I bought a Samsung 42" Plasma from John Lewis about 18 months ago. In that time its had 2 repairs for the same fault and still it's not fixed (relay clicking when turned off).

I contacted JL whom have been excellent and offered another repair or equivalent replacement.

Now my dilemma, the replacement (like my current unit) is not 1080p however JL have said that I can also choose to add to the current price of the offered replacement and upgrade if I wish - Excellent service IMHO.

The offered replacement is a Samsung PS42A457 currently priced at £596.

This seems a perfect opportunity to get into the 1080p world and buy an upgrade however I am a little at a loss at what to buy.

It must be circa 42" or larger and aesthetically pleasing.

I don't know enough to decide whether to stick with Plasma or move to LCD, in fact do I need 1080p??

As indicated above the budget is £600 plus whatever I need to add to it for the right TV. Now I'm not willing to go silly for a Pioneer etc but I don't mind splashing a bit for a good unit so I'd guess an absolute max of £1200 but preferably under £1k.

Obviously I'm also restricted by the current stock holding that JL have, however they have also said that the upgrade could incorporate a price match (don't think many retailers would be so good).

So my initial suggestions are the two plasma offerings from Panasonic, the TH42PZ80B at £830 or the TH42PZ81B at £975. I prefer the looks of the 81 over those of the 80 but in truth neither look as nice as my current Sumsung.

I would really value your thoughts and opinions on this one as I really am at a loss.

My current old faithful plasma is a Panasonic and I don't think you can go wrong with the 2 you list.

Looking at the JL website they even sling a Blu-Ray player in under your max budget. Buy Panasonic Viera TH42PZ81B Plasma HD 1080p TV, 42 Inch with Built-in freesat & Blu-ray Disc Player online at JohnLewis.com

I wont tell SWMBO.

I am sitting here watching the PZ81, I have had it since June and it really is a nice TV. The PZ81 has a freesat and freeview tuner, so you can watch BBC HD and ITV HD by connecting a satalite feed to the TV. It also has a non freesat mode, meaning it can receive more HD channels if you have a second dish pointing at 19.2 degrees.

I've seen the BluRay deal but I was also lead to believe that the current 'best' (read 'cost effective') way to get BluRay was via a PS3.

Is that still the case?

I still think the PS3 offers the best value for money when looking for a bluray player. I never use my PS3 for games, its all about media! either dvd's, blu-rays or streaming video, its superb at all 3 imo.

Dont know about the TV so much, some people still swear by plasma's because of the darker blacks. But tbh our 46" 'w' series sony LCD is pretty stunning on bluray and would recommend one to anyone.

I am sitting here watching the PZ81, I have had it since June and it really is a nice TV. The PZ81 has a freesat and freeview tuner, so you can watch BBC HD and ITV HD by connecting a satalite feed to the TV. It also has a non freesat mode, meaning it can receive more HD channels if you have a second dish pointing at 19.2 degrees.

Quite like the idea of Pikey Sat but we are a little restricted in the way we could achieve this. We are only allowed a 'covert' Dish by virtue of local planning regs/constraints which means ours is tucked away at the back of the house. Now it does have a quad LNB so in theory could also provide the necessary for Pikey Sat but with the dish being on the back and the tv being at the front it makes cabling a little difficult. Throw into the mix that the house is actually fully wired in every room for TV which means that we have our Sky1/Sky2 and VHF/UHF all come down from the loft via a couple of cables a distribution amplifier and some diplexers. (I think that's how it is anyway )

I still think the PS3 offers the best value for money when looking for a bluray player. I never use my PS3 for games, its all about media! either dvd's, blu-rays or streaming video, its superb at all 3 imo.

Dont know about the TV so much, some people still swear by plasma's because of the darker blacks. But tbh our 46" 'w' series sony LCD is pretty stunning on bluray and would recommend one to anyone.

Can you 'stream' media via the PS2 then?? The guy in JL last night said I couldn't other than directly from the tinterweb.

Hi Stu - well on point one.... i;m still using my older Panasonic 42" plasma which is now 4 years old. Best picture on a flat panel by miles - especially after seeing all the LCDs my mates have bought more recently.

Can't comment on 1080p though - my setup is 1080i max. I use the PS3 and have some media streaming capability from my main PC upstairs which acts are the media server (tried under WMP11 and TVersity freeware). The setup works ok but has it's niggles on occasion - if anyone else has a working setup 100% then let me know how!!!

So from my limited knowledge - i'd say you are on the right track. Nice to know that customers are still valued though and JL seem to offer decent comeback on your repeating issue, with a view to retaining your business going forward.

