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[Unknown Soldier]

Plasma TVs are amazing for watching sports.

This isn't NFL-GAF but the Niners are winning so all is right with the world.

Sorry if it's been answered before but would you guys invest in plasma still, seeing as they are being canned? I'm guessing support will be around for a while.

Yeah, but if you want peace of mind purchase an extended warranty for it.

And if it does self-destruct early on, you might find yourself making a difficult decision when buying your new TV. An LCD is most certainly a downgrade once you've gotten used to a plasma but you might not have a choice if it dies an early death.

 

[Canon]

I have my S64 running some slideshows, what settings should the TV be on? I lowered contrast to 50.

Should brightness be set to something different than default?

 

[HawksWinStanley]

Sorry if it's been answered before but would you guys invest in plasma still, seeing as they are being canned? I'm guessing support will be around for a while.

Only if you want the best overall bang for your buck (imo). The only thing comparable to the VT/ZT Panny line that I've seen is the F8500 and you're going to be paying ~$6-700 more for it.

 

[lostinblue]

I have my S64 running some slideshows, what settings should the TV be on? I lowered contrast to 50.

Should brightness be set to something different than default?

Hi, drop these: (in case they're not the ones you're using)

-> https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/336812/Panel_Prep_Slides.zip

On a usb device and use the following settings:

Picture Mode: Custom
***Leave all settings at their default***

Slideshow Settings

Frame: Off
Photo Effect: Off
Transition Effect: Off
Photo Size: Normal
Burst Playback: Off
Display Interval: Long
Repeat Playback: On

Source: www.controlcal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=939

I actually don't recommend lowering the contrast you want to expose it pretty good with this prep slides after all, I usually use:

Picture Mode: Custom
Contrast: 100
Pixel Orbiter: Auto (=OFF)
***Leave all other settings at their default***

Those settings being only for running slides, obviously. And I leave brightness alone.

 

[ShinAmano]

OK...

Panasonic VT60 owners...I will join your ranks on Saturday when my 65" comes in. Tell me how to break it in (I know nothing about this) and what settings are best.

Now I have to figure out what to do with my first love...my Pioneer 43" PDP4340 the stuff of 720p legend.

 

[lostinblue]

^ See post above and follow the sourced link if doubts arise.

I did the break-in on mine with 8-10 hours of Pixel Jogger as a vaccine against out-of-the-box IR and then switched to slides for about 100 hours.

It's the living room TV though, so I did the break-in at night following viewing sessions. Because we had the commodity of time to do it I didn't turn off the 4 hour timer preconfigured with the TV so break-in sessions usually lasted from a 4 hour minimum to 6 hours. (which happens when after a while I go and check on it, fiddling with the remote and thus restarting the 4 hour inactivity timer.)

It's not so easy to explain why I did it like that but Pixel Jogger is a stress flush cycler for RGB subpixels. They go on and off for as long as it runs, it's clearly meant for increasing response time as phosphor is slower to respond initially... but full white on plasmas triggers ABL pretty hard and thus it's not exposing Red, Green and Blue at 100% in the process, more like 40/50% tops.

Due to that after the 10 hour break-in run I switched to slides because on top of doing white and grey-scale slides it also does full red, green and blue. since these are separated instead of going on all at once ABL doesn't get triggered on them and colors are exposed more making the subpixel (each color) phosphor mature supposedly faster.

The PJ is clearly envisioned for IR, the slides though are meant for maturing colors as soon as possible in order to drop some sweet calibrated settings in. They're also part of a theory of "upbringing" plasmas, if they all shared that routine and settings they'll behave more accordingly, perhaps. (a big "if" but worth trying if you're considering using said configs)

It all went right of course, so I stand by it.

 

[televator]

Okay, now I see a great pitfall on this oled in dark room viewing. Hello mura effec! Christ this is terrible. once you see it, you can totally tell whre it invades any dark area of a scene.

 

[Canon]

My S64 is flickering now and lots of white specks are appearing all over the picture (using PS3). Mainly the PS3 menu. Comes and goes.

EDIT: Turning deep color off in display settings seems to have fixed it, at least for now. I do notice whenever I open a game the TV flashes green for a second.

 

[ReyVGM]

I do notice whenever I open a game the TV flashes green for a second.

