16 replies to this topic

[ozdiver]

I am looking at buying a plasma ,and want the best picture a can get ,do not know if i should get sd or hi def plasma,am looking at a panasonic hi def plasma at the moment but have heard a lot of hi def do not handle standard hefinition very well as they try to convert the signal and to compound the prplem i watch foxtel ,and have heard that the picture qualityon foxtal with plasmas is not good ,i also watch a lot of dvds burnt ones as well,which should i go for hi def or standard or give plasmas a miss.?i would be gratefull of any advise  

[Owen]

It would be useful to know what size screen you are interested in, and at what distance you will be viewing it from.


Regards,

Owen

[ajsteel]

There is nothing HD about Foxtel Digital its not even SD. Its just digital TV.

Free to air is really good in HD on the other hand.

If it makes you feel any better Optus is worse.

But viewing distance and screen size are probably more important for the future. I can assure you that your best images will be via DTV then DVD then Cable.

[ChrisM]

IMO resolution should not be your main concern.  The ability of the screen to process an SD signal without amplifying it's errors is most important with Foxtel.  Also look at how the Foxtel outputs match the screen inputs.  There's no point in buying a screen with great DVI inputs when you don't have a DVI output.

I'd look for a good quality SD plasma screen.  The NEC seems popular on the forum but I can't really comment on it myself.  Forget cheap plasmas, they need a really good signal.

I also think future proofing is a bit of a waste.  Buy for what you need today, because by the time you get around to using any extra features you'll want to upgrade anyway.

[Cal-Syd]

We watch Digital foxtel pretty well all the time, unless we're watching a dvd, but thats pretty rare. To me the foxtel looks pretty good on my JVC SD panel (PD-Z42DV4) foxtel's transmissions seem to vary greatly tho, one NRL game a week seems to be bad, and the rest good...

I got my panel for 3600 a month ago, I can't fault it except that its got the buzzing noise when displaying lots of white. I have spoken to other owners of this panel and they dont have the problem. JVC is comming out in the next day or so to check it out.

Cheers
Callum

[steveo]

Cal-Syd, on Apr 6 2005, 08:40 AM, said:

We watch Digital foxtel pretty well all the time, unless we're watching a dvd, but thats pretty rare. To me the foxtel looks pretty good on my JVC SD panel (PD-Z42DV4) foxtel's transmissions seem to vary greatly tho, one NRL game a week seems to be bad, and the rest good...

I got my panel for 3600 a month ago, I can't fault it except that its got the buzzing noise when displaying lots of white. I have spoken to other owners of this panel and they dont have the problem. JVC is comming out in the next day or so to check it out.

Cheers
Callum

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I went the other way and got rid of Foxtel as most of the stuff I used to watch (UKTV) looked really bad on my JVC.

SteveO

PS Callum - I'd be interested in how you go with the buzzing.

[Cal-Syd]

steveo, on Apr 6 2005, 10:30 AM, said:

I went the other way and got rid of Foxtel as most of the stuff I used to watch (UKTV) looked really bad on my JVC.

SteveO

PS Callum - I'd be interested in how you go with the buzzing.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

No worries, I'll let you know, I just hope i dont get a "its normal" response, as I know its not!

[therashman]

I am glad the consensus here is that Foxtel signal is poor....as I have been assuming that it was my TV...lol!...hopefully they will follow the cable providers in the US and Sky UK and go Hi-def soon....i suspect they are waiting for the Federal Govt to finalise its policy on this issue....

[ozdiver]

ajsteel, on Apr 5 2005, 11:30 PM, said:

There is nothing HD about Foxtel Digital its not even SD. Its just digital TV.

Free to air is really good in HD on the other hand.

If it makes you feel any better Optus is worse.

But viewing distance and screen size are probably more important for the future. I can assure you that your best images will be via DTV then DVD then Cable.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

i am looking at a 42 inch panasonic hi def model th42pv30a viera has no dvi a friend has a older sd plasma and it is pretty good but he does not have foxtel so i could campare pictures,and the stores don"t have any of there plasmas hooked up to foxtel.wondering if it is worth forking out the dow for hi def?don"t mind forking out the dow if it is a better picture then standard the info on the net says the panasonic is a good one.

[ozdiver]

Owen, on Apr 5 2005, 08:59 PM, said:

It would be useful to know what size screen you are interested in, and at what distance you will be viewing it from.


Regards,

Owen

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

2.5-3metres distance 42inch

[ozdiver]

ozdiver, on Apr 6 2005, 06:46 PM, said:

ajsteel, on Apr 5 2005, 11:30 PM, said:

There is nothing HD about Foxtel Digital its not even SD. Its just digital TV.

Free to air is really good in HD on the other hand.

If it makes you feel any better Optus is worse.

But viewing distance and screen size are probably more important for the future. I can assure you that your best images will be via DTV then DVD then Cable.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

i am looking at a 42 inch panasonic hi def model th42pv30a viera has no dvi a friend has a older sd plasma and it is pretty good but he does not have foxtel so i could campare pictures,and the stores don"t have any of there plasmas hooked up to foxtel.wondering if it is worth forking out the dow for hi def?don"t mind forking out the dow if it is a better picture then standard the info on the net says the panasonic is a good one.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

distance from sceen 2.5-3m

[Owen]

At 2.5 -3.0 meters there is little chance that you will see any significant improvement with SD TV or DVD using a 42” HD Plasma, and with Foxtel none at all.

You will find a SD Plasma will do the job just fine.

Regards,

Owen

[ozdiver]

Owen, on Apr 6 2005, 08:11 PM, said:

At 2.5 -3.0 meters there is little chance that you will see any significant improvement with SD TV or DVD using a 42” HD Plasma, and with Foxtel none at all.

You will find a SD Plasma will do the job just fine.

Regards,

Owen

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

is it worth getting a hd set top box with a standard plasma?

[ChrisM]

[/quote]
is it worth getting a hd set top box with a standard plasma?
[right]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/right]
[/quote]

Depends on how much you'll use it.  If you're going to watch all your FTA on it rather than Foxtel then it's probably worth it.

[Owen]

Yes it should be.
A down converted HD image should be better then the normal SD feed.
It all depends on the quality of the scaler in the STB or display as to how much improvement there is.

Regards,

Owen

[ozdiver]

Owen, on Apr 6 2005, 09:32 PM, said:

Yes it should be.
A down converted HD image should be better then the normal SD feed.
It all depends on the quality of the scaler in the STB or display as to how much improvement there is.

Regards,

Owen

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

thanks for your help i think i will go with a quality panasonic standard plasma with a quality hd set top box with a hardrive  

[ktskeats]

also a couple of tricks you can do on foxtel is make sure you run either s/video from a scart adaptor or if you get a panel with scart use scart to scart you must go into the foxtel boxsetup and change it to s/video or rgb for the scart and save changes i do this whenever i setup a new panel it makes a big differance to compisite(red white yellow) you will still need to use the red and white for sound on the s/video the foxtel guys never do it oh and make sure you change screen type on the foxtel setup to 16:9 hope this helps!!