How good is the panasonic g10?

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samwooff

219 posts

Master Geek

#39568 16-Aug-2009 23:58

Hey guys

I'm trying to find just the right tv for the lounge, so far i've narrowed it down to a 50" panasonic plasma however I'm having a bit of trouble deciding between two models the 50x10z and the 50g10z.

I work at dick smiths so I've had a play with our x10 but we don't sell the g10 so I haven't had the chance to do a proper comparison of the two and of course all the other stores won't let me turn off all the lights and spend an hour calibrating them.

So what I'm asking is has anyone had a good look at either or both of these tvs outside of a showroom, I would appreciate your thoughts and whether you think the g10 is worth the extra 1,500 or so.

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22 posts

Geek

#247571 17-Aug-2009 11:58

I'm curious about this too - all the reviews for it are impressive, so we're trying to decide if it is worth the extra $$.

A common theme here is that 20% discount for cash should be the norm, is this true? (And in the provinces?) If so, and we can get this around the $3400 price range, then we'll prob go for it.

I did think the 50s10z for $3k at Harvey Norman was pretty good, but we're quite keen to get the NeoPDP for the better viewing experience.

samwooff

219 posts

Master Geek

#247671 17-Aug-2009 13:53

Yeah, in the showroom it's not a huge difference but all the reviews say it's the best thing thats not a kuro.
Just from experience in my store our manager never gives discounts for cash but usually if you spend a few minutes price matching between 2 or 3 stores you'll get a pretty low price anyway.

Just personally i wouldn't bother with the s10 over the x10, you're only getting 1080p and a slower subfield drive for 600 more.
So far best prices I've managed to get have been 2368 for the 50x10 and 3870 for the 50g10.
If you manage to get someone down to 3400 I'd be keen to learn how you did it :P

I might try twist the arm of the one of the retail store managers and see if i can get a dark room viewing this week.

daskip

79 posts

Master Geek

#247955 17-Aug-2009 22:25

IMO its all about how far you sit from the screen. Over 2.5 metres, likely won't see a difference on 1080P content.

That said, if its being used as a HTPC, I'd also feel more ~comfortable~ with the display of fine text on a screen that is pixel to output matched.

Now is that worth $1400? Tough call, likely not in real world usage. The X10 is definitely good value.

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#247982 18-Aug-2009 06:34

daskip: IMO its all about how far you sit from the screen. Over 2.5 metres, likely won't see a difference on 1080P content.

IMHO that is not quite correct. It is hard to describe but we just moved from a 42" 720p TV to a 46" 1080p. We sit beyond where you should be able to see the difference in detail and yet I can. Easily. It is not so much that you can see every detail but just overall the picture looks clearer/more real.

For sure over enough of a distance it will stop making any difference but that distance seems to be more then the charts etc. that are out there would suggest.

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daskip

79 posts

Master Geek

#248110 18-Aug-2009 12:40

Agree what matters is what your eyes can see, its a very personal thing :)

The nice thing about the 50" x10 over a 42" x10 or other 42" plasmas is the pixels are at least square. I've personally never been able to stand non-square pixels on TVs.

I haven't quite picked up on the advantages of a NEO-PDP panel though. According to the specs:
The G10 is just as thick as the S10/X10.
Power comsumption is higher.
Sub-field drive is the same on the X10 and just lower on the S10.

Is it all about a better native (40,000:1 compared to 30:000:1) contrast? Anything I'm missing, or its it just marketing?

samwooff

219 posts

Master Geek

#248360 18-Aug-2009 21:26

Although 1080p is lovely n' all, it wouldn't be the reason for going for the g10 over the other panasonics.

It's the panel which is going to make all the difference as thats what really determines your image quality, the processing etc is just inputting a signal into the panel but it's the panel that will ultimately limit your picture, unfortunately it's also the one part of a display thats hardest to "sell" or quantitively define, it has to be seen to be appreciated.

As for how good this new Neo panel is I'm still trying to find out.

Wrong way round, the contrast ratio is the marketing. Although native contrast ratios are slightly more realistic than dynamic they are still usually way off and are usually irrelevant especially when comparing different brands, to the point that i don't even read them anymore.

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Sunken

22 posts

Geek

#249122 20-Aug-2009 17:18

We're still not sure - I have been reading some Aussie forums for more info, and they're all gushing about the release of the V10 (reputation only, noone appears to have seen it yet). Also, (the best deals) they're getting for the G10 are around $AUD2100, which I can't do anything about, but is a piss-off all the same. The aussies seem to love the G10, but at those prices its easy to isn't it??

Have read a few thoughts that some people think the PZ850 is better than the G10, but at only $500 cheaper for an 'old' model, is it worth it? Will they negotiate more on the PZ850 as it is old stock? I quite like the weight difference between the 08 and 09 models - just helps to make it a bit easier to manage

Our angle is long-term (saying goodbye to an old panasonic CRT we've had forever), just trying to get the best tv for our dollar that is around at the moment, and will suit our needs for the next 5+ years. And trying to keep it as closer to $3k than $4k. The shopping in Tauranga is a bit hopeless, will check out Hamilton when we're there in a couple of weeks.

samwooff

219 posts

Master Geek

#249224 20-Aug-2009 22:14

There doesn't seem to be much difference between the v10 and the g10, not that it matters we don't get the v series in NZ at the moment anyway.
The only advantage i can see is that the pz850 comes in larger sizes than 50" it certaintly won't look as good as the g10.
As a discontinued model that is reasonably expensive, especially in the larger sizes managers won't get many chances to offload their last stock of the pz850 so will sacrifice some profit margin just to get rid of it.
We've sold panasonic plasmas below cost at my store, usually displays of old models.

magu

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#249939 23-Aug-2009 22:17

Funny I was just about to post a similar question when I found this thread. Had a look around today at a few stores to price the options available. I was originally looking for the last Kuros in stock in 50", but I only found one that was interesting (display model at Harvey Norman) and it was almost $7000. So I read a few reviews and saw good things written about the latest Panasonic plasmas.