Some people have mentioned green pixels or something like that and the reason was high brightness or sharpness or something like that.

Have you tried using the CNET calibration?

 

[Canon]

Nah there's dithering too, but I mean the whole TV flashes green when its changing signals or something. Might be very picky about the cables connected, I know my Wii has bars of fuzzy stuff too.

But aside from the technical problems, I am finding the image a little flat compared to my LED. Not sure if that's something I'll get used to.

 

[ReyVGM]

Nah there's dithering too, but I mean the whole TV flashes green when its changing signals or something. Might be very picky about the cables connected, I know my Wii has bars of fuzzy stuff too.

But aside from the technical problems, I am finding the image a little flat compared to my LED. Not sure if that's something I'll get used to.

Did you already break-in the TV? After 100 or 200 hours the colors/blacks should be a LOT better.

 

[Canon]

No I haven't. But I have adjusted the picture pretty well. It looks good, it just seems to lack depth.

 

[Haint]

My S64 is flickering now and lots of white specks are appearing all over the picture (using PS3). Mainly the PS3 menu. Comes and goes.

EDIT: Turning deep color off in display settings seems to have fixed it, at least for now. I do notice whenever I open a game the TV flashes green for a second.

The white sparkles and fact it went away when you turned off deep color suggests an HDMI cable issue. How long is it and how old is it? Could be you're right at the limit on length, one of the ends has developed a bad connector, or you've got a sharp bend that has worn it out. The green flash sounds like the TV changing resolution as the PS3 menu is 1080p, but most games will default to 720p.

 

[Canon]

It only happens on this TV, though. It's a fairly short cable, it is connected to my receiver and my receiver is connected to the TV. I'd say 3-4 years old.

 

[Haint]

It only happens on this TV, though. It's a fairly short cable, it is connected to my receiver and my receiver is connected to the TV. I'd say 3-4 years old.

If you've got a spare and different cable, I'd say try a direct connection from the PS3 to TV and see if you can replicate the flickering and sparkles.

 

[ReyVGM]

No I haven't. But I have adjusted the picture pretty well. It looks good, it just seems to lack depth.

The settings you use when you have a new Plasma are absolutely not the ones you want to be using once you have passed the 100-200 hours of full screen content.

Once you pass those hours of usage, you'll have deeper colors and richer blacks. Assuming you re-calibrate your settings and if you properly broke-in your TV.

 

[Rex_Harrison]

OK...

Panasonic VT60 owners...I will join your ranks on Saturday when my 65" comes in. Tell me how to break it in (I know nothing about this) and what settings are best.

Now I have to figure out what to do with my first love...my Pioneer 43" PDP4340 the stuff of 720p legend.

There are tons of ways you can break in your plasma. Everything from what I consider the Extreme way which is running slides for 5 days straight, to just turning your tv on watching TV like a normal person.

I went with the latter for the most part. I turned on my VT60 for the first time and watched Coraline on BluRay (it looked amazing). After that I just watched full screen content, cable and BluRays for the most part. I ran the slides for a few hours the first few days when I wasn't watching anything, just to speed up the break in.

As long as you try to avoid letterbox, 4x3 bars, static logos, scoreboards, and paused screens for extended periods within the first 100 hours you'll be golden. I've been using the zoom format to hide channel logos. The zoom is cool because it's adjustable through the menu, so you can set it to where you loose the logo but maintain as much of the picture as possible. Of course I normally prefer to keep everything in it's natural aspect ratio but I wanted to be on the cautious side, and I found that zoom, when adjusted, maintains a more natural look.

All of this is most likely completely unnecessary. The majority of people that buy Plasmas do nothing special to break them in and end up with perfectly fine sets. However I figured with the terrible luck I had with LED TV's, I thought it's better to be safe than sorry.

 

[Alexalder]

What about Samsung F6400? Is it better than Panasonic e6e?

 

[garath]

What about Samsung F6400? Is it better than Panasonic e6e?

I have a Panasonic L58E60. I like it better than the Samsung E6400. Mostly because of the price. In all the reviews I've read, it has held up against the E6400 but it's 30% cheaper for a larger set.

 

[ShinAmano]

There are tons of ways you can break in your plasma. Everything from what I consider the Extreme way which is running slides for 5 days straight, to just turning your tv on watching TV like a normal person.

