Need plasma tv replacement

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Mloot

Diamond Member
Aug 24, 2002
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I am hoping for some help, because I am woefully out of date when it comes to TV technology.

The wife and I have moved across country and left the still-working 50" Panasonic plasma tv (that we bought somewhere around 2010-2011, I think) in the old home with our adult kids.

We are casual TV watchers, and only need a somewhat decent sound bar for audio, and will probably sign up for Spectrum cable tv in the new home.

While not a tv snob, I did enjoy the picture quality of the plasma tv over the last decade and more. It is only a 1080p display, but to me it still looks better than some of the cheap units I have seen in Walmart.

Is there something in the 50-60" range (for under $1K) that will give me a picture that is reasonably comparable in quality to the old plasma, and maybe has a decent selection of built-in streaming apps? TIA.
 
BoomerD

BoomerD

No Lifer
Feb 26, 2006
65,405
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IMO, the new LED screens are OK, but not great. I replaced a Panasonic 65" (TCP65VT60) plasma with a mid-priced Samsung 4k (UN65RU800DFXZA) in 2019. It's OK...but really doesn't compare to the Panny plasma. (plasma had darker blacks, handled motion better, and just looked better.)
There are lots of decent screens available in your price range, but, depending on the plasma you're replacing, could be disappointing...or fabulous.
 
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fralexandr

fralexandr

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Apr 26, 2007
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www.flickr.com
FYi the above linked oled is now $899.99 shipped at costco. I don't know if you have access to or want a costco membership, though you can probably buy that tv without a membership and pay a 5% nonmember surcharge...
 
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M

MadScientist

Platinum Member
Jul 15, 2001
2,169
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For the past few years around BF time I am tempted to replace my Panasonic TC-P55ST60 plasma TV which I purchased in 10/2013 with an OLED TV. Yeah, it's heavy, puts out about the same amount of heat as a small space heater, costs more to run than an OLED, it's not as bright as an OLED, and it maybe be hard to give it away. The Panny's picture, to me though, still looks good, no burn-in so far, black blacks, and I can sit off to the side on my recliner with no picture lose.
For those that still have Panny plasma TVs these are the calibration settings I am using. There are other cal settings out there, i.e., D-Nice's. Prices on OLED TVs have dropped and this may be the year I buy one. Which one??
 
Steltek

Steltek

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Mar 29, 2001
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Best Buy is selling the 65" Samsung S90C for $999.99 today. It is a 2023 model, but it is a very highly rated TV and that is a pretty decent price for it if you can find one in a local store (it isn't as good as it was when Sam's Club and Costco were clearing them out earlier this year, but it is what it is).


You have to pick to it up in a Best Buy store, though, as they charge $110 to deliver it.

And, if you are one who purchases extended warranties, Best Buy's warranties cover OLED screen burn-in. The Allstate extended warranties Costco and Sam's Club offer specifically exclude OLED screen burn-in from coverage.
 
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M

MadScientist

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Jul 15, 2001
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After watching this doc movie: Buy Now: The Shopping Conspiracy, now playing on Netflix, I decided, for now, to keep my Panasonic Plasma TV. It would probably end up in some large pile of electronic junk in Malaysia. Instead of using someone's calibration settings, I decided to calibrate it myself with Displaycal and a Spyder X Pro I purchased directly from Datacolor on ebay for $80. shipped. I have an AMD 5600G CPU in my HTPC. Most of my TV viewing is through my HTPC and the rest from my TV antenna. Yes, it's not as bright as an OLED but it's in a dark room in front of blind covered windows and no overhead light.

This is tempting: Samsung 55" QN90C for $798.

​

 
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L

lakedude

Platinum Member
Mar 14, 2009
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Did you get a TV yet?

If you are spoiled by plasma's high contrast deep blacks OLEDs are the modern equivalent. The trouble with OLEDs are that they are not as bright as LCDs and can suffer burn in (like plasma). OLEDs are best in a darker room where you can see the awesome conrast and don't need to fight the sun.

The advantages of LCDs (on some models) are lower cost, higher brightness and immunity from screen burn in. This comes at the expense of the amazing contrast found on OLED screens although local dimming can help.

Re Walmart, they mostly only stock the less expensive models in their brick and mortar stores.

Walmart does sell better TVs than they carry in their stores. For example they have this awesome 65" OLED for $998 online.

