Panasonic versus Hitachi Plasma TVs

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NavinR

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#14498 6-Jul-2007 13:50

Hi,

I'm looking to buy a new Plasma tv. I want to spend between $3000-$3500 for a 42 inch hi-def tv. I will use it predominantly for Sky digital, movies, and Xbox 360. At the moment I am comparing the Panasonic TH-42PV70AZ ($3,299 from Noel Leeming - http://panasonic.co.nz/product-detail$product$865$.html ) and the Hitachi 42PD9500TA ($3,699 from Eastern Hifi - http://www.easternhifi.co.nz/default,849.sm). The Hitachi has slightly better resolution, but I have always heard good things about Panasonic. Any opinions?

It's better to be lucky than good.

Regs

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Snowflake

#77150 6-Jul-2007 14:27

As i've mentioned in another thread I would recommend waiting for 12 months before buying a new screen if you can. The only true HD (1080p) panels on the market are still fairly expensive but i expect that they will tumble in price after another 12 months. Why do you need one? The new Blu-Ray and HD-DVD discs are optimised for 1080p screens and there are no plans to broadcast or provide content at higer resolutions in the near future (to my knowledge). In 12 months the screens will likely come with digital terrestrial tuners too so you can pick up the broadcast freeview hdtv when it is launched.

Perhaps a second hand 42" screen is a better option right now? Most screens that are less than 4 years old (3rd or 4th generation or newer) should have useful life of approx 60,000 hours. Keep an eye on greysonline.co.nz for refurbished or seconds stock.

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NavinR

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#77152 6-Jul-2007 14:46

Thanks for that. I mostly want one for watching dvds and playing xbox 360 games in hi-def. Would either of the options I listed above be suitable? The Hitachi one - though not the highest resolution - is supposed to be true HD.

It's better to be lucky than good.

Regs

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Snowflake

#77154 6-Jul-2007 15:10

Musashi: Thanks for that. I mostly want one for watching dvds and playing xbox 360 games in hi-def. Would either of the options I listed above be suitable? The Hitachi one - though not the highest resolution - is supposed to be true HD.

both of those screens will accept and display an HD 1080p signal. note that there is a difference between being able to receive an hd 1080p signal and output it, and being able to display a 1080p signal at 1080p...

the panasonic lists a resolution of 1024x768 while the hitachi is listing native resolution of 1024x1080. Neither of these are really true hd...

the hitachi is an ALIS panel - it uses rectangular pixels instead of square ones which won't be ideal if you want to plug a computer into it... the screen images will be stretched at its native resolution

The following panasonic panel is a true HD plasma with a resolution of 1920x1080
http://www2.panasonic.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/vModelDetail?storeId=15001&catalogId=13401&itemId=126557&catGroupId=24973&modelNo=TH-42PZ700U&surfModel=TH-42PZ700U&cacheProgram=11002&cachePartner=7000000000000005702

which one should you pick? seeing as you said you were going to use it for gaming, perhaps you should rock on up to the stores with your favourite fast action xbox game and console and ask them if you can try it out. one thing that can be an issue with screens is fast motion.

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Snowflake
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NavinR

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#77157 6-Jul-2007 15:47

Regs:
The following panasonic panel is a true HD plasma with a resolution of 1920x1080
http://www2.panasonic.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/vModelDetail?storeId=15001&catalogId=13401&itemId=126557&catGroupId=24973&modelNo=TH-42PZ700U&surfModel=TH-42PZ700U&cacheProgram=11002&cachePartner=7000000000000005702

That model doesn't currently seem to available in NZ, do you know any one that stocks it?

Also, for what I want, will true HD be necessary? I don't plan to hook it up to my PC.

It's better to be lucky than good.

Regs

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Snowflake

#77173 6-Jul-2007 17:52

Musashi:
Regs:
The following panasonic panel is a true HD plasma with a resolution of 1920x1080
http://www2.panasonic.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/vModelDetail?storeId=15001&catalogId=13401&itemId=126557&catGroupId=24973&modelNo=TH-42PZ700U&surfModel=TH-42PZ700U&cacheProgram=11002&cachePartner=7000000000000005702

That model doesn't currently seem to available in NZ, do you know any one that stocks it?

There didnt seem to be any true HD panasonic plasmas on the NZ website so i went to their .com to find one. I expect it would probably cost updards of $5000 like the other true HD panels do.

Also, for what I want, will true HD be necessary? I don't plan to hook it up to my PC.

HD won't be necessary for generally hooking up to your PC (unless you are to use it for HD gaming or HD video edting) - a screen with a mnimum native resolution of 1366x768 is recommended (848x480 is too small). True HD more important for connecting up HD-DVD and Blu-Ray DVD. I'm not sure about the xbox but i know that there are games available for the PS3 that run in true HD (1080p).

Go into a store and have a look at the difference in a true HD screen playing a 1080p BluRay/HD-DVD and compare to another screen to see the difference. (Then compare to a standard DVD playing at 480i/p)

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Snowflake
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NavinR

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#77175 6-Jul-2007 18:12

There doesn't seem much in that higher resolution in a 42inch plasma at the moment in NZ. The Hitachi seems to have the best at 1024x1080 (which all up has more than 1366x768 doesn't it?), and the guys at Easter hifi feel that it will output 1080p. I want to future-proof myself, but also, I don't really want to spend $5000+ if this one will do the job.

It's better to be lucky than good.