I went with the latter for the most part. I turned on my VT60 for the first time and watched Coraline on BluRay (it looked amazing). After that I just watched full screen content, cable and BluRays for the most part. I ran the slides for a few hours the first few days when I wasn't watching anything, just to speed up the break in.

As long as you try to avoid letterbox, 4x3 bars, static logos, scoreboards, and paused screens for extended periods within the first 100 hours you'll be golden. I've been using the zoom format to hide channel logos. The zoom is cool because it's adjustable through the menu, so you can set it to where you loose the logo but maintain as much of the picture as possible. Of course I normally prefer to keep everything in it's natural aspect ratio but I wanted to be on the cautious side, and I found that zoom, when adjusted, maintains a more natural look.

All of this is most likely completely unnecessary. The majority of people that buy Plasmas do nothing special to break them in and end up with perfectly fine sets. However I figured with the terrible luck I had with LED TV's, I thought it's better to be safe than sorry.

Thanks to both of the answers to my question.

This one seems to be my style...was planning on firing up tangled as the first watch.

The tv comes in on Saturday. ..going to mount it on Sunday so some nfl might get some time as well.

Can not wait!

 

[Alexalder]

I have a Panasonic L58E60. I like it better than the Samsung E6400. Mostly because of the price. In all the reviews I've read, it has held up against the E6400 but it's 30% cheaper for a larger set.

I don't get your post, i'm asking about F6400 and not E6400 and i look for a 40-42".
Anyone can answer? Or just give me some suggestion? It needs to be wall hung via standard VESA holes.
I live in Europe

 

[GTI Guy]

Thanks to both of the answers to my question.

This one seems to be my style...was planning on firing up tangled as the first watch.

The tv comes in on Saturday. ..going to mount it on Sunday so some nfl might get some time as well.

Can not wait!

Watch out for that evil Fox logo during the football game. Keep that brightness and contrast down for a while.

 

[Rex_Harrison]

Thanks to both of the answers to my question.

This one seems to be my style...was planning on firing up tangled as the first watch.

The tv comes in on Saturday. ..going to mount it on Sunday so some nfl might get some time as well.

Can not wait!

I need to give Tangled a spin on this set. I watched it on a Sony W802a that I had ( and later returned), the day scenes were awesome but the night scenes were ruined by the severe clouding that set had.

I recommend watching the Pacific Rim BluRay, it looks great on the VT60. One scene in particular where the screen was completely black with ashes falling, at the beginning of Mako's flashback, left me amazed

Watch out for that evil Fox logo during the football game. Keep that brightness and contrast down for a while.

That logo is pretty bad and pointless. I definitely prefer football on CBS over Fox, better PQ, and no dumb station logo the entire game.

There are much worse offenders out there though. TLC has one of the most extreme logos along with huge advertisements for upcoming shows that stay on the screen the entire duration of the show your watching. Also what's with all these stations leaving #bullshit in the top corners all the time now ? The worst is Discovery channel and others that leave shit like, "New Episode of Gold Rush On Right Now", I know I'm watching a new episode of Gold Rush you Jackasses ! I don't need you to leave a huge banner on the screen for an hour telling me that ! I wish there was an option to turn off all logos, adverts, and hashtags. I think most people would prefer a clean screen.

 

[tomei]

Amazon has the Panasonic TC-P65VT60 on sale for $1999.98 which is going down in stock fast. It is down to 305 as of now going down from 700+ they had.

Panasonic TC-P65VT60 65-Inch 1080p 600Hz 3D Smart Plasma HDTV (Includes 2 Pairs of 3D Active Glasses and Built-in Camera)

Good deal on a great TV before the supply dries up with Panasonic out of plasma business. Would buy this to hold over unitl OLED TVs come down in price.

 

[See You Next Wednesday]

Amazon has the Panasonic TC-P65VT60 on sale for $1999.98 which is going down in stock fast. It is down to 305 as of now going down from 700+ they had.

Panasonic TC-P65VT60 65-Inch 1080p 600Hz 3D Smart Plasma HDTV (Includes 2 Pairs of 3D Active Glasses and Built-in Camera)

Good deal on a great TV before the supply dries up with Panasonic out of plasma business. Would buy this to hold over unitl OLED TVs come down in price.

