Watch the power consumption on this bad boy, at least it is not a 1080p set, which helps. By the way, I have the 42 inch version from a few years back and it has been great.
jschuman said: Watch the power consumption on this bad boy, at least it is not a 1080p set, which helps. By the way, I have the 42 inch version from a few years back and it has been great.
from prior posts i think we normally see eye to eye in these tv threads, but power consumption isn't an issue.
these plasmas are rated for peak watts for those that dont know, not continuous watts. at the end of the day they consume about the same power as their lcd counterparts.
Power consumption on a plasma is *way* more than an LCD. I know.
I had a Sony 46" 1080p for a few months. This is strictly used for HTPC and gaming. I was OK with its picture quality (always preferred plasma), but bought the LCD so I can leave a static image on it all day with no worries. Then somehow a bunch of pixels (together around the size of a dime!) went bad. Got fed up, sold it and bought a 50PZ85U (1080p). Plasma definitely looks better.
Anyway, all my equipment are connected to a 1000W UPS (the TV, surround sound receiver, PS3, Wii, quad-core PC with 4 HDs, bunch of other little things). When I had the LCD, even with everything on, I've never seen it go pass 600W according to the screen on my UPS. With the plasma, I can no longer have both the PS3 and PC on. Depending on how bright the scene is on the plasma, it triggers my UPS' overload alarm at ~980W with everything running. On a darker scene it's OK. Load up Google in the browser on a 1920x1080 desktop, power draw is more than 2x of the LCD I had.
Yes you're right, it's rated on peak wattage. Beware that if you intent to use it with a computer, it can stay at or near the peak wattage pretty much constantly. Watching a movie or playing a game with constantly changing screen contents, the wattage drawn fluctuates wildly, whereas an LCD is basically constant.
Another note, on a plasma, the # of pixels matters more than the size of the screen as far as electricity consumption goes. I have an older 58PX600U in my family room and another Panasonic 50" in my bedroom, both 720p models. Even the 58" draws less power than the new 50" 1080p. So the 50PX80U discussed here will draw less than my 1080p model, but know that it will draw WAY more power than an LCD.
Other than being a juice-guzzler, I prefer the plasma.
BTW, excellent deal on this 50PX80U I am tempted to upgrade my bedroom one for this. This year's Panasonic models have much better black levels than my older ones.
verklempt said: jschuman said: Watch the power consumption on this bad boy, at least it is not a 1080p set, which helps. By the way, I have the 42 inch version from a few years back and it has been great.
from prior posts i think we normally see eye to eye in these tv threads, but power consumption isn't an issue.
these plasmas are rated for peak watts for those that dont know, not continuous watts. at the end of the day they consume about the same power as their lcd counterparts.
Power consumption on plasma's vary widely and are dependent on: * Brand * Model * Calibrated vs. default showroom scortch settings vs. displaying a solid white screen.
Panasonic and Pioneer list their *maximum* power draw, which is defined as bumping all user controls up to 100% and service menu controls, and then displaying a solid white screen. Obviously this is not how you use a panel. Display a solid black image and they use very little power. Therefore the real usage is somewhere inbetween.
Samsung doesn't even list power draw in their specs, and once calibrated they use more power than the others, as far as the results I've seen posted on numerous sites.
Even Panasonic has drastically reduced power from the 06 through 07 to the new 08 models. A 42" 768 panel last year used about 190 watts once calibrated. This year it seems to be about 150 watts. Even their 50" 768 '08 panel uses about 160 watts once calibrated, even though the "max" rating is about 500 watts. Their 50" 1080 panel last year used over 300 watts, this year it's closer to 200.
Compare with LCD where they may have 200 watt peak but use 120 calibrated. Not really much difference.
Do specific model research to know the differences and never believe blanket statements posted on deal sites.
200W? Wow I'd love to believe that. On a black screen maybe. I'm looking at it right now, with a photo (grassy scenery with a blue sky) on my 1920x1080 desktop. My UPS shows 650W of current being drawn (load up Google on full screen it jumps to 700W). Turn off the TV and it drops to 150W (just my receiver running with no sound, and my quad-core desktop idling). This tells me the TV itself is drawing ~500W with the scenery photo, and ~550W on a mostly white Google screen. Settings on my TV are cinema mode, picture at 65, brightness at 60.
My 50PZ85U's (1080p, current model) power rating (yes max) is 690W, vs my 58PX600U (720p, 2006 model) ~580W. Yes those are just manufacturer's max rating, and my actual usage is above. Not sure where you're getting the info from..
Again, for comparison, on a Sony 46" 1080p I had, it was ~260W constant even on a full white screen.
