i went to avforums and checked on viewing distances etc. decided on a 42" Panasonic but also saw a guy on there named groove had built a floating wall to put his on. a couple of weeks work and i managed my own clone of his great idea

havent regretted it

I do like that floating wall, very effective.

I'd of put a 50" or a projector on that though.

I do like that floating wall, very effective.

I'd of put a 50" or a projector on that though.

thanks, i realised a 50" would have been better after it was all fitted. dont think it would have washed with the missus though!

I found this site was quite good for those who want to understand the differences between Plasma & LCD:

http://www.plasma-lcd-facts.co.uk/home/

Given that this site seems to be sponsored by Panasonic & Pioneer I wouldn't expect it to be in the least bit biased

The truth is that the plasma versus LCD debate will continue until OLED blows both of them out of the water!

I bought What Hifi? yesterday and the best 37 inch TV is a plasma by Panasonic..Panasonic - ideas for life - Overview

And the best overall TV - Sony 40W4500 LCD

best 40" to 42" budget tv - Sony 40V4000 LCD

best 46" tv - Sony 46W4500 LCD

best 32" tv - Sony 32W4000 LCD

best 26" tv - Samsung LE26A456 LCD

So out of 7 categories plasma came top in 2 (37" and 50") and LCD's took the other 5 spots.

The truth of the matter is that if your upgrading from 28" or 32" CRT, like I did, both plasmas and LCD's are going to look very impressive.

I went for the 40W4500 based on the reviews and comparing various plasmas and LCD sets in store and since getting one home and tweaking with the settings, I have to say that the SD image looks far better than I was expecting and the HD image on freesat or blue-ray is absolutely stunning.

I have wasted time wishing that the Panasonic would come in a 40 inch, but alas it doesn't. Even though the viewing distance is pretty damn perfect for a 37 and the fact anything that much bigger would look like a chav fest. I can't help feeling that when I get used to it, I'm going to wish I went bigger.

With regards to LCD vs Plasma for gaming I feel I am in a good position to comment:

I used to have a Toshiba 46XF355D which has been replaced with a Panny 46PZ81B.

Obviously the Panny is superior in spec but I was never happy with the performance of the LCD for the usual reasons -

- Poor contrast performance in general

- Poor display of black colours

- Blinding screen when white is the dominant colour (NAT-GEO ad break screen anyone??)

- The picture was always too sharp despite endless tinkering with the settings. This would always show excessive 'noise' on an SD broadcast.

- Fast moving obects on a dark background leave a disturbingly obvious trail on the screen.

The plasma seems to eliminate all of these problems. I have watched tons of SD content, BBC HD, Blu-Ray movies and a considerable amount of PS3 gaming and I can't really fault it for anything.

The bigger the screen the better when it comes to gaming

The only downside is the bezel on the Tosh was extremely thin making it the same overall size of a 42" telly. The panny has a big ol' bezel making it considerably bigger.

Another mixed bag is the 'Intelligent Frame Creation' - anyone else given it a shot yet? its quite odd to say the least and i'm not 100% sure about it yet.

Another mixed bag is the 'Intelligent Frame Creation' - anyone else given it a shot yet? its quite odd to say the least and i'm not 100% sure about it yet.

Turn it off and leave it off...

I found that with it on while watching a bluray it looks like the picture is running at 25ftps and the audio at 24fps. :thumbdwn:

Other than that it's a great TV and well worth the money.

Turn it off and leave it off...

I found that with it on while watching a bluray it looks like the picture is running at 25ftps and the audio at 24fps. :thumbdwn:

Other than that it's a great TV and well worth the money.

Agreed, items/people on the screen look like they are moving too quickly with the aid of dodgy CGI :P

The technology is impressive in principle but...............it just doesn't look very good on the screen

I have just bought a 42" plasma panasonic with built in freeview.

Agreed, items/people on the screen look like they are moving too quickly with the aid of dodgy CGI :P

The technology is impressive in principle but...............it just doesn't look very good on the screen

Glad it's not just me that thinks that..

Took me a little while to figure out what was causing it as it was the first time we'd watched a bluray on the PS3.

I have an average sized living room (in a 3 bedroom semi if that gives an idea of size) and to be honest I would have loved a 50” telly but I settled for a 42” KURO Plasma, as it doesn’t quite dominate the room. It is rather big in the room and it does draw the eye even when switched off, but I didn’t want to look like I lived in Curry’s shop window:D.

As for the Plasma v LCD debate, the KURO Plasmas are often called the best tellies in the world (CRTs aren’t made in HD at that size so can not be considered for comparison), I have never seen any LCD that can touch them for accurate cinematic realisation and I have been working in Broadcasting at the sharp end for 25 years. My professional colleagues who are Broadcast Vision Engineers agree:thumbup:.

I should add the Pannys are fabulous value for money and will be making the Pioneer Plasmas from the next gen on.

A truth is a truth no matter who does spake it.

Are you an LCD sympathiser?

LCD's these days have a very high contrast ratio, so the blacks issue isnt an issue on screens running 30k:1 contrast. As for tracking, make sure you have a fast refresh time 2.5ms or less. Samsungs are generally the best for this IME.

As for truth being the truth is utter BS. It's PR, and going to an LCD manufacturers screen would have propaganda which will tell you 10 reasons not to buy a plasma.