So the 65" is selling cheaper than the 60" right now.

 

[iMax]

There are much worse offenders out there though. TLC has one of the most extreme logos along with huge advertisements for upcoming shows that stay on the screen the entire duration of the show your watching. Also what's with all these stations leaving #bullshit in the top corners all the time now ? The worst is Discovery channel and others that leave shit like, "New Episode of Gold Rush On Right Now", I know I'm watching a new episode of Gold Rush you Jackasses ! I don't need you to leave a huge banner on the screen for an hour telling me that ! I wish there was an option to turn off all logos, adverts, and hashtags. I think most people would prefer a clean screen.

WWE is the worst. They don't even bother putting their graphics in the corners of the screen. They literally just stick them wherever they goddamn please.

 

[demosthenes]

So the 65" is selling cheaper than the 60" right now.

Back to $2,250.

Amazon doesn't have anymore 55" or 60", they're sold by 3rd party sellers.

 

[John_B]

The VT60 is so black it happens I forget to turn it off after turning the PS4 off.

It should last a good 5 years. OLED and UHD should be ripe by then.

 

[Duebrithil]

So I'm looking to upgrade my gaming/PC set up. Right now I have my PC and consoles hooked to a Samsung LE22S8 LCD TV and while pretty decent overall it's starting to show its age. Any recommendations for a 32" (or not much larger), >60 Hz, low input lag, full HD monitor/TV?

 

[Snogger_T]

I currently have a 2011 TC-P50ST30 with moderate to low use since I got it, and I'm debating if I want to go ahead and get a VT/ZT60 before they are off the market. That new LCD from Panasonic is promising, but probably a good bit more expensive. What do you all think? Should my current plasma be good for a few more years, or would it be worth it to upgrade? I should note that even though Panasonic had someone come work on my TV, it still has the fluctuating brights on some material (though it's usually not noticeable).

 

[ReyVGM]

I currently have a 2011 TC-P50ST30 with moderate to low use since I got it, and I'm debating if I want to go ahead and get a VT/ZT60 before they are off the market. That new LCD from Panasonic is promising, but probably a good bit more expensive. What do you all think? Should my current plasma be good for a few more years, or would it be worth it to upgrade? I should note that even though Panasonic had someone come work on my TV, it still has the fluctuating brights on some material (though it's usually not noticeable).

Upgrade. You won't be able to find them later. At least not new and at a lower price.

You can even keep using your old TV (if you are fine with it) until it croaks and just store the VT/ZT60 until then.

 

[ShinAmano]

Amazon has the Panasonic TC-P65VT60 on sale for $1999.98 which is going down in stock fast. It is down to 305 as of now going down from 700+ they had.

Panasonic TC-P65VT60 65-Inch 1080p 600Hz 3D Smart Plasma HDTV (Includes 2 Pairs of 3D Active Glasses and Built-in Camera)

Good deal on a great TV before the supply dries up with Panasonic out of plasma business. Would buy this to hold over unitl OLED TVs come down in price.

Happen to have a screen shot of this? I just paid 2294.99 for this Saturday night...think Amazon will match it?

 

[Garcia]

Has anyone in here bought the 3D Bravia KDL-42W800A? I saw it at a very good price but was wondering about PQ and Input Lag?

Any opinions about it?

 

[Canon]

The settings you use when you have a new Plasma are absolutely not the ones you want to be using once you have passed the 100-200 hours of full screen content.

Once you pass those hours of usage, you'll have deeper colors and richer blacks. Assuming you re-calibrate your settings and if you properly broke-in your TV.

I'm just playing video games without too much HUD and using a computer monitor with wallpapers that switch every 10 seconds.

Anyway, I ordered a new component cable to see if it helps remove the fuzzy lines when playing Wii. It was there when I had an S60 before too, so it's not a defective TV. But my Wii looks fine on my LED / LCD TVs.

I find that turning "black extension" on adds a little bit of depth to the image, unfortunately it's definitely true that my LED appears to have more depth. I don't know if it's the processing that Sony employs, but this Panasonic looks flat in comparison. Almost as if the resolution is lower than what it actually is.

Obviously colors, black levels, viewing angles, and probably motion are better. But when I'm looking at a photo of a landscape with things that extend far into the distance, the S64 makes it seem like they are actually closer than they should be. Most people wouldn't notice since they don't compare TVs side by side, maybe...?

