Geekzone: technology news, blogs, forums
Guest
Welcome Guest.
You haven't logged in yet. If you don't have an account you can register now.


ageorge

626 posts

Ultimate Geek


#92890 8-Nov-2011 18:51
Send private message

Hi my LCD TV gave up the ghost and hope to repair it as soon as hard to get parts arrive from China but in the meantime, the kids are getting TV withdrawal, and I see one of these TH-P42U20Z for special, which we can use elsewhere when the LCD is fixed.

Having read the reviews, these Panasonic models dont seem to be much good, but any comments appreciated especially the difference between the 20 and 30 model.
Cheers,
Alistair.

Create new topic
gumdigger
429 posts

Ultimate Geek


  #542792 8-Nov-2011 20:01
Send private message

u20 is from the 2010 entry level FULL HD line up and u30 is 2011, U30 is capable of IPTV and has a facebook app. Specs related to picture quality should be the same.



ageorge

626 posts

Ultimate Geek


  #542802 8-Nov-2011 20:15
Send private message

Thanks is their PQ as bad as reported elsewhere do you know? I am used to a good picture with our LCD but looking at some of the Plasma models in stores a while back, I could not tolerate the quality.
Live in rural, so its not just a case of a short trip to Harvey Norman etc to check them out.
Thanks,
Al.

gumdigger
429 posts

Ultimate Geek


  #542841 8-Nov-2011 21:20
Send private message

Picture quality is pretty good on this model but it will reflect a bit more than your lcd, because it does have any uv filter like the st or vt models. Panasonic also has a u30 lcd model that should be in the same sort of price range if you want.



bfginger
1268 posts

Uber Geek


  #542870 8-Nov-2011 22:38
Send private message

What model is your LCD?

The U20 was last year's model. The U30 is a bottom end 1080p plasma TV. I doubt there is any difference between it and the 3D model, the UT30, other than 3D.

The P42ST30Z would be a better purchase than the U30. It is available for under $1500 which unfortunately is more than it sells for overseas as our retailers like fat margins.
http://www.hdtvtest.co.uk/news/panasonic-tx-p42st30b-p42st30-201105161138.htm

I can only guess why the plasma televisions that you saw looked so bad. They may have been under bright fluorescent lighting, or not been given a HD signal, been low end 768p sets, plugged in via composite cables, hadn't had overscan disabled, etc. The last time I was in a Harvey Normans the Panasonic plasmas were mostly being fed SD and the Sonys were being given a nasty 4:3 satellite feed.

Dunnersfella
4086 posts

Uber Geek


  #542895 8-Nov-2011 23:49
Send private message

bfginger: The P42ST30Z would be a better purchase than the U30. It is available for under $1500 which unfortunately is more than it sells for overseas as our retailers like fat margins. .


Dead horse...
Whipping.

Anyhoo... the 42ST Panasonic is where 'plasmas get good'. The anti-glare louver and black levels will smoke the likes of the U20. Of course, it'll be nowhere as cheap as last years U20. You should be able to get one of those for under half the price of the ST30.
It's an 'okay' TV, but that's about it... it can't actually resolve a Full HD picture from a moving image, only 900 lines of resolution, and if the room is brightly lit, it'll struggle to give you a decent picture. The TH-L42U30 LCD would be a better choice - but it's not as cheap as a TH-P42U20.

ageorge

626 posts

Ultimate Geek


  #542908 9-Nov-2011 04:45
Send private message

I have always been a Philips fan, due to excellent picture quality of most of their sets, and was a serviceman for about 20 years, but since this 42TA2800 only 3 years old bit the dust, I would not touch a Philips product with a barge pole due to such constrained spare parts that you often have to get a repaired replacement board (if you can get it). There is a law I believe that stipulates company must support discontinued product with spare parts for X number of years. If so, Philips ignores it!
I'll eventually fix the Philips telly if ordered spares arrive, or bite the bullet and pay for a replacement PSU board.

One thing of use out of the broken set saga is I may have found a source of discrete spare parts.


Re the plasma. Yes, the P42U20 is available at a massively good price, but if its only average picture, then best we ignore it here.

Prices of LCD have been dropping quite a bit in the last months. Also, Google reveals that its now considered plasma is a redundant technology.
I'll start a new thread recommended 42"/1m or larger LCD

Cheers Geekzone.
Al.

bfginger
1268 posts

Uber Geek


  #543870 10-Nov-2011 17:33
Send private message

Philips television failures are usually caused by broken electrolyte capacitors on the power boards. Replacing the whole power board may be excessive if not wasteful but might have lower labour costs.

I wouldn't say plasma is a redundant technology. Plasma televisions remain on the market because LCDs cannot match them in some areas yet.

 
 
 

Shop now on AliExpress (affiliate link).
ageorge

626 posts

Ultimate Geek


  #543878 10-Nov-2011 18:07
Send private message

bfginger: Philips television failures are usually caused by broken electrolyte capacitors on the power boards. Replacing the whole power board may be excessive if not wasteful but might have lower labour costs.

I wouldn't say plasma is a redundant technology. Plasma televisions remain on the market because LCDs cannot match them in some areas yet.

Thanks for the tip - Ill replace the ceramic cap in harmonic choke circuit as well as the electrolytics on the output circuit as you suggest.
Of course it could be the output switch mode xfmer, but hopefully thats not the case.
Am getting replacement FET soon (I hope) and will run the psu disconnected with my trusty dummy load 230vac light temporarily replacing fuse to check psu for reliability.

Hope next TV we get does not have such a short life, and zilch product support in spares; boards have to be flown in from Singapore.
NZers should blacklist Philips products IMHO.

Create new topic





News and reviews »

Air New Zealand Starts AI adoption with OpenAI
Posted 24-Jul-2025 16:00


eero Pro 7 Review
Posted 23-Jul-2025 12:07


BeeStation Plus Review
Posted 21-Jul-2025 14:21


eero Unveils New Wi-Fi 7 Products in New Zealand
Posted 21-Jul-2025 00:01


WiZ Introduces HDMI Sync Box and other Light Devices
Posted 20-Jul-2025 17:32


RedShield Enhances DDoS and Bot Attack Protection
Posted 20-Jul-2025 17:26


Seagate Ships 30TB Drives
Posted 17-Jul-2025 11:24


Oclean AirPump A10 Water Flosser Review
Posted 13-Jul-2025 11:05


Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7: Raising the Bar for Smartphones
Posted 10-Jul-2025 02:01


Samsung Galaxy Z Flip7 Brings New Edge-To-Edge FlexWindow
Posted 10-Jul-2025 02:01


Epson Launches New AM-C550Z WorkForce Enterprise printer
Posted 9-Jul-2025 18:22


Samsung Releases Smart Monitor M9
Posted 9-Jul-2025 17:46


Nearly Half of Older Kiwis Still Write their Passwords on Paper
Posted 9-Jul-2025 08:42


D-Link 4G+ Cat6 Wi-Fi 6 DWR-933M Mobile Hotspot Review
Posted 1-Jul-2025 11:34


Oppo A5 Series Launches With New Levels of Durability
Posted 30-Jun-2025 10:15









Geekzone Live »

Try automatic live updates from Geekzone directly in your browser, without refreshing the page, with Geekzone Live now.



Are you subscribed to our RSS feed? You can download the latest headlines and summaries from our stories directly to your computer or smartphone by using a feed reader.