Buying a Flat Panel Display (LCD/Plasma/LED etc)

[thalavoy]

Originally Posted by msdivy

I checked 42" PV80 & PV8 side-by-side. There is absolutely no difference in video or audio quality for the same settings. Only difference I found is PV80 panel is glossy-finish, while PV8 is matt-finish.

This was at Panasonic brand shop in Koramangala 100ft road. The best prices quoted was:
PV80: Rs 50,000
PV8: Rs 47,000
(exchange of old TV will give additional Rs 1,500 discount).

Surprisingly PY800 series wasn't available. How much would PY800 42" cost?

Are you sure about the PV80 price? Seems very cheap. What is the price in Devi's now?

[appuchan]

Originally Posted by msdivy

....
This was at Panasonic brand shop in Koramangala 100ft road. The best prices quoted was:
PV80: Rs 50,000
PV8: Rs 47,000
(exchange of old TV will give additional Rs 1,500 discount).

Surprisingly PY800 series wasn't available. How much would PY800 42" cost?

Was these quotes from the Panasonic showroom? Last month they were quoting 62k for PV80 and 57K for PV8.

[mps_delhi]

Originally Posted by vasudeva

I think Pioneer is inaugurating a showroom today (17.1.09) at Ambience Mall, NH8. They are advertising full plasma HDTVs.

Those of you who are in NCR and considering buying a Home Theater system, check out Pioneer's special offer (runs through January, I guess). They are offering 30K price for a 55K system! Looks good to me. Check last Sunday's Times of India.

[nirmalts]

Bought a new PV80 here in Germany. Its PANASONIC TH-42PX80EA here, but same as PV80 in India.

When I made the decision to buy a plasma, I was overloaded by the amount of choices here and also information on the net. Then I remembered this thread and quickly browsed through it. PV8/80 was the most popular one and also highly rated. Made my decision and went ahead for it. Costed me 48K here (after currency conversion). I am highly impressed by the quality and has absolutely no competitor for this price. Truely value for money. Thanks guys.

Also bought a region free Pioneer DV-610AV (again got the recommendation from this thread).

The EU models of PV80 comes with a Scart interface and I initially hooked it up with that using RGB. The quality was definitely better than component interface. Then I tried using a HDMI cable (DVD player to TV) and used upscaling on the Pioneer DVD player. The upscaling using the DVD player was tad better. I also compared 3 HDMI cables (a made in China one costing 10€, Oehlbach costing 29€, Monster costing 89€). I really couldn't find any difference in quality and decided on the 29€ one). So I dont advise spending much on HDMI cables with this model (maybe the difference would come in a Full HD model).

Here's a quick review of PV80 and Pioneer DV-610AV

PV80

+ Superb picture quality (for both analog and digital input)
+ Amazing upscaling
+ User friendly interface and navigation
+ Value for money
+ Colors are natural (more after tweaking the settings)
+ Good contrast
+ Blacks levels are too good (LCDs cannot match this)
+ Many more which are listed in this and other forums already

- Remote doesnt always work if you are not in a straight line with the TV
- Remote is a bit long (with the extra buttons for other Pana devices)
- Not really good when the room is bright (a general problem with plasmas)
- Auto aspect ratio sometimes doesnt work (But works if you switch the channels)
- To switch on, you need to press the power button on remote for about 2-3 seconds
- "Hotel mode" with which you can make the device remember a particular input is a hidden feature
- When you want to reset to factory default, it asks you "Are you sure?" three times. Not really a problem as you would not do this often, but not standard.
- Sound quality is not that good. Need a home theater if you need to fully enjoy this TV.
- The SD card option is not very useful if you have a DVD player with USB input

The negatives are really minor ones and can be ignored compared to the pluses this model brings in.

Pioneer DV-610AV

+ Good picture quality
+ Great upscaling (better than what PV80 does)
+ Remote works from any direction
+ Reads scratched DVDs which my old Sony did not
+ Remembers position of last played DVDs

- Start up/loading time is a bit slow
- Menu interface could have been better
- Screen saver is activated after long time (can result in a Burned in "Pioneer" logo if you are not careful)

Will post some pictures soon. Thanks once again

Nirmal

[deepclutch]

a bit of offtopic: guys ,I got a 29 inch CRT here(philips 29PT5607/94).can I connect the normal 3 pin RCA AV cable for sound and video for Component Video connection between the TV and big dth component out ?I searched in my town for this component video cable-but most of them says ,it does not make a difference.just good quality AV cable is enough?Please recommend.

