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[Prophet Steve]

Does anyone have the Panasonic TC-P60ST60? It's one of the few Panasonic plasmas that's decently priced still, and also seems to have good reviews. Any information on it?

Edit: Or the TC-P65S60. Seems to be the same price.

It is the last Panasonic series, the 60 series.

In terms of quality it goes from S60 (US only)->ST60->GT60 (Europe only) -> VT60 -> ZT60.

The ST60 offers a lot of improvements over the S60 so I would go for that, there is an issue though, the ST60 has quite a lot of input lag (80 ms or something in game mode or something) because of the Smart TV and not very powerful processor. The S60 has less input lag but is also a worse quality TV.

The S60 and ST60 are both amazing values for their prices and I doubt you would regret them. I actually ordered a ST60 two hours ago.

 

[ReyVGM]

The S60 has less input lag but is also a worse quality TV.
.

Careful, that makes it sound as if the S60 sucks. It might be on the lower end of the other Panny Plasmas, but it still blows away any LCD/LED you put next to it.

 

[Garcia]

Looked a bit around the other day, and the Sony KDL-32W650 caught my attention. Anyone have first hand experience with it? The 42" version seems to have less input lag but I think it might be too big (for reference, wall to wall distance is 1,84m while wall to table edge is 68cm). On the other hand, I guess the problems arising from having an edge-lit TV might be less noticeable on a smaller screen.

How are Asus' VG248QE and MX279H for console use? The specs seem nice enough on paper.

I'm the owner of a 42W650 and I can tell you I'm quite satisfied with the overall experience. Don't be afraid to go bigger than 32" since the 42" version really offers a much more solid PQ, black levels and unnoticeable input lag.

You must be aware however of some issues that are almost universal to any mid-to-low budget LCD screen: Sound quality is shit, but I already knew this from dozens of reviews and opinions I gathered from the internet. I don't mind the sound quality at all since the TV features 2 audio outputs: Optical and Analog (headphones-in). It is "ok" for casual watchers but for serious gaming you have to remember to always output your console's sound directly into a Home Theater.

Standing front to it, right in the middle of the screen you get crisp, gorgeous colors and a great range of blacks (which I still haven't calibrated, but they look really good). When playing during the day on a well lit room you can definitely notice solid blacks, but at night you'll find the darkest black is actually a very dark shade of gray.

Since it's a VA display the viewing angles are really poor. You'll notice a drop in blacks as soon as you move 20° horizontally off-screen, and they fade into a light-dark grey at 45° and above. Vertically it is much worse. 15° off and you'll notice a huge dropout from black to light grey.

Standing right at the center you won't notice any light bleeding from the corners or edges. Actually, you won't notice anything at all. If you stand up while your TV is on and look at it from several angles you will (of course) find some bleeding, but this is something I've seen in almost every single LCD display. I repeat: Looking at the screen at the right viewing angle delivers a crystal clear Full HD gorgeous image without any imperfections.

PC gaming is fantastic. 1080p looks amazing and as I already told you I haven't even bothered to calibrate this set. I've read you can reach RGB levels from 17 black up to 255 white upon further tweaking.

In a nutshell: If you're going to use this mainly for gaming, you're under a tight budget AND can't find any Plasmas then yes, look no further, this is your TV.

You can read this for more info.

 

[AlimNassor]

Man, you are the first person to like the W6 series. I guess I'm blind as even the shitty LCDs at my work looked nice. I didn't see any blur, and the blacks were black. Am I just blind? Zt60 was a huuuuuuuuge difference and blew away everything.

 

[Jubern]

Man, you are the first person to like the W6 series. I guess I'm blind as even the shitty LCDs at my work looked nice. I didn't see any blur, and the blacks were black. Am I just blind? Zt60 was a huuuuuuuuge difference and blew away everything.

Wait what? I feel like I read nothing but praise for the W6 series as a of (relatively) low cost solution? Especially in this thread, where people keep saying it's the best bang for buck you can get in this range.