So it seems the G10 (until we get the V10 available) is the best of the plasma sets, correct?

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Sunken

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#249991 24-Aug-2009 08:43

As the v10 is not being released in NZ (not even in the nz catalogue or nz website), and the z1 will be very expensive, then the g10 is supposedly the top of the range. We're just trying to decide if it is worth the money.

We saw a g10 and s10 (42") side by side the other day, and to our untrained eyes we couldn't see a difference. Bearing in mind the settings can make a huge change, we asked the salesman what is the 'true' difference between the 2 models. He was so completely hopeless, had no idea at all, started talking about plasma v lcd, then went on about refresh rates of 50hz v 100hz. If anyone can recommend a very good plasma salesman in Hamilton or Tauranga, who really knows their stuff, we'd very much appreciate it. They were both in demo mode, so we saw the effect of the eco-saver thing, which appears to affect the contrast, so dunno how often you'd use that. Also, the g10 had the split screen thing happening (something to do with motion), and once again - couldn't see any difference.

Also the 50" prices in HN, so-called 'specials' were $4200 for the g, and $3000 for the s. Now, as I say when we couldn't see a difference, so is the extra $1200 worth it? If they were negotiable for cash price, then we might get the G, but someone needs to show us a very significant difference in the 2 tv's. We're still doing our research however.

Quite a few of the tauranga stores have py's and pv's still for sale, is this normal? It was more trouble to find this years models.

magu

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#249993 24-Aug-2009 08:51

Personal opinion: hate the 'Motionflow'-like stuff they put on TVs. To me it just feels unnatural. Also, I'm probably one of the few that would NEVER, EVER, turn on eco-saver modes or automatic contrast stuff. Use a THX Optimizer disc to set its contrast and colours and forget it.

I saw the S10 yesterday (not side-by-side, unfortunately) and didn't like the black levels compared to the G10, but I believe they were in different color modes (the S10 had a much 'warmer' image).

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samwooff

219 posts

Master Geek

#250058 24-Aug-2009 12:34

Wow lots of people all having exactly the same problem.
Forget about eco saver and all that jazz, if you set your tv up right it will use less power than out of the box and look better because of excess brightness settings.

Sorry, all the good salesmen are in auckland :p

What we need is someone to let us put them side by side in a dim room properly calibrated, you won't notice any improvement with the g10 if they both look washed out in the store.

Oh and magu if you're after a kuro paul money is the place to go, they have stock of both the 8th and 9th gen panels with the former going for under 4k in 50" http://www.paulmoney.co.nz/shop/television/plasma/pioneer-pdp508xg-plasma-screen

Even though it's probably never going to happen I'd like to see one of those side by side with a g10, from what i hear it's meant to be close to 8th gen in blacks though the 9th gen is still no.1

magu

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#250066 24-Aug-2009 12:54

Thanks for the info.

I've checked the link and they do have some good prices, but I'm after 1080P panels, so the one under $4k is not an option.

Quite interesting, though.

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samwooff

219 posts

Master Geek

#250086 24-Aug-2009 14:20

Bummer, if only everyone had a spare 13k lying round, kuro 600ms for all.

LATESHOW

13 posts

Geek

#250521 25-Aug-2009 21:56

Hi there, Harvey Norman Botany Downs Auckland have the 3 new 50" Panasonic Plasmas- the X, the S, and the G, all next to each other, which is fantastic. i stood there and observed them for quite some time, and it seemed clear that the NEO PDP panel on the G-series makes it a superior viewing experience. Just seemed brighter somehow, well that's my layperson's explanation anyway. And in case you're wondering, the store settings of contrast would be the same across all TVs so the difference does lie in the panel. But to be honest, there were several points in their demo disc where I couldn't see much of a difference between the S and the G. If you're ever at that store, or one where comparable sets are so conveniently side by side, bring in a Blu-ray disc of your choosing and ask them to play it for you.

So is the G worth the extra 900 over and above the cost of the S series {that's the price difference at that store anyway}? Well that's entirely subjective. My rule of thumb is to first: work out my budget, second: see if I can spot a noticeable difference between models, and third: see if I can get a cash price for the best possible model that matches my budget. If I have to settle for a lower model, at least I know my research was thorough and I got the best I could for my money.

FYI, I do know that JB Hi Fi in Botany- and there's a JB in Hamilton too, fyi- has the 50" G listed at 3619, which is a great price, because you should definitely be able to get another 12-15% off for cash. And when you think about it, that's a really damn good price for what is one of the absolute best available Televisions in terms of vision quality out there. Just think how much people are paying for LCD's which simply don't stack up at the end of the day. JB's salespeople are great to deal with too. And no, I don't work for them, but they've always been very approachable about doing cash deals and one guy actually told me to buy from somewhere else once when he had spotted a great deal on a model they no longer had in stock.

Happy shopping!!!

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