HP PL5072N 50" Plasma

[jcuadrado]

I stumbled upon an ad for this tv.....looked up the specs on hp's website and was surprised to see that it supported 1080p.....other specs look decent..

10,000 contrast ratio....built in tuner, QAM, 3 HDMI, etc. etc.....

for only 1198? I mean yes...it's not a Panny or Samsung....but HP is a decent brand no?

good buy or?

HP Site with Specs

 

[DBL]

All Plasmas "support" 1080p. But few do it as their native resolution. This TV is a 720p TV. A lot of the HP are really Panasonic components although I'm not sure if that is still the case. So yes, for the price that is probably a pretty good deal although you can get a 50" 720p Panasonic for not much more.

 

[Tiamat]

Resolution 1365 x 768 pixels

Meh, its "ok" deal.

 

[jcuadrado]

thanks for the replies peeps....

so if I hook up a PS3 through the HDMI port and play a Blu Ray disc would I be viewing in 1080P..???

I currently have a cheapo 42in plasma.....could I do the same and be watching in 1080P?

also....so what would be the best "deal" for a 50in plamsa for under 1200?

 

[calcal]

The tv have to be 1080p for that to happen. That hp plasma or your cheapo plasma is NOT 1080p. you will only be playing/watching at 720p. I dont think there's any 1080p 50inches plasma for under $1200 yet.

 

[JackBurton]

Originally posted by: jcuadrado
thanks for the replies peeps....

so if I hook up a PS3 through the HDMI port and play a Blu Ray disc would I be viewing in 1080P..???

I currently have a cheapo 42in plasma.....could I do the same and be watching in 1080P?

also....so what would be the best "deal" for a 50in plamsa for under 1200?

Any 50" plasma for under $1200 will be a sh!tty plasma. And I don't even know if the sh!tty ones are under $1200. Save some more money.

 

[DBL]

Originally posted by: JackBurton

Originally posted by: jcuadrado
thanks for the replies peeps....

so if I hook up a PS3 through the HDMI port and play a Blu Ray disc would I be viewing in 1080P..???

I currently have a cheapo 42in plasma.....could I do the same and be watching in 1080P?

also....so what would be the best "deal" for a 50in plamsa for under 1200?

Any 50" plasma for under $1200 will be a sh!tty plasma. And I don't even know if the sh!tty ones are under $1200. Save some more money.

Current generation 50" Panasonics start at $1500 or so and are great displays.

 

[JackBurton]

Originally posted by: DBL

Originally posted by: JackBurton

Originally posted by: jcuadrado
thanks for the replies peeps....

so if I hook up a PS3 through the HDMI port and play a Blu Ray disc would I be viewing in 1080P..???

I currently have a cheapo 42in plasma.....could I do the same and be watching in 1080P?

also....so what would be the best "deal" for a 50in plamsa for under 1200?

Any 50" plasma for under $1200 will be a sh!tty plasma. And I don't even know if the sh!tty ones are under $1200. Save some more money.

Current generation 50" Panasonics start at $1500 or so and are great displays.

Yeah, if he save $300 more he'd be able to afford a great plasma. But a 50" under $1200 is going to be crap.

 

[montypythizzle]

Originally posted by: JackBurton

Originally posted by: DBL

Originally posted by: JackBurton

Originally posted by: jcuadrado
thanks for the replies peeps....

so if I hook up a PS3 through the HDMI port and play a Blu Ray disc would I be viewing in 1080P..???

I currently have a cheapo 42in plasma.....could I do the same and be watching in 1080P?

also....so what would be the best "deal" for a 50in plamsa for under 1200?

Any 50" plasma for under $1200 will be a sh!tty plasma. And I don't even know if the sh!tty ones are under $1200. Save some more money.

Current generation 50" Panasonics start at $1500 or so and are great displays.

Yeah, if he save $300 more he'd be able to afford a great plasma. But a 50" under $1200 is going to be crap.

HP is not a crap brand....

 

[Auric]

Originally posted by: montypythizzle

HP is not a crap brand....

But it is just a brand and neither a manufacturer nor amongst the few primary technology companies for plasma. Chances are, such rebrands are not leading edge either. Well heck, the wacky resolution is a hint for a start.

 

[montypythizzle]

Originally posted by: Auric

Originally posted by: montypythizzle

HP is not a crap brand....

But it is just a brand and neither a manufacturer nor amongst the few primary technology companies for plasma. Chances are, such rebrands are not leading edge either. Well heck, the wacky resolution is a hint for a start.

768s are normal for plasmas.....

 

[JackBurton]

Originally posted by: montypythizzle

Originally posted by: JackBurton

Originally posted by: DBL

Originally posted by: JackBurton

Originally posted by: jcuadrado
thanks for the replies peeps....

so if I hook up a PS3 through the HDMI port and play a Blu Ray disc would I be viewing in 1080P..???

I currently have a cheapo 42in plasma.....could I do the same and be watching in 1080P?

also....so what would be the best "deal" for a 50in plamsa for under 1200?

Any 50" plasma for under $1200 will be a sh!tty plasma. And I don't even know if the sh!tty ones are under $1200. Save some more money.

Current generation 50" Panasonics start at $1500 or so and are great displays.

Yeah, if he save $300 more he'd be able to afford a great plasma. But a 50" under $1200 is going to be crap.

HP is not a crap brand....

For a plasma, yes it is.