The truth is only the truth, when it's impartial advice

LCDs high contrast ratio is a bit untrue. They struggle to block the excess light in a dark screen so turn the backlight(s) down. If the scene also has both very bright and very dark parts in it, the contrast ratio is much reduced. Plasma’s don’t have this problem.

LCDs high contrast ratio is a bit untrue. They struggle to block the excess light in a dark screen so turn the backlight(s) down. If the scene also has both very bright and very dark parts in it, the contrast ratio is much reduced. Plasma’s don’t have this problem.

That was possibly correct a few years ago, but LCD's have come on a huge amount in recent years and newer software pretty much negates these issues.

At any given price point in the 37" to 50" range, or thereabouts, LCD's and plasmas offer a similiar viewing experience with differences down to the individual manufacturers. At the very top end (Kuros) there are no direct LCD competitors, so comparison is meaningless.

Even Pioneer are starting to bring out LCD tv's.

Well I went from a recent Panasonic LCD to a Panasonic plasma and I much prefer the plasma, not to say the LCD was rubbish but still behind the plasma in terms of viewing experience.

That was possibly correct a few years ago, but LCD's have come on a huge amount in recent years and newer software pretty much negates these issues.

At any given price point in the 37" to 50" range, or thereabouts, LCD's and plasmas offer a similiar viewing experience with differences down to the individual manufacturers. At the very top end (Kuros) there are no direct LCD competitors, so comparison is meaningless.

Even Pioneer are starting to bring out LCD tv's.

I would admit that what LCD has done is amazing. It started off as a cheaper, inferior product and through the might of R & D, have managed to make a pretty decent TV. I still do not believe that the contrast ratio quoted on any LCD stands up to a real world test, unlike my beloved Plasma. I would urge movie fans to look at Plasma’s first and as there is the new Kuro range out, the previous models are well discounted (still not cheap though).

LCDs make more profit for the manufacturer, so I hope that Panasonic continue to develop the KURO range once they start building them, just to keep us Plasma fans happy………at least till the OLEDs and SEDs etc come out.

I still do not believe that the contrast ratio quoted on any LCD stands up to a real world test, unlike my beloved Plasma.

As the contrast ratio is measured as the difference between the brightest and darkest colours on the screen, it doesn't necessarily mean that at the darker end, a high contrast LCD is going to be 'blacker' than a plasma, or even as black.

If the contrast range in a particular scene is quite narrow, a high contrast screen is not going to look any different to a low contrast screen (all other things being equal).

In a properly lit movie scene, where for instance the action takes place in a cellar, there might also be a light bulb for illumination. Faces close to the ‘key’ would be bright, peak volt style and the corners of the cellar would be dark. I have never and doubt I will ever see an LCD do real justice to a moody scene like this. Good plasmas laugh at this challenge.

In a properly lit movie scene, where for instance the action takes place in a cellar, there might also be a light bulb for illumination. Faces close to the ‘key’ would be bright, peak volt style and the corners of the cellar would be dark. I have never and doubt I will ever see an LCD do real justice to a moody scene like this. Good plasmas laugh at this challenge.

A £2K Kuros will, unquestionably.

A £800 40" Sony LCD and a £800 42" Panasonic plasma are going to be a lot, lot closer. I know, because I've recently done the comparison.

In a properly lit movie scene, where for instance the action takes place in a cellar, there might also be a light bulb for illumination. Faces close to the ‘key’ would be bright, peak volt style and the corners of the cellar would be dark. I have never and doubt I will ever see an LCD do real justice to a moody scene like this. Good plasmas laugh at this challenge.

Agreed, I've watched no end of scenes where black is the dominant colour and frankly, the LCD couldn't handle it, the inteligent backlight was more of a distraction because you could see the brightness dropping down when the scene suddenly goes from light to dark.

I've gone straight from a 9 month old LCD to a new Plasma and there is no doubt the Plasma is superior.

With the cellar example, the LCD either drops the backlight so the lighter parts look grey and washed out or it maintains the light levels and makes the darker areas look grey. It can't win either way.

Kuros are now down to around £1200 for the previous generation 42” 720 Plasmas.

As for the Sony v Panny thing, I was looking at the latest gen Pannys and was very impressed with the blacks. I did have to get the remote and turn all the stupid shop setting off though. LCDs will never beat the latest Plasma imho, not because technology can’t eventually overcome all the problems, but because focus will move to OLEDs or one of the other new systems and I believe LCD advances will then slow as these superior technologies come down in price. only my thoughts on it.

I was watching I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here tonight and I found some of the jungle babble unexpectedly enlightening.

Turns out David Van Damme and Timothy Mallett both have 37' LCDs at home, while Mr George Sulu has a 42' plasma.

Nuff said.

Agreed, I've watched no end of scenes where black is the dominant colour and frankly, the LCD couldn't handle it, the inteligent backlight was more of a distraction because you could see the brightness dropping down when the scene suddenly goes from light to dark.

I noticed that as well and it really bugged me. For the money I was still impressed by the Panasonic LCD, but you can tell the plasmas are a step up.

If Mr Sulu has a Plasma, then a Plasma it has to be:thumbup:

If Mr Sulu has a Plasma, then a Plasma it has to be:thumbup:

I think he was referring to a force field around the Starship Enterprise