35 replies to this topic

[mattywhisk]

Dear readers,
Hope everyone is going great. I haven't posted on these forums in years, last time was to organise a group buy for a Pana 42" plasma back in the day :D

Anyway we've moved to a new place and the minister for recreation and finance has approved a small space ('man cave'), so I'm looking for a screen to fit. The room is a standard bedroom size 3.4m X 3.6m so I guess I'll be sitting about 2.5m from the screen; the room is fairly dark if lights are off. I was thinking a 40", hopefully a good compromise between size and WAF, does that sound fair for the space? I'll be connecting up Fox HD and watching .mkv and Bluray's through it.

I was looking at the Samsung LEDs as the app feature (Skype etc) looks quite nifty, plus they look the business. Perhaps the UA40D6000, but not fixed on brand or model, so value any advice from the experts here. Thanks so much in advance :)

edit: sorry, budget ! I guess up to around the $1500 mark at this stage but a little flexible.

Edited by mattywhisk, 25 September 2011 - 12:12 PM.

[diesel]

I would seriously suggest uping the size to maybe 55"-60". Budget would need to go up to $1800-$2000ish, but for a man cave I think this size screen would be far better than a 40"

[Beleg Cúthalion]

diesel, on Sep 25 2011, 12:21 PM, said:

I would seriously suggest uping the size to maybe 55"-60". Budget would need to go up to $1800-$2000ish, but for a man cave I think this size screen would be far better than a 40"

quite sure the $1500 budget would allow a Sammy59" D550 plasma. excellent value and great looking TV.

edit: why do you need WAF for a man cave?  :huh:

Edited by Dwain, 25 September 2011 - 12:27 PM.

[mattywhisk]

diesel, on Sep 25 2011, 12:21 PM, said:

I would seriously suggest uping the size to maybe 55"-60". Budget would need to go up to $1800-$2000ish, but for a man cave I think this size screen would be far better than a 40"

I'd like bigger but that would be bigger than our main tv, heh. and the idea is that I can make it my space, but it should still 'blend in' with the rest of the house and so be more of a study than a room build around a huge screen. Yeah, I know... :P

Dwain, on Sep 25 2011, 12:26 PM, said:

quite sure the $1500 budget would allow a Sammy59" D550 plasma. excellent value and great looking TV.

edit: why do you need WAF for a man cave?  :huh:

Any reason why plasma over LED? I have a Pana Plasma at the moment tho of course it's a few years old, was hoping to get the smart tv option from Samsung, I like the app idea :)
and yeah, re: WAF, see above .. but in summary, 'because she said so' ;-)

Edited by mattywhisk, 25 September 2011 - 03:20 PM.

[diesel]

Dwain, on Sep 25 2011, 12:26 PM, said:

quite sure the $1500 budget would allow a Sammy59" D550 plasma. excellent value and great looking TV.

I'd recommend at least a D6900. The D550 just doesn't cut it for black level

mattywhisk, on Sep 25 2011, 02:57 PM, said:

Any reason why plasma over LED? I have a Pana Plasma at the moment tho of course it's a few years old, was hoping to get the smart tv option from Samsung, I like the app idea :)

plasma will give you better value for money. Samsung have 'smart' plasma TVs too. It's all a bit overrated though and nothing that a laptop or Mac mini couldn't provide far more functionality for. But once you step up in the model range, most brands include the 'smart' features

[mattywhisk]

diesel, on Sep 25 2011, 03:38 PM, said:

plasma will give you better value for money. Samsung have 'smart' plasma TVs too. It's all a bit overrated though and nothing that a laptop or Mac mini couldn't provide far more functionality for. But once you step up in the model range, most brands include the 'smart' features

thanks a lot. So the picture is the same whether you go LED or Plasma? Sorry it's been a while since I bought :)

[ekkieTHUMP]

mattywhisk, on Sep 25 2011, 02:57 PM, said:

I'd like bigger but that would be bigger than our main tv, heh. and the idea is that I can make it my space, but it should still 'blend in' with the rest of the house and so be more of a study than a room build around a huge screen. Yeah, I know... :P