 

[montypythizzle]

Originally posted by: JackBurton

Originally posted by: montypythizzle

Originally posted by: JackBurton

Originally posted by: DBL

Originally posted by: JackBurton

Originally posted by: jcuadrado
thanks for the replies peeps....

so if I hook up a PS3 through the HDMI port and play a Blu Ray disc would I be viewing in 1080P..???

I currently have a cheapo 42in plasma.....could I do the same and be watching in 1080P?

also....so what would be the best "deal" for a 50in plamsa for under 1200?

Any 50" plasma for under $1200 will be a sh!tty plasma. And I don't even know if the sh!tty ones are under $1200. Save some more money.

Current generation 50" Panasonics start at $1500 or so and are great displays.

Yeah, if he save $300 more he'd be able to afford a great plasma. But a 50" under $1200 is going to be crap.

HP is not a crap brand....

For a plasma, yes it is.

Um, what is the theory behind that?
Why would they put their name on such a shit product, oh... Sony does ^_^. (gah, lower end Sony items )
HP is a standard in highly accurate measurement tools, why would they put out a lower grade item?

Hell, I don't even think they have less than nVidia, ATi, or Intel chipsets on their computer boards...

 

[DBL]

Originally posted by: JackBurton

Originally posted by: montypythizzle

HP is not a crap brand....

For a plasma, yes it is.

I think it may have changed but as of about two years ago, HP plasmas were rebadged Panasonics.

EDIT: Nothing concrete but this is likely an LG panel. In that case, I'd save the extra $300 and get a Panasonic.

 

[JackBurton]

Originally posted by: montypythizzle
Um, what is the theory behind that?
Why would they put their name on such a shit product, oh... Sony does ^_^. (gah, lower end Sony items )
HP is a standard in highly accurate measurement tools, why would they put out a lower grade item?

Hell, I don't even think they have less than nVidia, ATi, or Intel chipsets on their computer boards...

Wow, that is fantastic. I guess they can make anything just as good as anyone else. Maybe they can make an HP car and you'll take them seriously. HP is not a leader in the plasma market. They are GREAT in the PC market, but even then, if I want a high quality mission critical switch, I'm going to use a Cisco switch, NOT an HP switch. Why, because Cisco has proven themselves in this market, HP hasn't. Same with plasmas.

Maybe I went too far in calling it crap, but it's definitely not one I'd recommend.

 

[JackBurton]

Originally posted by: DBL

Originally posted by: JackBurton

Originally posted by: montypythizzle

HP is not a crap brand....

For a plasma, yes it is.

I think it may have changed but as of about two years ago, HP plasmas were rebadged Panasonics.

EDIT: Nothing concrete but this is likely an LG panel. In that case, I'd save the extra $300 and get a Panasonic.

If it IS a rebadged Panasonic, I'd like to know exactly which model they're rebadging. I would rather just pay a little extra for the Panasonic and know what I'm getting though.

 

[DBL]

Originally posted by: JackBurton

If it IS a rebadged Panasonic, I'd like to know exactly which model they're rebadging. I would rather just pay a little extra for the Panasonic and know what I'm getting though.

As I mentioned in my edit, this does not still apear to be the case. But you can find references to HP using Panasonic as recently as a couple of years ago. It was generally considered a good bargain at the time.

rebadged Panasonic

 

[jcuadrado]

still debating on this tv.....looks great on display....regular price is 1799... It's on sale for 1198...specs on hp.com say this...


HDTV supported inputs
HDMI : 1080p/1080i/720p/480p/480i, Component Input 1 & 2 (YPbPr/VGA) : 1080i/720p/480p/480i, analog cable/antenna input

so again I ask...If I hook up a PS3 through the HDMI port and play a blue ray disc will this tv be displaying 1080p? The specs say it will...are the specs not correct or is it false advertising or?

money is an issue....I'm no videophile either...just want something decent that won't break my bank account....there are other priorities in my life...but I need a tv now....

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: jcuadrado
so again I ask...If I hook up a PS3 through the HDMI port and play a blue ray disc will this tv be displaying 1080p? The specs say it will...are the specs not correct or is it false advertising or?

Answer is still the same.

"Resolution: 1365 x 768 pixels"

Unless the resolution says 1920x1080, you're not getting the full 1080p displayed.

It will be scaled down to the display's native resolution.

It will accept a 1080p signal, but internally it will be scaling it down to fit to the pixels that is has, in this case: 1365 x 768 pixels

The specs are not lying, you just don't know which one you're supposed to be looking at to decide whether this is a true 1080p display.

That said, getting a TV that's not 1080p is not the end of the world. One of the best Plasmas on the market now is the Pioneer 5080, which is not a 1080p set either.

ISF's lists of thie aspects of a display that matter are:
1) contrast ratio
2) color saturation
3) color accuracy
4) resolution

If this set does well on the first 3 (or will do well after calibrating it), then it's a good choice.

Unfortunately, I have no idea if that's the case.

Try looking up this model on AVSforum to see if there's any info on it.

 

[zinfamous]

^ add to that. It will still look quit nice. wouldn't look quite as good, however, if it were a 1080p panel getting a 720p signal.

768 is a fine resolution for Plasma. The current best-reviewed plasma is a 768p, that routinely outperforms other 1080p panels. As YoYo said, resolution is at the bottom in terms of PQ. Of course, the Pioneer that I'm talking about is one of the most expensive on the market...but you get what you pay for