Best 60'-65' LED TV under $2,000 - $3,000. (Upgrading my Panasonic TH50PX60U)

bizmord

bizmord

Full Audioholic
I was pretty happy with my Panasonic TH50PX60U. This TV served me 8+ years with no problems and good picture.

From what I hear now everyone says that even though my picture is good .... technology changes so much that new LED picture is WAYYYY better.

So .... I can spend up to $3,000.

What's a good TV these days size ... 60'+?

thanks.
 
j_garcia

j_garcia

Audioholic Jedi
You are going to get a lot of people telling you that Plasma is better :) I think the PQ IS excellent on LED LCD, however the one drawback of LCD is still the black levels. They have improved a lot, but are not going to be the same as with a plasma. If you can't control lighting well in your room, then there's a good argument for LED, because they are very bright. If you do go LCD, go Samsung.
 
BMXTRIX

BMXTRIX

Audioholic Warlord
From what I hear now everyone says that even though my picture is good .... technology changes so much that new LED picture is WAYYYY better.
People also don't know what the heck they are talking about a great deal of the time.

Almost every single solid review you read will state, flat out, that LED is great, but a good plasma will provide about the best image you can possibly achieve. They like the Elite Sharp LCDs, but beyond that, most of them are 'really good' at best.

Plasma still has inherent qualities that LCD (whether LED or traditionally lit) can't match. Mostly this is because of the emissive technology and the real world refresh rates, which create smoother motion, better off-axis viewing, and better black levels.

LCD gets brighter and doesn't have much in the way of image retention issues, but if you've lived with a plasma for a while, then that isn't an issue for you.

The ST series from Panasonic offers one of the best images you will obtain for the money right now. A nice balance of image quality to price. The 7000/8000 series from Samsung is also a good place to be looking.

I would simply not be buying an LED if I was after the best image quality. In fact, since I did buy last year, I went with a plasma. LCD is great for secondary display locations, but not something I would recommend in the primary location to most people.
 
bizmord

bizmord

Full Audioholic
So in the last 7 years .... what exactly in Plasma TVs changed that made the picture better?

Processor? Refresh rate? Contrast? ???
 
slipperybidness

slipperybidness

Audioholic Warlord
So in the last 7 years .... what exactly in Plasma TVs changed that made the picture better?

Processor? Refresh rate? Contrast? ???
I believe plasma has always been better. LCD is catching up.
 
BMXTRIX

BMXTRIX

Audioholic Warlord
So in the last 7 years .... what exactly in Plasma TVs changed that made the picture better?

Processor? Refresh rate? Contrast? ???
Kind of a one word answer on this...

Yes!

Plasma technology hasn't sat still over the past few years (unlike say, DLP technology)... Plasma manufacturers have dwindled down some, but it has really left two cream of the crop companies in Samsung and Panasonic.

Plasma remains a fair bit heavier than LCD, but they have gone from being 4-6 inches thick down to under a couple of inches very similar to LCD panels.

They have added better screen masking surfaces and better glass which increases contrast. They have also added better electronics. This is a huge jump in the last few years as older displays did not really have very good upscaling or compatibility in their chips. Now the chips used, on all displays, do a better job with upconverting, cross conversions, and format acceptance. This is not limited to plasma, but for LCD as well.

If you have a good plasma, then the jump in quality will be minimal as the Pioneer Elite displays which were discontinued a few years ago are still often considered the absolute 'best' display ever manufacturered - bar none.

So, we aren't as good today, with the best displays (regardless of technology), as we were a few years ago with the $8000+ Pioneer Kuros. But, the decent plasmas, starting with the ST Panasonic series, is very close to that level in pure image quality.

Most of all, you get their 65" ST series for around $1,700 which is well under your budget...
Panasonic TC - P65ST30 - Plasma TV - 1080p (FullHD)

In comparison, the ES6500 65" LED/LCD from Samsung will run you about 50% more and will not provide the same wide viewing angle, or as good of black levels, and will have weaker motion handling (all inherent issues with LCD).
Samsung - UN65ES6500 - LED-backlit LCD TV - Smart TV - 1080p (FullHD)

So, you save money AND you get a better image. Win-win.
 
bizmord

bizmord

Full Audioholic
Kind of a one word answer on this...

Yes!

Plasma technology hasn't sat still over the past few years (unlike say, DLP technology)... Plasma manufacturers have dwindled down some, but it has really left two cream of the crop companies in Samsung and Panasonic.

Plasma remains a fair bit heavier than LCD, but they have gone from being 4-6 inches thick down to under a couple of inches very similar to LCD panels.

They have added better screen masking surfaces and better glass which increases contrast. They have also added better electronics. This is a huge jump in the last few years as older displays did not really have very good upscaling or compatibility in their chips. Now the chips used, on all displays, do a better job with upconverting, cross conversions, and format acceptance. This is not limited to plasma, but for LCD as well.

If you have a good plasma, then the jump in quality will be minimal as the Pioneer Elite displays which were discontinued a few years ago are still often considered the absolute 'best' display ever manufacturered - bar none.

So, we aren't as good today, with the best displays (regardless of technology), as we were a few years ago with the $8000+ Pioneer Kuros. But, the decent plasmas, starting with the ST Panasonic series, is very close to that level in pure image quality.