Has anyone in here bought the 3D Bravia KDL-42W800A? I saw it at a very good price but was wondering about PQ and Input Lag?

Any opinions about it?

If that's the w802a, it's only good for the 3D, which is stunning. The panel itself has clouding, dead pixels (tried 4 sets), and bad viewing angles.

 

[wowzors]

Has anyone in here bought the 3D Bravia KDL-42W800A? I saw it at a very good price but was wondering about PQ and Input Lag?

Any opinions about it?

Input lag is probably one of the lowest if not the lowest. 3D is incredible (passive) as stated. PQ is a mixed bag it still looks good, but as stated has limited viewing angles, some people have problems with large amounts of clouding, LED so will probably have 1-3 dead pixels.

I own one and really like it but people on the internet will tell you its trash and that you should get a S60 or a plasma or a w900a.

Depends on your budget and what you put your importance/emphasis on, I really enjoy the 3D and the input lag is minimal and games still look incredible and much better than my previous set (samsung f6000).

 

[Rex_Harrison]

Input lag is probably one of the lowest if not the lowest. 3D is incredible (passive) as stated. PQ is a mixed bag it still looks good, but as stated has limited viewing angles, some people have problems with large amounts of clouding, LED so will probably have 1-3 dead pixels.

I own one and really like it but people on the internet will tell you its trash and that you should get a S60 or a plasma or a w900a.

Depends on your budget and what you put your importance/emphasis on, I really enjoy the 3D and the input lag is minimal and games still look incredible and much better than my previous set (samsung f6000).

I had a 55" 802a for a week, it had a stuck pixel and the worst clouding and flashlighting I've ever seen. The input lag is very very good for a 55", that's the only positive thing I have I say about it really. It's really lacking in the color and black level department. There's absolutely no reason it should cost as much as it does, or as much as it did when I bought it 6 months ago.

I honestly don't get Sony. The 802a doesn't hold a candle to any other major brands second from the top model, and the flagship W9 only comes in a 55" ? What ? Also, both sets were insanely overpriced. The 55" W900a is going for $1980 right now, that's $200 more than a 60" VT60, and only $200 less than a fucking 60" ZT60. Are they trying to make a profit from their TV's, or just sell to the few remaining blind Sony loyalists ?

P.S. I don't know if you were joking, but LED's don't always have dead or stuck pixels. Out of the 7 LED turds I tried, the W8 was the only one with a defective pixel.

 

[Canon]

Yeah, it seems like the w802a has some of the worst quality control of any TV. I mean seriously, I went through 4 and all of them had dead pixels or weird grey blotches. I considered a w900a, but I hardly see the point when it's not passive 3D and thus its benefits over other TVs is nothing.

I would prefer an LED TV honestly if they just made more with full-array local dimming for reasonable prices.

Tell me if you like my plan

1) Keep my S64 and try to get it to work nicely with my Wii / PS3
2) Return my w802a (which has 4 dead pixels)
3) Get a 3D TV in 2014, maybe one of those wedge TVs Sony is coming out with.
4) Sell my older LCD from 2009 and keep the S64 as a movie-watching TV

Or alternatively, wait until 4K 3D. Yes I really like passive 3D.

 

[Rex_Harrison]

Yeah, it seems like the w802a has some of the worst quality control of any TV. I mean seriously, I went through 4 and all of them had dead pixels or weird grey blotches. I considered a w900a, but I hardly see the point when it's not passive 3D and thus its benefits over other TVs is nothing.

I would prefer an LED TV honestly if they just made more with full-array local dimming for reasonable prices.

Tell me if you like my plan

1) Keep my S64 and try to get it to work nicely with my Wii / PS3
2) Return my w802a (which has 4 dead pixels)
3) Get a 3D TV in 2014, maybe one of those wedge TVs Sony is coming out with.
4) Sell my older LCD from 2009 and keep the S64 as a movie-watching TV

Or alternatively, wait until 4K 3D. Yes I really like passive 3D.

Aside from Panasonics Plasma swan song, 2013 was a terrible year for TV's. It was a half assed effort from all manufacturers IMO. I think they had already focused all of their attention to UHD , and put out nothing but cheaply made Edge Lit junk stuffed with non-features to jack up the prices.