 

[jett]

I'm the owner of a 42W650 and I can tell you I'm quite satisfied with the overall experience. Don't be afraid to go bigger than 32" since the 42" version really offers a much more solid PQ, black levels and unnoticeable input lag.

You must be aware however of some issues that are almost universal to any mid-to-low budget LCD screen: Sound quality is shit, but I already knew this from dozens of reviews and opinions I gathered from the internet. I don't mind the sound quality at all since the TV features 2 audio outputs: Optical and Analog (headphones-in). It is "ok" for casual watchers but for serious gaming you have to remember to always output your console's sound directly into a Home Theater.

Standing front to it, right in the middle of the screen you get crisp, gorgeous colors and a great range of blacks (which I still haven't calibrated, but they look really good). When playing during the day on a well lit room you can definitely notice solid blacks, but at night you'll find the darkest black is actually a very dark shade of gray.

Since it's a VA display the viewing angles are really poor. You'll notice a drop in blacks as soon as you move 20° horizontally off-screen, and they fade into a light-dark grey at 45° and above. Vertically it is much worse. 15° off and you'll notice a huge dropout from black to light grey.

Standing right at the center you won't notice any light bleeding from the corners or edges. Actually, you won't notice anything at all. If you stand up while your TV is on and look at it from several angles you will (of course) find some bleeding, but this is something I've seen in almost every single LCD display. I repeat: Looking at the screen at the right viewing angle delivers a crystal clear Full HD gorgeous image without any imperfections.

PC gaming is fantastic. 1080p looks amazing and as I already told you I haven't even bothered to calibrate this set. I've read you can reach RGB levels from 17 black up to 255 white upon further tweaking.

In a nutshell: If you're going to use this mainly for gaming, you're under a tight budget AND can't find any Plasmas then yes, look no further, this is your TV.

You can read this for more info.

You can't tell me your TV doesn't suffer from banding.

 

[mrklaw]

You can't tell me your TV doesn't suffer from banding.

I might not be able to tell you mine doesn't, but I can tell you I haven't noticed anything. 50W685 here and liking it very much. Motion resolution not as good as my previous set (HX800) but overall image quality is very good

 

[burnfout]

So has the followup to the Sony W900a/905 been announced yet for '14?

 

[AlimNassor]

Wait what? I feel like I read nothing but praise for the W6 series as a of (relatively) low cost solution? Especially in this thread, where people keep saying it's the best bang for buck you can get in this range.

No, everyone keeps talking about how bad it is. AV forums talk about it as bad too.

 

[jett]

I might not be able to tell you mine doesn't, but I can tell you I haven't noticed anything. 50W685 here and liking it very much. Motion resolution not as good as my previous set (HX800) but overall image quality is very good

Your TV probably has a completely different panel, since its passive 3D(maybe an LG like the W8s, dunno). Yet I doubt it doesn't suffer from banding. All "W" models do.

 

[mrklaw]

Your TV probably has a completely different panel, since its passive 3D(maybe an LG like the W8s, dunno). Yet I doubt it doesn't suffer from banding. All "W" models do.

I don't doubt it may have banding, but I'm fucked if I'm going to go looking for something that I may not be able to unsee. Hence the wording of my reply.

In most AV threads I visit when preparing for a new TV, there are inevitably complaints about banding, RSE, spotlighting etc etc ad infinitum. You just have to be ok with the compromises of the technology you choose. CRT often had issues with convergence, plasmas don't do well in very brightly lit rooms, LCDs have backlighting issues.

It is a little frustrating, because they could solve a lot of that by not sticking with damn edge-lit LCDs, but there you go.

I'm not sure of the exact panel I have, but I'm guessing it is a VA panel, the blacks are too good to be like the W8

 

[Prophet Steve]

Careful, that makes it sound as if the S60 sucks. It might be on the lower end of the other Panny Plasmas, but it still blows away any LCD/LED you put next to it.

Yeah, was thinking the same thing with my comment, but that is why I also have the last sentence.

 

[torontoml]

Haven't touched the 3d on my W900a yet, but is there certain settings I should be using for it, or is it good out of the box like the 2d settings.

