600Hz Sub-field Drive or 550Hz Sub-field Drive

Forums › Home Theatre (including HTPC and EPG Collector) › 600Hz Sub-field Drive or 550Hz Sub-field Drive

myben

12 posts

Geek

#65877 8-Aug-2010 11:16

Looking at buying a Panasonic Plasma

either

TH-P46U20Z or TH-P46S10Z

one has 600Hz Sub-field Drive and the other 550Hz Sub-field Drive

is 550hz ok and are there any other major differences between these models

thanks

Myben

Dingbatt

6804 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 3694

Lifetime subscriber

#364945 8-Aug-2010 11:25

As far as I know quoting the sub-field drive rate is more marketing ploy than anything else. It is the number of times a second a plasma cell energised to maintain its brightness. It is not the same as frame rate or refresh rate that is quoted particularly for LCD TVs.

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

richms

29098 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 10208

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#364948 8-Aug-2010 11:44

old plasmas flickered too much, like an old CRT, remember when CRTs went to 100Hz to reduce flicker? This is the same thing. Not to be confused with motion flow etc that are making up frames, its just refreshing the panel that many times per second.

To be honest, before you commit to the plasma, have a good look at the gradients of flesh tones, skys etc, when you have it on a sane brightness level. I find the dither too offensive an easily visible from 2 meters away on a 46" screen, see an earlier thread about it I posted.

Richard rich.ms

Dunnersfella

4100 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 887

#365089 8-Aug-2010 19:18

I wouldn't make my choice between a 2009 or 2010 plasma based on 550 or 600Hz sub-field drive.
You really want to see both models next to each other. And for my money, I'd want the S series to be considerably cheaper... last years tech should be quite a bit less.
As a side note, for 2010 TV's 600Hz is only available when the TV is set to Cinema mode. I'm not sure about 2009 TV's.