[nirmalts]

Originally Posted by deepclutch

can I connect the normal 3 pin RCA AV cable for sound and video for Component Video connection between the TV and big dth component out ?

Here's a thread a found with google. Check this out incase you havent
Are RCA cables and Component cables the same? | Ask Metafilter

I too feel it depends on the content. Since you wouldn't use HD content with this TV, it wouldnt make any visible difference buying expensive component cables.

But if I was in your position and use this workaround, whenever I have a grainy picture (maybe due to bad transmission), I might blame the workaround I did and always think of investing for a good cable and infact end up buying the cable for some mental satisfaction If you are not a weak one like me, go ahead with your current setup.

Nirmal

[razor4077]

Called up Vaibhav of JD Electronics as suggested by madbullram. PV8 costs 45,500 as he had quoted previously, but the PV80 has surprisingly gone up by a grand, and now costs 51k.
PV8 not in stock, PV80 is. He said it could be delivered in 3 days to my home in Calcutta. How much more do you guys think the prices will drop? Is it worth it waiting for the budget to be announced?

[niks_devil666]

how is this - LG Jazz 32LG80FR, LCD TV?

[msdivy]

Originally Posted by thalavoy

Are you sure about the PV80 price? Seems very cheap. What is the price in Devi's now?

Sure. Price as on last Sunday. I checked Devi on Saturday. They were quoting 55K. But I didn't bargain.

Originally Posted by razor4077

Called up Vaibhav of JD Electronics as suggested by madbullram. PV8 costs 45,500 as he had quoted previously, but the PV80 has surprisingly gone up by a grand, and now costs 51k.
...

Panasonic Brandshop is offering at 50K in Bangalore. So dealer can offer still better price

[razor4077]

Originally Posted by msdivy

Sure. Price as on last Sunday. I checked Devi on Saturday. They were quoting 55K. But I didn't bargain.

Panasonic Brandshop is offering at 50K in Bangalore. So dealer can offer still better price

Is that under exchange? The 51k I mentioned was without any exchange.

[Dushie]

Hi Everyone

Took a long time to read through the posts and details -

Yes the Panasonic brand shop is offering PV80 for 50k.
I visited the showroom personally to check the models out.

I also called Devi and spoke to niranjan hoping he would give a better pricing.

I gave reference of the forum and asked about pricing.

42" Pv80 - 53k
50" PV80 - 1.03

Devi's prices were higher that what was quoted by the Panasonic showroom.

I am anyways waiting for the AV exhibhiton to be held at the end of month in Banglaore , once i visit and check out the new stuff will take a call of what to buy from where.

As i have to buy couple of items .

[speed kills]

@Fillmore & IMP
Thanks for you're inputs guys. Really appreciate it. Just got myself a 42" Full HD LCD. Will upload pics soon.
Cheers

[appuchan]

Originally Posted by Dushie

Hi Everyone

....

Yes the Panasonic brand shop is offering PV80 for 50k.
I visited the showroom personally to check the models out.

I also called Devi and spoke to niranjan hoping he would give a better pricing.

I gave reference of the forum and asked about pricing.

42" Pv80 - 53k
50" PV80 - 1.03

Devi's prices were higher that what was quoted by the Panasonic showroom.

... .

Good. So I am going ahead and getting my PV80 from the showroom itself on Saturday.

[ubsmart]

I feel you guys in Bangalore enjoy dirt cheap prices when it come to TV's. The rates you quoted are laughed at here in Hyderabad when I asked one of my friend who is on a lookout for Pana PV8. I bought the same for @49K exactly a month back. The price is almost the same as found out by my friend.

[madbullram]

Originally Posted by ubsmart

I feel you guys in Bangalore enjoy dirt cheap prices when it come to TV's. The rates you quoted are laughed at here in Hyderabad when I asked one of my friend who is on a lookout for Pana PV8. I bought the same for @49K exactly a month back. The price is almost the same as found out by my friend.

UB: I bought PV8 from JD Electronics for 39,900 under 29inch TV exchange scheme (new year offer). You get it for 45.5 without exchange in HYD from them. J D will give you the same price, I don't HYD will be a problem because ther H.O is Hyd. You can talk to Vaibhav for the pricing.