[mythtvnz] Slightly OT - which new TV

[Damian]

I am a big fan of the Panasonic products but then I am also a strong 
advocate of plasma rather than LCD. The LCD vs plasma debate can really 
stir people up so I will side step that. Panasonic is well regarded for 
their plasma sets, people placing them a close second to the very 
expensive and hard to get Pioneer kuros. Family members have Panasonic 
LCDs as well and I have been impressed with all of them.

I had a Philips tv fail last year and as part of the process I had to 
deal fairly closely with a tv repair man. He was of the opinion that 
Panasonic was the brand he saw the least of. He also commented that when 
he has had to deal with a faulty Panasonic unit the parts are often 
sourced within NZ and that the support is local.  He went on to make 
racial slurs about the support from other vendors in particular LG and 
Samsung. While that is another story all together I think it highlights 
a potential problem.

Personally I think 3D is a gimmick at this stage. I have no doubt it 
will grow, if you consider the amount of money being thrown at 3D movies 
it almost has to grow as there has been too much investment. I just 
don't really like the idea of having to have a stash of spare glasses 
which aren't that cheap in case you have friends around. Not to mention 
the reduced viewing angle if you want the effects to actually work 
properly. I think of it as something thats cool for someone else to have 
so you can see it but not have the hassles that it brings.

DLNA is a cool idea but you have to read the details about what the TV 
is capable of playing. You can stream media which puts the workload onto 
your PC or in some cases the TV can do the work but both often have 
limited support for file formats. For me DLNA was a moot point as my 
HTPC handles everything and more than DLNA was ever going to offer.

If you do decide to look at the Panasonic plasmas the U series is very 
nice but if you can go to the V series you will not regret it. The V 
actually has DLNA incidentally but it's the panel that will give you 
wood :-) Oh yeah, you can turn overscan off on the U and V series too.

Hope this is useful

Damian

On 26/03/2011 10:07 a.m., Nick Rout wrote:
> EQC/Insurance will have to replace our Sony 46" TV, which hit the
> floor and the centre speaker, rendering it munted (official ChCh
> term).
>
> I really liked the Sony, good picture, 3 or 4 HDMI inputs, does
> 24/50/60 fps at 1080p, has a setting to get rid of overscan, has
> proper EDID info, sensible remote control, but was a generation before
> ethernet connectivity and DLNA.
>
> So what should I be looking for in a TV these days, besides the above
> things. Not sure I really need DLNA, but it might be useful. Is 3D
> ever going to be worth it?
>
> What other makes are any good?
>
> Tips, hints welcomed. Cheers. (On topic as will be attached to mythtv
> of course).
>
> Nick.
>
> _______________________________________________
> mythtvnz mailing list
> mythtvnz at lists.linuxnut.co.nz
> http://lists.ourshack.com/mailman/listinfo/mythtvnz
> Archives http://www.gossamer-threads.com/lists/mythtv/mythtvnz/
>
>