26 replies to this topic

[Jammy]

A little bit off topic and a bit long, but interesting none-the-less:

Who really makes your Plasma HDTV?

Very few Plasma TV manufacturers actually make their own plasma TV. Most use a system called rebadging. Basically they buy from a Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM), claim to have a secret extra special feature then stick a new sticker on it and bill you thousands extra for the sticker. If you really want to pay thousands for a sticker please call our sales dept and we will sell you a sticker with our website logo for much less then the couple thousand you will pay Fujitsu or Runco
THE MAJOR PLASMA TELEVISION MANUFACTURERS

NEC - Nec is a OEM manufacturer and is now owned by Pioneer. Although owned by Pioneer they still operate under a separate label. NEC has commercial units and home units. They also supply screens to Marantz Runco and several other companies. NEC sold their plasma factory to Pioneer and now buys their panels from Pioneer and installs their own electronics.

Panasonic - Makes the complete units, Supplies Toshiba, JVC, Fujitsu and more

Pioneer Plasma - Pioneer owns NEC and has switched production to the NEC lines. The new 50 inch and the 42 inch units are all NEC glass. To tell if a 50 inch is Pioneer or NEC, check the resolution, If 1280 it is Pioneer , If 1365 it is NEC . 42 inch Pioneer Plasma TV is NEC . 43 inch Plasma TV is Pioneer Glass

Fujitsu Plasma - Only makes their own 42 inch in partnership with Hitachi . 50 and 61 inch Fujitsu Plasmas are Panasonic and NEC but the 42 inch are their own. Note Hitachi plasma screens are identical to Fujitsu and cost thousands less, 55 Inch Fujitsu is same as Hitachi,

Sony Plasma TV - Makes their own boards and chips but uses Fujitsu/ Hitachi plasma screen glass for 42 inch, 50 inch is NEC, 42inch EDTV is NEC

Hitachi - Owns 50% of plasma screen factory with Fujitsu. Makes own internal components. 42 Alis screens are Hitachi as is the New 55, 50 inch are Pioneer and 42 EDTV is a NEC screen

Philips - Uses Fujitsu/ Hitachi glass screen and most internal components as well. However, Philips makes its own bezel with built in speakers.

LG / Zenith - Make their own glass in Korea

Samsung - Makes its own components in Korea
THE SECONDARY MANUFACTURERS

RCA/ Thompson - Partners with NEC to OEM its product. Just a NEC with a new bezel.

JVC - 50 inch is Panasonic, 42 is NEC

Toshiba - OEM from Panasonic.

Sharp - OEM product through Pioneer for 50" and 42 though they may make some internal component changes.

Runco - OEM 50" from Pioneer and 42" from NEC,

Marantz - OEM plasma monitor from NEC. It is our understanding its just a sticker job

Studio Experience use a Samsung panel but custom electronics

Viewsonic - OEM 50" plasma screen from Pioneer ( old 502 ).

Sampo - 42v3 is old Fujitsu, 42v6 is Samsung Plasma,

Gateway: Units are rebranded Sampo

Norcent Units may be rebranded Sampo

Maxent is Sampo, There seems to be a rumor spreading around that maxents are actually Panasonic panels. These seems extremely unlikely as Panasonic cannot keep up with there own requirement. We suspect that maxents are actually LG glass with their own electronics.

[ZED]

Will have to disagree with Chris about Sony, they used to be quality, but for some time now they've just shipped sub-standard components that break in 1-2 years. You generally pay for the brand with Sony (unless you want to try your luck with the ultra-cheap Sony stuff Tesco are currently selling). Agree with Jordie that Samsung are pap too. They might look quite nice, but the components inside are just about the cheapest you'll find inside a TV.

Where have you got this information from?

The Sony Hifi we had has just been in for repair (CD kept skipping), the Sony Vaio laptop we have keeps telling us it can't detect an OS every second time you turn it on and a Sony portable DVD player we got broke within the first 6 months. There have also been a number of 'What TV' threads on Pistonheads where a lot of people have berated the Sony stuff they've bought that has gone on to break. There is also a guy over there who runs..... Sound and Vision.co.uk (or similar) he is of the opinion that only Samsung is worse than Sony amongst the named brands.

I believe Toshiba and Pioneer and LG make their own stuff, and possibly Panasonic, everyone else just buys components and simply bolt them together.

you seem to be excessivley unlucky with your electricals. do you generate alot of static? do you find little sparks come off you?
I have had an old 28inch jvc tube tv for the last 8 years, I keep wanting to buy a big lcd but 1. there's alot of *poop poop* onthe tv these days, all repeates, 2 the jvc still looks fab. It was a recommended best buy in what hifi and that would have to be my advice, get what hifi, look at their recommendations, then go and have a look your self. Check google, you will find reviews etc.