Most of all, you get their 65" ST series for around $1,700 which is well under your budget...
Panasonic TC - P65ST30 - Plasma TV - 1080p (FullHD)

In comparison, the ES6500 65" LED/LCD from Samsung will run you about 50% more and will not provide the same wide viewing angle, or as good of black levels, and will have weaker motion handling (all inherent issues with LCD).
Samsung - UN65ES6500 - LED-backlit LCD TV - Smart TV - 1080p (FullHD)

So, you save money AND you get a better image. Win-win.
Great info .... I am just thinking how much better will it be compared to my current Panasonic TH50PX60U.

Problems I see with my current TV is it's refresh rate. On moving targets where there is a lot of detail like scenery with buildings, busy streets, etc ... I see some lagging, picture movement not as smooth and overall view not as great as it can be I guess.

will the Panasonic VIERA TC-P60ST50 or Panasonic VIERA TC-P60GT50 fix that??? is it the double processor on GT or the 600Hz that will fix it>?
 
BMXTRIX

BMXTRIX

Audioholic Warlord
Problems I see with my current TV is it's refresh rate. On moving targets where there is a lot of detail like scenery with buildings, busy streets, etc ... I see some lagging, picture movement not as smooth and overall view not as great as it can be I guess.

will the Panasonic VIERA TC-P60ST50 or Panasonic VIERA TC-P60GT50 fix that??? is it the double processor on GT or the 600Hz that will fix it>?
This is a tricky question, because there is always the possibility, and a very high likelihood, that the issues you are seeing aren't a part of the TV, but are a part of the source.

If you PAUSE the video you are watching, do those same artifacts still exist, or do you have a crisp clean image on screen? If those artifacts are still there, then it is not the TV introducing them, but the TV faithfully putting on screen exactly what it is receiving.

The solution to that is to go to a different type of source.

That said, the faster refresh rates and creative frame interpolation (CFI) found on many new TVs, including plasmas, can reduce blurring. I'm not a fan of it (at all!) but some people really like it. It is available for both plasmas and better LCDs.

Typo on my last links which went to the 30 series from Panasonic. You should be spending a bit more on the 50 series from them. Still, one of the best values out there.

Their products do get better from line to line, so if you want the absolute best image, then the VT series is the way to go, then the GT series, then the ST series.

I would take a long look at the 8000 series from Samsung as a competitor to the GT series from Panasonic.

I went from my Pioneer 60" model to a 64" Samsung. I was very worried considering the quality that Pioneer has with their displays. I am honestly very satisfied with the Samsung. Far moreso than I was expecting.

It is very hard to say if a new plasma will correct the issues you have seen with your image, but I guarantee that if any technology will make what you have look as good as possible, it will be plasma. LCD won't fix the issue, nor will plasma, if the issue is inherent to the source itself. Garbage in... garbage out.

Anyway, lots of great choices to be had.
 
J

jostenmeat

Audioholic Spartan
Great info .... I am just thinking how much better will it be compared to my current Panasonic TH50PX60U.

Problems I see with my current TV is it's refresh rate. On moving targets where there is a lot of detail like scenery with buildings, busy streets, etc ... I see some lagging, picture movement not as smooth and overall view not as great as it can be I guess.

will the Panasonic VIERA TC-P60ST50 or Panasonic VIERA TC-P60GT50 fix that??? is it the double processor on GT or the 600Hz that will fix it>?
IMO, it's not the refresh rate that will improve things the most, it's not even close, not even in the same ballpark as . . . properly doing 24p without 3:2 pulldown. 72hz is already fast enough to make flicker completely imperceptible. 600hz is just marketing combat, to help curb the immense tide of all the lemmings that go over to the LCD world.

My brother I think has your TV/model, but just a couple of gens older than yours, I'm guessing it's the 80u.

He asked me for advice on a second display, of course I've never wavered, duh, Pana plasma. He gets the exact same tv that BSA has I'm pretty sure, but he says something was wrong with the TV, some sort of flickery thing in shadowy backgrounds. He couldn't be bothered with return or fix, so he just gave it to my dad. :rolleyes:

What gets me though is that his first 80u had some line going through it, he exchanges the same day, it's been trucking how long, I dunno, 6 yrs maybe, or am I totally misremembering. (The newer one was from Amazon.)

So what does he do, he gets some "LED" by Samsung, and even with the typically excellent pricing of Costco (wanted to buy in store at this point), AND a very large discount going on top, it was still considerably expensive.

Guess what he told me? That old plasma looks better. ;) I didn't even ask, he just offered that straight out. BTW, these TVs are currently side by side, as he and his lady are avid gamers and are recently freaking out on Borderlands 2 or something.

Anyway, $3000, I personally would aim for the flagship 65". Now for many years with Pana, you HAD to get the flagship for proper 24p, and just that in itself was reason enough for me. Today, I think the other models can do 24p? This was the first year where other models could do so, or was it last year, or am I wrong about this?

I remember seeing the 65V10 at $2800 or so. I've seen a succeeding model since then at the same price. I don't know if every year gets that low or not, but that's what I'd be hoping for. But if you can stretch 3K a little, maybe you don't have to be super patient.
 

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