pocket the $120 or whatever it is and go with the UT50. You won't be disappointed. You'll also have 3D functionality if you ever decide you want to watch a 3D film.

 

[Golfdad123]

I think going with the UT50 might be the way to go. I haven't seen anybody post that they have a UT50 and a S60 so it's hard to know if there's a picture quality difference or not. I bought a UT50 at Costco and debated waiting for the S60 so I researched both models a bit. The S60 did not have a few features like 3d or the SD card slot. You may never use them but I have used the SD slot to look at pictures on my phone and it's a nice feature. The CNET review of the UT50 said that it was slightly better in a well lit room than the U50 model. Hard to know without a direct comparison but since the S60 replaced the U50 from last year, it may not be as good in a brighter room than the UT50. Some people seem to think 3d tvs tend to have better 2d picture quality than non 3d tvs. Probably because they're usually a higher end model. Since the UT50 fell between the U50 and ST50 it was a unique model that doesn't exist this year.


I don't think you said what your viewing environment is but either model will be reflective if your in a brightly lit room. You might want to consider one with the anti-reflective filter if you have alot of windows. I think you'll be happy with either one but I think the UT50 might be the better value.

 

[Sushihunter]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Golfdad123  /t/1470819/last-panasonic-60ut50-or-new-samsung-pn60f5500#post_23286852


I think going with the UT50 might be the way to go. I haven't seen anybody post that they have a UT50 and a S60 so it's hard to know if there's a picture quality difference or not. I bought a UT50 at Costco and debated waiting for the S60 so I researched both models a bit. The S60 did not have a few features like 3d or the SD card slot. You may never use them but I have used the SD slot to look at pictures on my phone and it's a nice feature. The CNET review of the UT50 said that it was slightly better in a well lit room than the U50 model. Hard to know without a direct comparison but since the S60 replaced the U50 from last year, it may not be as good in a brighter room than the UT50. Some people seem to think 3d tvs tend to have better 2d picture quality than non 3d tvs. Probably because they're usually a higher end model. Since the UT50 fell between the U50 and ST50 it was a unique model that doesn't exist this year.


I don't think you said what your viewing environment is but either model will be reflective if your in a brightly lit room. You might want to consider one with the anti-reflective filter if you have alot of windows. I think you'll be happy with either one but I think the UT50 might be the better value.

Thanks for your input!


After doing a little more research, and thinking about it. I seem to be back on the 60UT50 track. Not to save the $124, but because I think it might have better features and picture than the S60. Now, if I could afford to make the jump to the ST60... it might change things a bit.


I have heard the idea that a 3D TV is better in 2D than a 2D only TV. I've compared some Samsungs side-by-side and I think I agree.


As far as room goes - small 1 BR apartment, living room with one small picture window to the left of the TV wall, facing west. I get late afternoon sun which is blocked by some trees. Drapes, while not blackout are kept closed all the time because I'm on the ground floor and there is a walkway about 6 feet from the window. Basically dark, but it does get some light for a couple hours around dinner time (TV Primetime, lol). There is a small couch/loveseat in front of the window which is exclusive territory of the two cats. The main couch is directly opposite the TV wall where I plan to wall-mount the TV.

 

[Sushihunter]

Yukon Trooper: Thanks!


The more I think about it, the more I like the 60UT50.


I have cable, but mostly have a news channel running when not actively watching the TV, otherwise, it is movies and TV shows via my WDTV Media Player. I'm probably going to look at picking up a BD player soon, but want to do some research on that first.


I've got a distance of about 8.5 feet from the wall to where my eye would be.

 

[Sushihunter]

OK - I picked up my 60UT50 on Friday and got it set up.


I love it!


Been tweeking the picture, and getting things connected, like the cable box and my WDTV Media Player. I didn't have an HDMI cable (I refuse to pay $100 for Monster Cables!), but today my cable tech from Shaw was here to check out some intermittent outages on my TV, Internet, and Phone, and after asking nicely I got a free one!


I literally got the last sealed-in-box, brand new 60UT50 in town. They had one more on display and that was it for this model.


Total price was $1186 Can$ + $31.75 Enviro Fee + 12% tax for a total of $1363.88


This is the cheapest I have ever seen this TV in the 3 months I was doing my research, so I'm quite happy it worked out well timing wise.


I'm now getting ready to make an order with MonoPrice for a wall mount, some HMDI cables and an HMDI splitter (7974) so I can use my 5.1 sound system that does not have HDMI. If anyone here has experience with this item, I would love to hear thoughts on it's quality. http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=101&cp_id=10110&cs_id=1011002&p_id=7974&seq=1&format=2


I'd like to thank you all for your input, it was a great help in getting this TV.

 

[Yukon Trooper]

Monoprice products, especially for the price, are high quality. My cables are almost exclusively Monoprice. I also have some other gadgets here and there with no complaints.


Are you sure you need that switch box (it's not a splitter)? Why not just run dedicated Toslink/coaxial cables from your components? Short on inputs on your receiver?

 

[Sushihunter]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Yukon Trooper  /t/1470819/last-panasonic-60ut50-or-new-samsung-pn60f5500#post_23312673


Monoprice products, especially for the price, are high quality. My cables are almost exclusively Monoprice. I also have some other gadgets here and there with no complaints.


Are you sure you need that switch box (it's not a splitter)? Why not just run dedicated Toslink/coaxial cables from your components? Short on inputs on your receiver?

Yes - I need a switch box. TV only has 2 HDMI inputs. My receiver has lots of inputs, all component. This switch box breaks out the audio and sends it to the receiver via optical Toslink.


Right now I've got the WDTV Media Player hooked up to the first HDMI, and my Cable TV is just run into the RF/Antenna input on the TV. I'll upgrade to a better HD Cable Box soon - just as soon as I figure out what I want/need.


Can't wait until I get this whole system wall mounted and the sound system up and running...