Screenshot_20241212_085224.jpg
 
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M

MadScientist

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Jul 15, 2001
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lakedude said:
Did you get a TV yet?
Click to expand...
No. After calibrating my plasma it looks a lot better, brighter, colors are crisper, blacks are still very black, contrast looks good, and gamma is 2.2. Like I previously posted I'm keeping it for now. My viewing seat is ~80" from the TV so a 65" would be too big. So far in 11 years of daily use I have no burn in. I keep the bottom taskbar hidden to help prevent it. If you have not yet watched the Netflix movie Buy Now: The Shopping Conspiracy then at least watch this CNN article: https://www.cnn.com/2024/11/30/busi...ary-buy-now-overconsumption-bagenal-nr-digvid
 
Steltek

Steltek

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Mar 29, 2001
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M

manly

Lifer
Jan 25, 2000
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Steltek said:
It is the same for everything.

Just wait until your refrigerators, washers, dryers, and stoves start serving ads to you. I have no doubt it is coming.
Click to expand...
It's not the same though. I don't stare at my large appliances for hours per day. A TV's OS is very much an integral part of the UX.

When the time comes to replace my washer, if the standard has devolved to serving ads and more attack surface, then I'll just buy a Speed Queen and be happy.
 
D

dlerious

Platinum Member
Mar 4, 2004
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Steltek said:
It is the same for everything.

Just wait until your refrigerators, washers, dryers, and stoves start serving ads to you. I have no doubt it is coming.
Click to expand...
Or how about a subscription you have to pay or your appliance stops working.
 
nOOky

nOOky

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Aug 17, 2004
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We replaced our 60" Panasonic plasma a few weeks ago with the 77" LG C3. The 77" is as big as we could get on the wall between two shelves I have mounted alongside the tv without moving them. The shelves hold the front Klipsch speakers, the center channel speaker is below the tv on a stand. I messed up the wall mount on the tv by about 1/8" too low so the center speaker sits in front of the tv and not back against the wall. I will need to feel motivated to remove the tv from the mount and reposition it up to for the center speaker.

There was nothing wrong with the plasma, it was just a want. The image was still great, I just wanted something bigger and brighter. The LG is surprisingly brighter than anticipated, I'm glad I did not panic and kick down for the LG G4 which is about a grand more for a bit brighter. The LG OLED is great, definitely the equal or better than the plasma, with a lot better color and brightness, the blacks are inky of course, at times too black lol.

I had an Nvidia Shield on the Panasonic since it wasn't a smart tv, and I got a Shield Pro for the LG. The LG WebOS sux, I can't believe it's the best they can put out in 2024. I recently put in a new Sony receiver also, and sometimes it takes a bit of fiddling to get the Shield to display. It's 2024 and HDMI handshaking is still a mess imho.
 
M

MadScientist

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Jul 15, 2001
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nOOky said:
There was nothing wrong with the plasma, it was just a want.
Click to expand...
Nothing wrong with wanting something better if you can afford it, but after watching the Netflix movie, https://www.cnn.com/2024/11/30/busi...ary-buy-now-overconsumption-bagenal-nr-digvid, it changerd by buying habits from want to need. As suggested in the movie, before you buy something online, unless you have an immediate need for it, put it in your cart, leave it there for a month, and then come back to it.

We, myself included, accumulate too much stuff. Most of my neighbors can not park their cars in their garages because of too much stuff. My daughter told me when we die she does not want the task of cleaning out our house. So we started getting rid of stuff, mostly selling it on eBay, Facebook Markerplace, and Craigslist. We can park our 2 vehicles in our 2 car garage. Worth a watch: George Carlin's classic standup routine about the importance of 'Stuff' in our lives

What did you do with your plasma TV? Kept it, sold it, gave it to someone, or junked it?
 
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nOOky

nOOky

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Aug 17, 2004
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I gave the old tv to my nephew who needed a tv. He is happy with it and I am happy with him being happy with it. The thing made it 12 years, which is phenominal imho. I expect we will use a lot less electricity to run the new OLED, although it's not a concern regarding tv ownership.
 
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Harry_Wild

Harry_Wild

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Dec 14, 2012
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Spend time on YouTube with reviews new 8K OLED and QLED extra large screen TVs. 110" plus models. Wow. They have transparent displays now too! Cheap projection TVs too! I going wait a few years and get me a 120" OLED!
 
Fallen Kell

Fallen Kell

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Oct 9, 1999
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If you are accustomed to the plasma, the only thing that gives picture like that will be OLED. Best bang for the buck would probably be the Samsung S90D 55" or 65" models (don't get the 48" or smaller as they used a different panel). The 55" will run around $1100, but you can sometimes find it on sale. The reason for this specific model and sizes is because it uses a QD-OLED panel, which until this year, were by far better than the WOLED that need to wash out the color with additional white light (the "W" in WOLED) when trying to display a bright image.

This is also last year's model, which is why you will start seeing it on sale more, so I would scoop one up if you see it. This year's models will be available shortly (some have already hit retail, with almost all the others out by June).
 
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