Panasonic HD PLasma vs Sony Bravia Full HD

Forums › Home Theatre (including HTPC and EPG Collector) › Panasonic HD PLasma vs Sony Bravia Full HD

1 | 2

austriaco

46 posts

Geek

#157163 15-Aug-2008 11:05

Yep either it breaks within 1-6 months or it will last its expected life cyle. Extended warranties and HP agreements is where the margins are for the stores.

sbiddle

30853 posts

Uber Geek

Retired Mod

Trusted

Biddle Corp

Lifetime subscriber

#157164 15-Aug-2008 11:12

There are advantages though - many policies will offer a no questions asked replacement of the product with a brand new item. If your TV fails after 4 years you could potentially follow this though the disputes tribunal and make a claim under the CGA if the TV fails but there is no guarantee you will be successful. There is a line between a product failing through normal wear & tear and failing due to a faulty product.

The CGA does cover you but it is certainly not a 100% substitute for an extended warranty.

smbunn

107 posts

Master Geek

#157167 15-Aug-2008 11:22

I have the same Panasonic 50" Viera and love it. On Freeview HD it is outstanding and of course great on blue-ray disk and even excellent on standard DVD. The freeview digital reception of 1, 2 and 3 are HD, (OK upscaled most of the time) and look way better than then "soft" standard TV reception. I only keep the option of watching TV for Prime.
The TV3 full 1080i programs with 5.1 sound like CSI, Medium, NCIS, Bones etc all look absolutely stunning.

I declined the extended warranty, way too expensive and I agree the CGA covers everything you want. The bath-tub curve applies to all electronics as someone already pointed out, it will either die in year 1 or last 20 plus years.

My advice, ditch the warranty and get a freeview HD up and running and if you must have sky, get Sky HD.

Here's a US report from January;

JUST WEEKS BEFORE THE birth of David Bieler's daughter, his digital camera went kaput. No worries, thought the 36-year-old from Poughkeepsie, N.Y. That's what the $100 extended warranty he'd purchased was for. He quickly shipped off the camera along with an urgent-sounding note that he'd need the camera back right away.

Little Jocelyn was nearly three months old by the time the camera was returned to him. He had long since purchased a new one.

Extended warranties on appliances and electronic devices are a huge business. They're offered by retailers and third-party providers on everything from washing machines to Apple iPods. But what sounds like a great idea when you're in the store, experts and burned consumers warn, might not be worth the added cost. Consumer Reports has concluded that extended warranties are often a waste of money simply because many products tend not to break down during the first few years of service. And even when something does go wrong, you might have a tough time getting it fixed thanks to the small print on your contract or, in Bieler's case, the hassle factor.

Since extended warranties are claimed so rarely, the profit margins on them run as high as 40% to 80%, says Marlys Harris, finance editor for Consumer Reports. That can pad a company's bottom line nicely. During 2004, in fact, nearly 100% of Circuit City Stores' and 50% of Best Buy's operating income came from extended warranties, say analysts. Is it any wonder that the big box retailers aggressively push these contracts?

and New Zealand Ministry of Consumer Affairs says;

Extended warranties

Have you ever bought a new television, or another expensive item, at a shop and not been offered an extended warranty? Whenever you buy a new fridge, washing machine, dishwasher or anything else for that matter, you’re more than likely to be confronted by an eager sales assistant offering to sell you an extended warranty. Truth be told though, most of the time when you buy consumer goods for personal use you don't need an extended warranty.

Should I get an extended warranty?

Remember you are already covered by the Consumer Guarantees Act - so why pay more for rights that you already have? The Consumer Guarantees Act says that you have the right to a repair, replacement or refund if goods are not durable - in other words, if they do not last without fault for a reasonable length of time.
Extended warranties may be overpriced. Studies in the Unites States show that profit margins are between 40-80% on the sale of these warranties. After an investigation by the Office of Fair Trading, the UK has introduced new rules for retailers selling these warranties.
Most manufacturers provide a warranty to cover things like parts and labour, normally for a year or two. But be careful with warranties from traders, some traders may charge you a $60 ‘bond’ before they will even consider a claim under your warranty.
And this reason is so good we are going to repeat it…you are already covered by the Consumer Guarantees Act!