 

[Jubern]

No, everyone keeps talking about how bad it is. AV forums talk about it as bad too.

What I read is that it has problems, but that those are mostly the ones you'd expect from a budget set and/or LCD in general... So like I said, bang for buck.

Also, I'd be going for a 42w650a since it's available where I am, and I hear it's better than the 32".

 

[DD-11]

Thoughts on the Samsung UN60F7100. Does anyone have it? Looking to do a bit of everything on it.

 

[Rex_Harrison]

Thoughts on the Samsung UN60F7100. Does anyone have it? Looking to do a bit of everything on it.

The 60" F7100 doesn't use Samsung panels, they're all supplied by Sharp. You'd be better off with the 55" or the 65". I had the 55" and it is an all around great tv.

I figure if I'm spending Samsung money, then I want a Samsung product. If I wanted a Sharp I'd buy a Sharp.

 

[slapnuts]

Careful, that makes it sound as if the S60 sucks. It might be on the lower end of the other Panny Plasmas, but it still blows away any LCD/LED you put next to it.

Just about all of Panasonic's plasma's are great including the lower end models, they are awesome for gaming too! I personally had a Panasonic G10 50inch Plasma ..which was a 2009 model but recently upgraded to a larger Panasonic UT50 55inch Plasma which is a 2012 model with Passive 3D/SmartTV features and i couldnt be more happier as far as Picture quality is. Amazing how 5 more inches makes a HUGE difference at 6 and Half feet away.

I was going to get the ST model but the input lag was kinda noticeable for me..especially when doing the comparisons i did before buying a TV last fall in October 2013.

The UT50 has a very respectable response time so i opted to go with that because this TV is mainly for PC and PS4 gaming along with internet surfing,etc as my PC is connected to i for a media center. I got the UT50 55inch for a killer deal as well ...this TV will hold me down until OLEDs become more mainstream and affordable...by then i will go up to 4k as well since that will be more common, cheaper.

Anyways..its sad to see Panasonic close the door on Plasmas but at the same time i ready to move on to OLED tech in the near future.

 

[DD-11]

The 60" F7100 doesn't use Samsung panels, they're all supplied by Sharp. You'd be better off with the 55" or the 65". I had the 55" and it is an all around great tv.

I figure if I'm spending Samsung money, then I want a Samsung product. If I wanted a Sharp I'd buy a Sharp.

Is there anything else in the UNxxF line I should be considering?

 

[Rex_Harrison]

Is there anything else in the UNxxF line I should be considering?

Honestly, unless you're desperate for a TV right this minute, you should wait for the 14' models. It sounds like all mid to upper tier sets are going to be full array backlit.

Full Array > Edge Lit. Edge Lit TV's are seriously flawed. Even the best ones exhibit clouding, flashlighting, and banding (especially the bigger sizes @ 55" and up ). If I were you, I would check out the Vizio P series when it comes out in a couple months. I bet Samsung is going to do some nice things with Full Array as well.

 

[Jarmel]

I was looking at swiveble TV wall mounts. This one seems good. Are there any other good ones?

 

[Garcia]

Man, you are the first person to like the W6 series. I guess I'm blind as even the shitty LCDs at my work looked nice. I didn't see any blur, and the blacks were black. Am I just blind? Zt60 was a huuuuuuuuge difference and blew away everything.

I have to remind you something: Full HD Plasmas are absolutely out of my budget where I live at. The VIERA series are nowhere to be found and the very few I stumbled upon where over twice the price tag you see in amazon.us. There's a lot, and I mean a lot of cheap 720p plasmas but again, no VIERA series anywhere.

Also, you guys in the US have amazing refund policies at several stores and that's why I keep reading about people who are on their 6th or 7th set in less than 10 years. That's almost non-existant here, so you have to do a lot of research and test your sets before buying them if you really want to get a bang out of your buck.

The W6 is very far from being perfect but for the games I use to play (no sports games nor sports watcher) it performs wonderfully.

Again, I've noticed banding in every single LCD set I've placed my eyes on but you have to be very nitpicky. Banding is inherent to the tech and you will always, always find it if you stand up right in front of it at a certain angle.