Any reason why plasma over LED? I have a Pana Plasma at the moment tho of course it's a few years old, was hoping to get the smart tv option from Samsung, I like the app idea :)
and yeah, re: WAF, see above .. but in summary, 'because she said so' ;-)

I replaced my 23" ccfl Samsung pc monitor with a 32" D6000 LED and for the most part it's been great.It's especially good watching HD sport like the NFL using the motion plus set to the C Net recommendation of "custom" (blur reduction 10 and judder reduction 0).At the time i didn't want to spend much money but if i had it over again i would most certainly take a 40"/46" D6600.It has a beautiful look with it's narrower bezel,faster processing and crucially the imputes are set back from the edge of the TV so you don't have ugly cables sticking out the side like you have with the D6000.

[kulfi]

mattywhisk, on Sep 25 2011, 11:33 AM, said:

budget ! I guess up to around the $1500 mark at this stage but a little flexible.

The Samsung 55" D6000 can be purchased in Sydney for under $1800. It's ticketed below $2000 in most shops. Try to offer cash/credit card in-store or check out this site -
http://www.thecablec...tion.com.au/LED

JB is happy to dump their remaining stock of 55" LG W9500 TVs for well below $2000. This model is 2-D only. One ex-demo set was sold for $1500 in Moore Park SupaCenta today.

The 55" Sony EX720 TV is selling below $2000 so it seems to be the sweet spot right now.

[mattywhisk]

kulfi, on Sep 25 2011, 07:32 PM, said:

The Samsung 55" D6000 can be purchased in Sydney for under $1800. It's ticketed below $2000 in most shops. Try to offer cash/credit card in-store or check out this site -
http://www.thecablec...tion.com.au/LED

Wow great prices there, are they legit?

[Owen]

mattywhisk, on Sep 25 2011, 02:57 PM, said:

I'd like bigger but that would be bigger than our main tv, heh. and the idea is that I can make it my space, but it should still 'blend in' with the rest of the house and so be more of a study than a room build around a huge screen. Yeah, I know... :P

A 40" at 2.5 metres is far from impressive, a 65" or larger display would be much better for movies.
I view from 2.8 metres and have the option of a 70" TV and 100' projection screen, the 100" projection screen wins hands down.

Move your "main" TV into the "man cave" and buy something bigger to replace it.

mattywhisk, on Sep 25 2011, 02:57 PM, said:

Any reason why plasma over LED? I have a Pana Plasma at the moment tho of course it's a few years old, was hoping to get the smart tv option from Samsung, I like the app idea :)
and yeah, re: WAF, see above .. but in summary, 'because she said so' ;-)

"LED" is the worst TV technology currently available. Plasma is still the best buy a wide margin followed by conventional LCD.

[kulfi]

mattywhisk, on Sep 25 2011, 07:39 PM, said:

Wow great prices there, are they legit?

I think they are legit but if the ticketed price in-store is not much higher than these Cable Connection guys, then you should be able to haggle the big shops down to that price. Beware of the extended warranty, surge protector, HDMI cable, other cables, BD player etc that they will try to sell to you to cover their margins.

[jliang70]

mattywhisk, on Sep 25 2011, 08:39 PM, said:

Wow great prices there, are they legit?

TTC is legit business and they supported a number of groups buys here in DTV. (eg. JVC X3, Benq W6000, Epson TW5500 and TW3600).  Matt Walker who runs TTC also posts regularly here in DTV.  TTC offeres exception service and Matt is great guy to deal with.

[mattywhisk]

Owen, on Sep 25 2011, 09:12 PM, said:

Move your "main" TV into the "man cave" and buy something bigger to replace it.

Thanks Owen. In our lounge room I sit much closer, about 1.5m away so my 42" is big enough for us altho I have considered that!

Owen, on Sep 25 2011, 09:12 PM, said:

"LED" is the worst TV technology currently available. Plasma is still the best buy a wide margin followed by conventional LCD.

Interesting.. so why all the hype!? It seems like the plasmas these days are as thin as the LED.. what does LED have going for it?

ahhh so confused now!! I guess the best way would be to go to the shop and take a look. But now there's a fewmodels in the mix..