So what does the Consumer Guarantees Act say?

All consumer goods sold in New Zealand are covered by the Consumer Guarantees Act. This act says that all goods must:

Be of acceptable quality – fit for the purpose they are made for, be safe, last for a reasonable time, have no minor defects and be acceptable in look and finish.
Be fit for a particular purpose – if there is something special you want a product to do, make sure you describe the ‘particular purpose’ to the trader so they can make sure you get the right product.
Match the description – if you buy a refrigerator that is described as having automatic defrost, it must have that feature.
Match any samples – if you order a car based on a showroom model, the one you receive has to match the model you saw.
Have spare parts available – unless you’ve been told that it’s not possible, you have access to repair facilities and spare parts for goods you buy. Be careful if you buy discontinued models, as the spare parts may not be easily available.
Have the right to be sold – the trader must be able to pass all the ownership rights or title over the goods to you. The trader must tell you when someone else has rights over the goods, such as a security interest over a car.

Are there times when I should consider buying an extended warranty?

You should think about whether you will need extra cover. But remember to read the fine print; there may be some exclusions that the warranty doesn’t cover, like certain parts, faults or costs.

If you’re going to use the goods for your business, a warranty may be useful because you won’t have the protection of the quality guarantees given under the Act. Also, if you’re buying goods at an auction or by tender a warranty may be useful as, again, you won’t have the protection of the Consumer Guarantees Act.

For further information on the Consumer Guarantees Act, visit the Ministry of Consumer Affairs website.

Xt1ncT

110 posts

Master Geek

#157180 15-Aug-2008 12:25

I too am looking at either the 50' or 42' Panasonic Full HD Plasma.

My question is this - if I also get a quality Reveiver/Amplifier that upscales will Skys TV1/TV2/TV3 have better quality pictures, or should I still get the free Freeview box that comes with the Panasonic TV?

I was going to get the DVD HD Recorder, but am having second thoughts now. I'm having MySky HDi installed later this month.

Cheers

Rob

clevedon

1059 posts

Uber Geek

#157186 15-Aug-2008 12:42

Don't know your location, but if you are looking at the Freeview option, check that you can actually receive it in your area first with UHF. If your getting MySky HDi then it has its own PVR, not a massive amount of recording capability though in HD.

old3eyes

9120 posts

Uber Geek

Subscriber

#157187 15-Aug-2008 12:44

The only thing that I have bought extended warrenties for are laptop PCs. We normally buy a 5 year warrenty as from experience all the ones we have had over the past 10 years have had a major problem between 3.5 and 5 years. My wifes 4 year old HP had a faulty screen which was replaced no queastions asked about 2 months ago.. Now under the CGA they may have considered it ware and tear.. The rest of the things we buy I don't bother as for such items as TV they are way too expensive..

Regards,

Old3eyes

JoeBloggs

355 posts

Ultimate Geek

#157202 15-Aug-2008 13:46

Panasonic recently invested a lot of money to improve plasma technology. It's now competitive with LCD and lasts almost as long with decent brightness. The image quality will be top notch HOWEVER I've found almost all LCD and plasma's, when fed analogue input that isn't a native resolution, will perform badly with the exception of Sony. Their internal converters are incredible and still industry leading. If you can make sure you feed a digital signal with a natively supported resolution (e.g. 1080i) into the Panasonic, it will display SD in similar quality to a tube. Sony just displays everything well.

Quic Broadband

Move to New Zealand's best fibre broadband service (affiliate link). Free setup code: R587125ERQ6VE. Note that to use Quic Broadband you must be comfortable with configuring your own router.

Dingbatt

6756 posts

Uber Geek

Lifetime subscriber

#157242 15-Aug-2008 16:12

Xt1ncT: I too am looking at either the 50' or 42' Panasonic Full HD Plasma.

My question is this - if I also get a quality Reveiver/Amplifier that upscales will Skys TV1/TV2/TV3 have better quality pictures, or should I still get the free Freeview box that comes with the Panasonic TV?