If your viewing position is close to the center you won't notice any banding at all. I really don't know if got lucky but I kid you not when I tell you PQ is perfectly balanced at night. The darkest black is a dark shade of gray without bleeding from the edges or corners.

I'm sure I would be shitting on the screen were I a big fan of sports games like Fifa or such since the W6 apparently doesn't seem to handle those that well, but for the things me and some people over here use it for, it works great.

I don't doubt it may have banding, but I'm fucked if I'm going to go looking for something that I may not be able to unsee. Hence the wording of my reply.

You will find banding if you start to look for it. My W6 shows banding when I stand up (vertical viewing angle: 45°) but there is absolutely no way I'll be gaming on this set while I stand up. I've seen banding at worse viewing angles in some Samsung sets and other brands. The W6 banding is only found when you're not at the suggested viewing position. It really is a non issue.

 

[ShipTheCheese]

Man, I'm getting slightly annoyed I can't get the brightness just right for movies and games at the same time on my ST60. Once I get the blacks to true black in games, its way too dark during movies. On the other hand, good blacks on movies is just a tad too bright for games.

Probably should get the thing calibrated eh? Going to approach the 200 hr mark pretty soon, I think.

 

[cjp]

Can someone explain to me why none of Sony's models (I've got the KDL-55W905A) don't support anything but Dolby Digital and 2 channel PCM through HDMI? It seems ludicrous to me that it only supports those two audio formats, even on their flagship models.

 

[rafaelr]

Can someone explain to me why none of Sony's models (I've got the KDL-55W905A) don't support anything but Dolby Digital and 2 channel PCM through HDMI? It seems ludicrous to me that it only supports those two audio formats, even on their flagship models.

that´s the biggest gripe i have with my sony 905 as well. support couldn´t tell me why of course, just that it didn´t do DTS passthrough but only DD5.1 and pcm 2.0.
for ps4 that´s not a big issue, since you can have it put out bitstream DD5.1. With ps3 otoh i had trouble getting the correct sound format to my receiver and settled for an hdmi splitter in the end (picture to TV, audio to AVR).

 

[IblisGinjo]

If you'd like pics of my setup, I'd be happy to oblige

Late reply but I would. I'm thinking about getting a BenQ W1080ST for my apartment. There is no direct sunlight in the living area only a open door which leads to the bedroom where light comes through, other than that it's pretty dark on the walls. Want to go with the short throw because it's a small space and use it for PC gaming/movies. I don't care about 3D.

I have brought small 1080 39inch TV's that looked okay when hooked up and I even tried my brother's Samsung UN55F6400 55-Inch 1080p 3d TV recently that looked horrible when connected to the PC playing Assassin's Creed IV. I've tried it out my PC on many big screen TV's that he has purchased over the years and they all range from okay to terrible but consoles look good why is that, am I doing something wrong?

 

[Dead]

Can someone explain to me why none of Sony's models (I've got the KDL-55W905A) don't support anything but Dolby Digital and 2 channel PCM through HDMI? It seems ludicrous to me that it only supports those two audio formats, even on their flagship models.

At least Sony does Dolby 5.1. Most other companies only pass through stereo.

 

[DD-11]

Honestly, unless you're desperate for a TV right this minute, you should wait for the 14' models. It sounds like all mid to upper tier sets are going to be full array backlit.

Full Array > Edge Lit. Edge Lit TV's are seriously flawed. Even the best ones exhibit clouding, flashlighting, and banding (especially the bigger sizes @ 55" and up ). If I were you, I would check out the Vizio P series when it comes out in a couple months. I bet Samsung is going to do some nice things with Full Array as well.

Thanks, I was thinking that myself (didn't know about the tech), but my wife was encouraging me to get a new one now.

You saved me from a great deal of buyer's remorse.

 

[Dead]

Man, I'm getting slightly annoyed I can't get the brightness just right for movies and games at the same time on my ST60. Once I get the blacks to true black in games, its way too dark during movies. On the other hand, good blacks on movies is just a tad too bright for games.