To answer your Q:

No, I don't like your plan.

1) Never a good idea to try and make a pricey purchase that you don't like into something you can maybe live with if you try real hard.

2) Hell yes return that shit. It has 4 dead pixels!

3) I wouldn't buy a 2014 until late in the summer unless you like handing over your money for a product that you know will be 100's if not $1K+ cheaper in a few months. Just look at the W9 for example, it launched at $3,299.00. It went down to $2,200.00 just a few months later.

4) Wait? You have 3 TV's right now ? Why not keep the 2009 for your Wii, PS3 and movies, return the S64 and W8, and wait until prices go down on a 2014 Full-Array set with passive 3D ?

If both of your 2013 TV's are 50" or bigger then you have around $2k tied up in 2 TV's that, no offense but, IMO are crap. If you wait long enough ( August or Sept), that $2K can get you a legit set.

 

[Canon]

1) Never a good idea to try and make a pricey purchase that you don't like into something you can maybe live with if you try real hard.

2) Hell yes return that shit. It has 4 dead pixels!

3) I wouldn't buy a 2014 until late in the summer unless you like handing over your money for a product that you know will be 100's if not $1K+ cheaper in a few months. Just look at the W9 for example, it launched at $3,299.00. It went down to $2,200.00 just a few months later.

4) Wait? You have 3 TV's right now ? Why not keep the 2009 for your Wii, PS3 and movies, return the S64 and W8, and wait until prices go down on a 2014 Full-Array set with passive 3D ?

If both of your 2013 TV's are 50" or bigger then you have around $2k tied up in 2 TV's that, no offense but, IMO are crap. If you wait long enough ( August or Sept), that $2K can get you a legit set.

1) I don't know what I'm doing.
2) Alright.
3) Yeah that's why maybe I'll keep the S64 until then.
4) The 2009 TV is in my bedroom, so it's not entirely pointless. I will return the w802a, and miss the hell out of the 3D, but whatever life isn't fair.

The LCD from 2009 is only 40 inches. Also why do you think the S64 is crap? Aside from technical problems and a flat image, it seems alright. I tried an ST60 and found it not that much better.

 

[Bill Rizer]

Well, image depth historically has always been a plasma strong point compared to lcd, they could have that look through a window sensation, at least until they started mounting cheap glare filters to appeal to general public. Those make picture dull and flat (relatively speaking of course) and it's the reason I love my filterless screen, which btw has astounding depth. This is much less of an issue with highend line (vt and zt), if not at all, but if you are sensitive to this a cheap filter is a no go.

ps: raise gamma value, since Panasonic default value is also thought for a lit environment and is way too low, resulting in a milky lifeless picture.

 

[SToRM]

I have to say that my 55W905 has such good PQ that sometimes it gives me that 'look through the window' effect too.
Still, reading here about how awesome plasma is I am still in doubt about whether or not to keep the W905.
The W905 is a really good tv though, the only thing that bugs me at this point is some unevenness in the blacks sometimes.

 

[Caayn]

I've got about 61 hours, mixture of gaming without HUD and break-in slides, on my Panasonic VT60. Very happy with the screen. But I do have some questions.

It suffers from slight line-bleeding. It's barely noticeable, will this lessen when the panel has aged more?
The screens seems to shrink, a tiny bit just a few lines of pixels on the right/bottom sides, when I've turned the Pixel Orbiter on. When I switch back to auto the screen jumps back to it's normal size. Is this normal?

 

[MaLDo]

Any good TV (42" or 47") with low input lag, good enough IQ and good downsampling support?

 

[Jack cw]

I have to say that my 55W905 has such good PQ that sometimes it gives me that 'look through the window' effect too.
Still, reading here about how awesome plasma is I am still in doubt about whether or not to keep the W905.
The W905 is a really good tv though, the only thing that bugs me at this point is some unevenness in the blacks sometimes.

You'll only notice a bit of a difference if you'd compare the picture side by side. The w905 is an excellent model that has great blacks and colour reproduction. LCDs pretty much equal in terms of overall picture quality but the only reason I bought an Samsung f8090 was of the DSE with the Sony and I had a plasma before and things like fals contouring, 50hz bugs were really annoying.