Z

[Jammy]

We've had a big old 28" Toshiba CRT for about 15 years now, maybe a bit longer, has been a trooper! Bare in mind that What Hifi, or generally any review can only judge a TV on it's performance over a few minutes, hours or maybe days, it can't tell you the likelihood of it breaking after a few months. There's a lot of people over on Pistonheads who've had LCD/Plasma TVs for years and quite a number who seem to have been "unlucky" with Sony stuff. Well worth a search on there and a read.

If something is cheap enough and has a warranty then fair enough (but think about whether you can be bothered with the hassle of repairs), but I wouldn't pay extra for Sony stuff, and I wouldn't pay an 'average' price for Samsung stuff.

[Jordie]

I havent found any of the warrentys that give you a replacement TV while yours is been repaired. Some of the warrenties are just for repairs, so you might never get a new replacement or exchange. So if it breaks every week and they take it away each week, your going to be left with no tv and alot of complaining and hassle to do. Make sure you read your warrenties.

[twiglett]

i have a samsung 32" in my room and thats good enough for me it cost £440 about 15 months ago
downstairs in the living room we have a 42" pioneer that is truly awesome
i noticed that even on blueray dvd`s there was a slight ghost on my screen behind a bright object but on the pioneer it is absolutely pin sharp
it feels like you are looking out of a window that is how clear and crisp the image is.

imho go for a pioneer as people have said, they are reliable, the picture quality is superb and they look good too.

[89red]

Thanks one and all!!! better get the wifes plastic out!!

[E.L.M.O]

This is how it used to be a few years ago when I worked for a Manufactor in field sales.

I am not a Sony fan but the Sony Plasmas are alright as far as the brand goes.

The Sony LCD's are basically LG. Sony never believed that LCD would be a successful television technology so they didn't really bother to throw money at the technology and pretty much missed the boat. Sony now rent space from Samsung within their facotries and even co-employ some of their staff to produce their LCD televions. for some time now sony have only been trading on the badge, and they make you pay a lot for that badge!

If you look at the numbers, Samsung have my faults than any other manufactor at current. but thats because they are currently the number one selling manufator so there will be more faulty tvs as there are more Samsung sets out there. On adverage the television isnt really any more reliable than an LG.

Go for a 1080, I think you will get what you pay for. Samsung and LG are both ok brands and make some nice sets. Pioneer sit on both sides of the fence so beware. Some models are for the high tech and some are sub standard budget sets. Its a strange brand. Panasonic make really nice, well built sets. but on adverage command a premium and are pretty expensive for what you get.

So, if you got the money go for a Panasonic. If you budget wont stretch that far consider the Samsung or LG?

Edited by E.L.M.O, 05 January 2009 - 11:54 AM.

[Shifty]

If you see something you like the look of its worth checking it out on AV forums, very helpful.

I could have saved myself a LOAD of hassle when I bought a Sharp 42" LCD tv(which I wouldn't have wished on my worst enemy)

Now got a 42" Pioneer Plasma, couldn't be happier with it.

Best advice I can give you, don't buy from the high street, if you do buy make sure you buy on line with a credit card, you have much better buyer protection than if you go to a shop and pay cash(as I found out)

Buying on line you're protected by the distance selling regs and if you pay via credit card you can claim your money back off them in the event of a problem.

It took me 3 months of complaining to get Comet to replace my faulty TV!!

[Jammy]

With regards to HD, consider what sort of TV you're going to be watching. If you only have a standard Freeview/Digital box and DVD player then the level of HD doesn't really matter, currently you'll only get full HD (1080p) from a PS3 or a Blueray DVD player. I think most of the HD Digital channels are currently broadcasting in either 720 or 1080i.

[E.L.M.O]

With regards to HD, consider what sort of TV you're going to be watching. If you only have a standard Freeview/Digital box and DVD player then the level of HD doesn't really matter, currently you'll only get full HD (1080p) from a PS3 or a Blueray DVD player. I think most of the HD Digital channels are currently broadcasting in either 720 or 1080i.

Yeah thats what I heard.

[Dan6061]

One thing I've heard about plazma, is if you're watching a TV programme for a long time that has a logo in the corner (MTV, etc) then that still image would get 'burnt' into the plazma, and stays there? Just what I've heard, forgive me if I'm wrong!

We have a 36" 'Logik' tv downstairs, which is ok I guess. Was only £450ish, as it was ex-display. It said it's 1080p, but the tv quality isn't exactly amazing...
My mates have 32" Sony Bravias, when they first came out, and they're brilliant! Really clear picture, looks great on their PS3 and Xbox360! Has an anti-reflect screen too, which is what I wish out tv had. I can usually see a reflection of me staring at the screen, which isn't good to look at!

[Jammy]

One thing I've heard about plazma, is if you're watching a TV programme for a long time that has a logo in the corner (MTV, etc) then that still image would get 'burnt' into the plazma, and stays there? Just what I've heard, forgive me if I'm wrong!

This is semi-true. A sharp contrast can cause an outline to be 'burnt' into the screen, but a number of TVs come with a feature designed to blank the screen of these 'ghosts', and this is a feature of both plasmas and LCDs, in fact from what I can gather it can be worse with LCDs.