Probably should get the thing calibrated eh? Going to approach the 200 hr mark pretty soon, I think.

Calibration probably won't help as the standards are still made for film and not games iirc

 

[lostinblue]

Look into the color range you're using for games.

 

[Aspiring]

Hey gaf I don't know if this is the right thread but I need some help.

I just bought a new 60 inch 3D LED TV and it's amazing. Now I use my receiver for everything however have just found out that it does not support 3D. Now I don't really want to watch movies through the TV speakers so can anybody tell me if I am right and if that's how I can connect it. I figure if I connect my PS3/4 straight to my TV to get the 3D image, I can than output sound to my reciever through an optical cable. Is this right? And if so would I connect it from my PS3 to my reciever or my tV to my reciever? Am I right or do I have no hope gaf?

 

[Finaika]

Hey gaf I don't know if this is the right thread but I need some help.

I just bought a new 60 inch 3D LED TV and it's amazing. Now I use my receiver for everything however have just found out that it does not support 3D. Now I don't really want to watch movies through the TV speakers so can anybody tell me if I am right and if that's how I can connect it. I figure if I connect my PS3/4 straight to my TV to get the 3D image, I can than output sound to my reciever through an optical cable. Is this right? And if so would I connect it from my PS3 to my reciever or my tV to my reciever? Am I right or do I have no hope gaf?

Connect your PS3 optical to your receiver.

 

[burnfout]

PS3 with HDMI into TV, PS3 with optical to receiver, I think would work.

You you would have to select optical in sound settings on PS3 of course.

 

[Aspiring]

Thanks heaps guys it's appreciated! Will buy a cable first thing in the morning. ,can't wait to test it out properly!

 

[DangerMouse]

PS3 with HDMI into TV, PS3 with optical to receiver, I think would work.

You you would have to select optical in sound settings on PS3 of course.

Yup, this works, this is what I do in the room with the older receiver that doesn't have HDMI.

 

[genbatzu]

can someone suggest a 65-80" TV in white with wall-mount-possibility to me?

Spoiler

and shipment to austria >.<

bonus: 4-6 HDMI inputs and no 3D

it's so incredible hard to find something q_q

 

[mrklaw]

can someone suggest a 65-80" TV in white with wall-mount-possibility to me?

Spoiler

and shipment to austria >.<

bonus: 4-6 HDMI inputs and no 3D

it's so incredible hard to find something q_q

I doubt it exists. You sometimes get white sets in smaller sizes - maybe aimed at kitchens etc. But larger sets are black or silver, thats about it.

I am a bit surprised manuacturers don't offer clip on covers or something similar - assuming these huge sets are a living room accessory you'd think some people would want them to go with their furnishings.

You could probably make something - either using stick on plastic or making a surround - a picture framing company could probably make something for you that is sized to go around the edge of the bezel.

Alternatively modern TV bezels are often so thin that the entire TV blends into one black rectangle when not in use, so you just live with it

 

[ManUtdRedDevils]

I was thinking of upgrading from my 2008 Samsung 40" to the Sony 55" w900a due to Amazon matching Frys $1599 price. Is it worth buying 1080p now when 4K will become standard in a couple of years? Or will the adoption be slow as it was for 1080p?

 

[AlimNassor]

Honestly, unless you're desperate for a TV right this minute, you should wait for the 14' models. It sounds like all mid to upper tier sets are going to be full array backlit.

Full Array > Edge Lit. Edge Lit TV's are seriously flawed. Even the best ones exhibit clouding, flashlighting, and banding (especially the bigger sizes @ 55" and up ). If I were you, I would check out the Vizio P series when it comes out in a couple months. I bet Samsung is going to do some nice things with Full Array as well.

Will they be good for gaming? I want a decent sized TV with good IQ, and low input lag.

 

[Amneisac]

So my Panasonic S60 looks great, but the reflection is so annoying to me. It's also annoying to sit in complete darkness when I watch TV (especially since most times my wife likes to do other stuff like read or scrapbook or whatever and she can't do that in the darkness), so I have started either not watching TV, or watching our old 46" LED Bravia in the bedroom. My wife hasn't been watching it either because she's scared she's going to accidentally leave it on and burn stuff into the screen.