 

[Coldsnap]

I have to say that my 55W905 has such good PQ that sometimes it gives me that 'look through the window' effect too.
Still, reading here about how awesome plasma is I am still in doubt about whether or not to keep the W905.
The W905 is a really good tv though, the only thing that bugs me at this point is some unevenness in the blacks sometimes.

If you live in NC I'd trade you my Panasonic Plasma plus cash for that W9 You got the better TV

 

[Garcia]

Thank you for your replies. I really appreciate all the info you provided.

I went to check more displays and have finally found the one I'm going to buy. It's a Bravia KDL-42W650. I wouldn't say it was love at first sight since the video that was on display had terrible quality but upon further research, it is the best LCD display for gaming purposes. I've seen several Youtube videos showcasing the almost non-existant input lag and I only keep reading and hearing good things about this TV.

So, since I've made up my mind and I'm pretty sure some other people in here have already bought it, I'd like to know if there's a way to find out which panel am I getting by analyzing the alphanumeric code in the box's side. They had over 20 boxes of this model, so I suppose I could increase my chances of winning the panel lottery (if this one is even subject to that).

Any suggestions GAF? I'd really appreciate your input.

Edit: For anyone else wondering about this set's input lag:

Sony’s 2013 Bravias have proven to be superb gaming TVs, and the W65 is no exception. With [Scene Select] set to “Game“, the 42W653A effortlessly smashed through our existing input lag record (held by another Sony – the W8), posting a jaw-dropping figure of 14.6ms on the Leo Bodnar lag tester.

Source article.

 

[jett]

Thank you for your replies. I really appreciate all the info you provided.

I went to check more displays and have finally found the one I'm going to buy. It's a Bravia KDL-42W650. I wouldn't say it was love at first sight since the video that was on display had terrible quality but upon further research, it is the best LCD display for gaming purposes. I've seen several Youtube videos showcasing the almost non-existant input lag and I only keep reading and hearing good things about this TV.

So, since I've made up my mind and I'm pretty sure some other people in here have already bought it, I'd like to know if there's a way to find out which panel am I getting by analyzing the alphanumeric code in the box's side. They had over 20 boxes of this model, so I suppose I could increase my chances of winning the panel lottery (if this one is even subject to that).

Any suggestions GAF? I'd really appreciate your input.

As far as I know all W65* use AOS panels. Sony explicitly said they don't do panel switching(i.e, "lottery") anymore, since 2012.

BTW, I have this TV. Colors and clarity are great, blacks and whatnot are decent for LCD, input lag is awesome, I don't notice any on game mode. Once you set it up appropriately the image is really nice. I suggest reusing the default gamma settings in "cinema mode" for game mode.

HOWEVER, my TV is riddled with uniformity issues, DSE and horizontal and vertical banding galore. And as far as I know nearly everyone that has Sony's W models suffers from this shit, so be weary of that. I'm getting used to it, but it's annoying. I almost wish I had paid 4 times as much for a plasma...but then I regain my senses. If it didn't have these problems it'd be almost perfect. As of right now, I feel somewhere between "merely satisfied" and "fuck you sony, you ripped me off." "Professional" reviewers can go jump off a cliff.

 

[Garcia]

As far as I know all W65* use AOS panels. Sony explicitly said they don't do panel switching(i.e, "lottery") anymore, since 2012.

That's such a relief to read, believe me. Several days ago I was going to buy a Samsung panel but their panel lottery practices gave me headaches and I decided not to trust on them at all.

I've read most people usually get pristine quality displays but there's also some complaints regarding banding issues. Most say it really is a matter of luck (since most LCD displays are prone to banding until now), but if what you say is true then I shouldn't truly worry about hunting the right panel.

Edit: I'm reading your edit and that's exactly what I'm looking for: Honest opinions. Thanks for going in-depth with your experience with this panel.

 

[Liberty4all]

I wish I could get another Panasonic Plasma before they dissapear but I can't justify it. My Panasonic 42 inch Plasma from 2007 (TH-42PZ77U) is still going strong. The picture quality on it is still amazing, I feel better than many LCD's I see sold new today.

It cost a pretty penny back in the day at 1600, but it was worth every cent.

 

[Thomas_Daly]

Samsung PS60F5500 is the tv I own amazing tv picture is great for my ps4 ps3 wii u