I was going to get the DVD HD Recorder, but am having second thoughts now. I'm having MySky HDi installed later this month.

Cheers

Rob

Any day now the TH-50PZ850 plasma with built-in freeview terrestrial decoder is arriving. The price premium over the PY800 I was quoted was $400. The 42PZ850 is apparently a few weeks away. I know it is the same price as if you get the PY800 (and a recorder under the current promotion) plus a FreeviewHD box, but it is one less box and one less remote.

“We’ve arranged a society based on science and technology, in which nobody understands anything about science technology. Carl Sagan 1996

smbunn

107 posts

Master Geek

#157246 15-Aug-2008 16:23

Upscaling from an SD signal is never going to be anywhere near as good as getting native HD from a Freeview HD box. remember its digital from end to end, from TV centre, to transmitter to you Freeviw box then via an HDMI 1.3 cable to your 1080 Panasonic TV.

You just can't beat that with an analogue source and upscaling. I have heard good things about the farajouda upscaling used by Sony from DVD to high-def but nothing compares to native 1080i to 720p.

Go digital!

austriaco

46 posts

Geek

#157251 15-Aug-2008 16:45

To go back to topic a bit. Is there anyone here who would advocate to get the Sony Bravia series over the Panasonic Viera? The more I see and read I believe that the Panasonic 42 or 50 PY800 are the better option over the Sony Bravia V-series? Especially if the new models come with a Freeview decoder buit-in?

JoeBloggs

355 posts

Ultimate Geek

#157357 16-Aug-2008 09:29

If you are going to feed a proper signal (already upscaled/digital) into the Panasonic, go with that. Quality is on par and plasma has natural advantages over LCD, plus it's cheaper. Otherwise if you still use Sky SD or will be plugging in your standard roof aerial cable go with the Sony, it upscales much better.

sub

358 posts

Ultimate Geek

#157394 16-Aug-2008 11:26

JoeBloggs: If you are going to feed a proper signal (already upscaled/digital) into the Panasonic, go with that. Quality is on par and plasma has natural advantages over LCD, plus it's cheaper. Otherwise if you still use Sky SD or will be plugging in your standard roof aerial cable go with the Sony, it upscales much better.

Bollocks. I've spent alot of time with both. I've got the Panasonic and my father in law has the Sony. The Panasonic is definitely better, even for Sky SD via component connection. The Panasonic plasma produces a better picture all round. That said they are both very good, but I'd definitely give the Panasonic the edge.

JoeBloggs

355 posts

Ultimate Geek

#157407 16-Aug-2008 12:27

My experiences would say otherwise - perhaps your father doesn't have a Bravia X? In any case it usually boils down to personal preference, what one finds pleasing another may not. I found Sky SD horrendous on several of the Panasonic plasmas but only mildly insulting to my eyes on all of the Sony's. However when fed a proper signal, the Panasonic tied the Sony while still providing better fluid motion recreation. This was several months ago however so with our ever improving technology maybe Panasonic has produced a better upscaler?

I know a lot of people prefer the [blurry] flow together (more natural rendering some of you like to say) of the plasmas. I prefer sharper definition, hence Sony LCD.

Xt1ncT

110 posts

Master Geek

#157573 17-Aug-2008 20:02

Dingbatt:
Xt1ncT: I too am looking at either the 50' or 42' Panasonic Full HD Plasma.

My question is this - if I also get a quality Reveiver/Amplifier that upscales will Skys TV1/TV2/TV3 have better quality pictures, or should I still get the free Freeview box that comes with the Panasonic TV?

I was going to get the DVD HD Recorder, but am having second thoughts now. I'm having MySky HDi installed later this month.

Cheers

Rob

Any day now the TH-50PZ850 plasma with built-in freeview terrestrial decoder is arriving.

Yeah this is the TV I've just bought.

The store was out of stock so it's on back order - also got a full home theatre set - Klipsch speakers and Yamaha 863 receiver.

Can't wait for it to arrive - will also post a review once it's all set up with MySky HDi etc.

1 | 2