Yes absolutely do your own research, but I can say this year's 50" 1080p *Panasonic* draws WAY more than 200W in actual use (and the 720p is not going to be much less) with normal settings (we're not even talking the torch mode picture settings default). 200W? Samsung maybe, I doubt it though. BUT do research before believing what some guys/gals say on a deals site's forum
MrLateNite said: Even Panasonic has drastically reduced power from the 06 through 07 to the new 08 models. A 42" 768 panel last year used about 190 watts once calibrated. This year it seems to be about 150 watts. Even their 50" 768 '08 panel uses about 160 watts once calibrated, even though the "max" rating is about 500 watts. Their 50" 1080 panel last year used over 300 watts, this year it's closer to 200.
Compare with LCD where they may have 200 watt peak but use 120 calibrated. Not really much difference.
Do specific model research to know the differences and never believe blanket statements posted on deal sites.
Update: Well... I picked it up yesterday and when I got home I couldn't find my stash of cable wires anywhere. It was late and I wanted to see what this baby could do. Only thing I could find was an extra s-video and component audio cable. Hooked up a DVD player (was too afraid to see how awful SD looked from the dish box).
Fired it up and... it looked pretty bad. But I found the TV adjustment menu very basic and easy to use. After 10 minutes it looked 'above my expectations'. Easily watchable. No pixelation. But not entirely sharp. Not using any upconverting or progressive settings yet - so I expect the image quality to be even better once it's hooked up properly.
There is a slight 'green' tint that I haven't explored enough to see if I can fix. I do mean slight and it does not bother me so I'm happy. The anti-reflection screen is great. That is why I bought it over the Samsung.
Had to call Panasonic to get advice on how to attach the stand (cause I didn't want to lay it down and break it doing something out of ignorance). They pick up the phone quickly and answered all of my questions.
Very pleased with the price. I expect that this (and the Samsung) will be $850.00 at some point (Black Friday?) when they get clearanced but I wanted to enjoy this now.
fatyohoo said: 200W? Wow I'd love to believe that. On a black screen maybe.
BUT do research before believing what some guys/gals say on a deals site's forum
I own a Panasonic 42" 768 (42PX75U), and I get 160 to 240 watt usage, somewhere around 190 is the 'average' accd to my own Kill-A-Watt meter, which match the ratings the Crutchfield had for them. The newer 08 panels use less power than the 07's.
If you're seeing higher ratings than the max rating then something is wrong with your UPS's meter. I'd trust the KAW over the UPS meter myself. I was 3 watts shy of the max rating with a solid white screen and all user brightness/contrast/color controls cranked to max. I was at under 40 watts with a solid black screen.
Check Crutchfield's site and they manually calibrate and test power of all the panels they sell. The Panasonics are well under 200 for the 768's, including the new 50PX80U. The 1080s are higher but not as high as say a Samsung --- once calibrated.
This is a terrific deal and probably does not get the attention it deserves. I would hop on this if I didn't already have the 50PX75U. It would be absolutely smoking if the $200 MFR rebate was still going.
eoniverse said: There is a slight 'green' tint that I haven't explored enough to see if I can fix. I do mean slight and it does not bother me so I'm happy. The anti-reflection screen is great. That is why I bought it over the Samsung.
Thanks Fat Wallet.
If you look at any Panasonic plasma screen with it turned off, comparing to other brand's panels off, you'll notice the Panasonic is greener "black".
Once it's on, it also has a green/blue bias over red. This has been reported on numerous 'pro' review sites.
I own a 42PX75U (2007 model) and it has green pixels shimmering in otherwise pure black areas. Again, this seems to be the bias of their panels, unfortunately.
It is the only thing I dislike about Panasonic panels over others. Once my warranty expires, I will go into the service menu and tweak the RGB gain/cutoff controls and adjust this bias out.
I haven't noticed that "it also has a green/blue bias over red". And I must be getting used to the green bias because now I'm noticing it less. And I also did some settings tweaking. I am quite pleased with the set.
I ended up mounting it to a Mt Helena stand from Sears. It has 3 glass shelfs and a solid center post that allows the TV to pivot R/L. A very easy stand to attach the plasma on vs. some others. Still struggling with cable Management... but I'm happier than a pig in slop.
chrisherbert
New Member
posted: Jun. 16, 2008 @ 12:05p
Adjusting the cuts/gains really isn't the way to get rid of the green pixels. Lower the brightness a notch or two until the green pixels go away on a black screen.
jogl
Member
posted: Jun. 20, 2008 @ 5:35p
Back in stock for $1,099.00 + shipping at Frys.com as of June 20. And still an excellent deal for a popular 50" plasma.
Genester7
Frivolous Member
posted: Jun. 26, 2008 @ 5:13p
For those who have a FRYs in their area - this deal only appears to make sense if you're picking up the TV yourself or aren't paying tax. For those who pay for delivery and pay tax, there are better options, e.g:
- Beach Camera at $1204 is a better deal if not paying tax (free shipping) - the total is $1204 - http://www.beachcamera.com/shop/product.aspx?sku=PNTH50PX80U
- BUYDIG.COM is the same as Beach Camera for pricing purposes
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