Cheers,

Ste.

I think I am leaning toward the Pannashonky TH42PZ81B, everywhere I look there seems to be good reviews.

Gaming doesn't flick my switch at all so the thought of buying a PS3 does go a little against the grain. We have a Wii that in truth doesn't see a huge amount of action.

That said I'd feel short changed if I didn't explore the BluRay movies thing, they for sure look good in the shops.

Well i use something called fuppes on a dedicated linux box that acts as a media server, and its pretty much flawless! I stream divx almost every night of the week watching my american tv. The PS3 is designed to do it so it works like a charm and the PS3 interface is so nice and easy to use. I just copy my media files into a samba share on the server, load up the fuppes web control panel, tell it to rebuild the database 30 seconds later its ready for streaming.

I did have niggles streaming over wireless with the occasional stutter, but that was due to signal strength now its on an ethernet cable its fine.

FUPPES - Free UPnP Entertainment Service

Stu best bit of Advice i can give you is if you can afford to get a 1080p 24p TV. Thats the sort of TV i would get if i was buying one now. Once Bluray discs start coming out Encoded in that then the quality is just like being in the cinema.

I have a PS3 and the quality on my 37" 1080p TV is awesome on Bluray. I used to have a 1080i TV and didnt think i would see any difference with 1080p but you can. The amount of detail is immense.

HTH

BTW little off topic 19th might be a better date for me for pickup is that ok with you?

Carl:thumbup:

Stu best bit of Advice i can give you is if you can afford to get a 1080p 24p TV.

This has that covered then doesn't it???

TH42PZ81B

Date should be ok mate, we'll sort times out nearer if you like.

Yup that covers it mate

Might also be worth dropping Xav a line, he's been playing with a lot of 1080p gear IIRC

My hands are tied in terms of places to purchase mate, it has to come from JL.

I bought a blu-ray player recently from Blockbuster Sony BDP-S350 + 6 discs including Mamma Mia (your favourite Stu;)) for £199. In my opinion a PS3 is expensive now.

Hi Carl nice to see you back.

Pikey HD :rofl::rofl:

I pretty much use my PS3 for media only, Even divx streamed is presentable, I play games for about 10 mins a week atm.

Looks nice at 1080p, and that panny does look quite tasty if I had too choose again.

Sony bravia Enough said.;)Well the gadget show said they were tops.

Sony bravia

;)

Sony bravia Enough said.;)Well the gadget show said they were tops.

I agree, just bought a 40W4500 and it comes as close as to make no difference to plasma, uses a lot less energy and it's a stylish looking telly.

Also bought a Sony BDSP350 blu-ray player with 2 free disks from an Amazon trader for £150 (worth bearing in mind if JL are doing a price match).

Incidently, our JL wouldn't price match on the 40W4500 as they give it a different model number (4317 or something), but some stores do.

If you don't want to use it for games a PS3 is no longer the best buy - the Sony Blu-ray players are down to 150 quid or so now.

The panasonic 81 gets good reviews , but also a lot of criticism for it's SD picture quality.

The panasonic 81 gets good reviews , but also a lot of criticism for it's SD picture quality.

I find the SD picture ok, and have no problems. What it does show, is how poor some sky and freeview channels are with regard to compression artifacts but this is the same on all HD TV's and LCD's tend to show it even more.

Another vote for the TH42PZ81B.. it's a great set and I'm really pleased with mine.

Watched Transformers on bluray the other night and it looked better than at cinema.

Star Wars in HD looks pretty good as well.

I find the SD picture ok, and have no problems. What it does show, is how poor some sky and freeview channels are with regard to compression artifacts but this is the same on all HD TV's and LCD's tend to show it even more.

I agree.. I was talking to a friend who streams divx avis via his 360/ps3 and he's of the opinion that the PS3 does a slightly better job than the 360 in the picture quality department.

I just popped in here to give my thoughts and they were going to be the TH42PZ80/81 but it looks like it's covered already! That's the one I'm going to buy when I move next month after extensive research and many recommendations

Yet another vote for the PZ81B. The SD quality is very good, much better than my previous Tosh LCD. SD Sky isn't a problem at all and thats from viewing a 46" model.

Personally I find the Freesat picture is slightly better looking than the exact same Sky broadcast. I can only put this down to better processing technology in the TV.

The Panasonic is great for SD and HD telly, Fantastic for Blu Ray movies and HD PS3 gaming despite the general concensus that Plasma is not good for this - I beg to differ

It's also good news that you purchased from JL. I foolishly dabbled with the DSG retail group last time round - never again!!