I knew the reflection could be a problem, but I never thought it'd bother me as much as it does. Even with the lights dimmed I still get distracted by the reflections in the screen. I even have recessed lighting, it's just something I'm very sensitive to, I guess.

Lesson from all this, is that I'm clearly not cut out for plasma TV ownership. I guess that's not going to be a problem since by the time I'm in the market for another TV they (probably) won't exist.

 

[No Love]

So my Panasonic S60 looks great, but the reflection is so annoying to me. It's also annoying to sit in complete darkness when I watch TV (especially since most times my wife likes to do other stuff like read or scrapbook or whatever and she can't do that in the darkness), so I have started either not watching TV, or watching our old 46" LED Bravia in the bedroom. My wife hasn't been watching it either because she's scared she's going to accidentally leave it on and burn stuff into the screen.

I knew the reflection could be a problem, but I never thought it'd bother me as much as it does. Even with the lights dimmed I still get distracted by the reflections in the screen. I even have recessed lighting, it's just something I'm very sensitive to, I guess.

Lesson from all this, is that I'm clearly not cut out for plasma TV ownership. I guess that's not going to be a problem since by the time I'm in the market for another TV they (probably) won't exist.

Sell it on Craigslist for more than you paid and buy an ST60. I have the S64 which has the ST60 anti-glare filter and its way better than my S60 was.

 

[Irnbru]

W900a oh my god, so so good for games

 

[anddo0]

W900a oh my god, so so good for games

Make sure to put it through the paces . My 3rd set will be here on Monday. I'm very nitpicky My current set has a dead pixel and some clouding.

It's an incredible TV though. I've never seen a clearer looking television.

 

[Dr. Zoidberg]

W900a oh my god, so so good for games

The $1599 price on the 55w900a at Fry's tempted me for a few minutes but then

My 3rd set will be here on Monday. I'm very nitpicky My current set has a dead pixel and some clouding.

Nope. Just gonna wait until my current TV dies first. Don't want to go through the exchange parade again so I'll just stick with my trusty crusty RP SXRD. I hope there are some good full-array sets with low lag whenever that happens. I just don't trust edge-lit any more.

 

[jett]

W900a oh my god, so so good for games

The input lag in Sony's W line is really something else. I can't say a single bad thing about that, it's impressive. There is none as far as I'm concerned.

 

[clutch.as.it.gets.]

Finally got the pana 42 Gt 60. I love it. Really great picture quality. And i don`t feel any input lag, even with game mode off. Feels exactly the same to me, and i prefer it because game mode adds some sharpening filter on the picture and i just like it better without it.

But the real star are blu rays with Pure Direct mode on (i´m using the Panasonic DMP-BDT500). Looks really really good. I`m in love.

 

[ManUtdRedDevils]

The $1599 price on the 55w900a at Fry's tempted me for a few minutes but then

Nope. Just gonna wait until my current TV dies first. Don't want to go through the exchange parade again so I'll just stick with my trusty crusty RP SXRD. I hope there are some good full-array sets with low lag whenever that happens. I just don't trust edge-lit any more.

But FALD sets are still LCD technology so while the issues may be different, issues will exist. Some recent FALD models exhibited bad blooming and bleeding.

I am not saying you are wrong to wait as I am deciding whether to buy a W990A or wait for the new FALDs, but all technology has its short comings.

 

[Dynamic3]

So has the followup to the Sony W900a/905 been announced yet for '14?

W950B, comes in 55" and 65".

 

[Clefargle]

I took GAFs advice and wet with the 60in Panasonic Viera. Best plasma I've ever owned.

 

[lem0n]

So what's a good TV for gaming, about $500 or less? Size doesn't matter much.

 

[Canon]

W950B, comes in 55" and 65".

That would be perfect if the damn thing had a normal stand, it won't fit on my TV stand because it's close to the edges.