Samsung:
LED:46"  D6600,  46" D7000
Plasma:  51" D8000

Pana
Plasma: 50" GT30

etc. so much choice :) any other suggestions in the 46"/51" range?

Edited by mattywhisk, 26 September 2011 - 06:53 AM.

[diesel]

mattywhisk, on Sep 26 2011, 06:16 AM, said:

Interesting.. so why all the hype!? It seems like the plasmas these days are as thin as the LED.. what does LED have going for it?

Marketing!!!

Thin is supposedly sexy and looks good wall mounted but comes at a price - i.e. crappy small speakers etc

[shmb]

Personally, I'd prefer it thicker, as a thin one, (especially Plasmas) will run hotter because of the smaller internal area.

Its all marketing hype to me, all it does is make the TV less reliable. IMO.

I also agree that LED TV's are overrated too.

Edited by shmb, 26 September 2011 - 10:18 AM.

[mattywhisk]

So after some more research and thought I'm leaning towards the Samsung PS51D8000. 51" will be big enough for what I need it for and it allows me to stretch the budget a bit to get more features. It will probably either be that or a Panasonic THP50GT30A  , so I just need to work that out. Of course I will still go into the shop and check them all out.

Thoughts? :)

Edited by mattywhisk, 26 September 2011 - 05:04 PM.

[Owen]

Sounds like a decent plan mate. "LED" is all about thin panels and hyped up marketing deigned to extract more cash from the gullible consumer. As far as picture quality is concerned it has nothing to offer and is inferior to conventional LCD.

[mattywhisk]

Owen, on Sep 26 2011, 08:39 PM, said:

Sounds like a decent plan mate. "LED" is all about thin panels and hyped up marketing deigned to extract more cash from the gullible consumer. As far as picture quality is concerned it has nothing to offer and is inferior to conventional LCD.

Owen you seem like a guy in the know. :) Now that I've settled on Plasma, any reason do you think to choose between the Pana or Sammy? Or does it just come down to personal preference here?

[diesel]

The Samsung D8000 is top of the Samsung plasma pile and certainly a very very good screen.

The Panasonic GT30 is also a very good screen, but the equivalent to theD8000 would be the VT in the Panasonic range.

You sure you can't go to 59"/60"?

[Owen]

mattywhisk, on Sep 26 2011, 09:02 PM, said:

Owen you seem like a guy in the know. :) Now that I've settled on Plasma, any reason do you think to choose between the Pana or Sammy? Or does it just come down to personal preference here?

It really comes down to personal preference and priorities. There is no best only what's best for you.

[mattywhisk]

Owen, on Sep 26 2011, 11:03 PM, said:

It really comes down to personal preference and priorities. There is no best only what's best for you.

No worries, thanks for your advice so far :)

diesel, on Sep 26 2011, 09:57 PM, said:

The Samsung D8000 is top of the Samsung plasma pile and certainly a very very good screen.

The Panasonic GT30 is also a very good screen, but the equivalent to theD8000 would be the VT in the Panasonic range.

You sure you can't go to 59"/60"?

I don't think so diesel. I tend to prefer quality over quantity (size in this case) and so would rather get something which I know is the best quality than a bigger screen that is of less quality. I don't think my budget can stretch far enough to get a D8000 in 59" for example, I'm seeing the 51D8000 around $1750 so that's sort of where I was looking.

What's the best price at the moment on the 51" VT Pana? I can't really find a decent Pana source (whereas I'm using The Cable Connection for Samsung which seems to have the cheapest prices)?

[Beleg Cúthalion]

the only thing the D8000 has over the D550 and D6900 is the light filter. especially since the D6900 has the Anti-reflective coating, i would prefer the 59D6900 to the 51D8000 unless in a very bright room.

YMMV.

[diesel]

mattywhisk, on Sep 27 2011, 06:01 AM, said:

What's the best price at the moment on the 51" VT Pana?

Streamaster is a good starting point, but I'm sure a B&M store will match/beat with some haggling.

[mattywhisk]

diesel, on Sep 27 2011, 08:55 AM, said:

Streamaster is a good starting point, but I'm sure a B&M store will match/beat with some haggling.

thanks! B&M is.. ?

[Beleg Cúthalion]

bricks and mortar :)