Help me decide between these two

After much reading and communicating on these forums I am now considering the highly recommended "Panasonic Plasma". Oooo, Ahhh.

O.K. my question is about all the little feature differences in the model numbers, I can't seem to find one place that easily lists the differences in the model numbers.

So I have narrowed it down to 2 choices, one recommended by users of this site from sears here:

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/ProductDisplay?partNumber=05775559000P&storeId=10153&sName=Flat+Panel&psid=FROOGLE01&vName=Computers+& Electronics=&cName=Televisions&catalogId=12605&aff=Y&origin=prod&sid=IDx20070921x00003a

As you can see it is the 50s1 model.

The second choice I found here at newegg, not that it can't be found other places, but just for reference here it is:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16889187122

It is the G10 model. Besides 4 inches of viewing space, what is the difference between these two? Why is the smaller of the two more expensive? What features does it have that the other doesn't? Do I NEED those features?

My viewing distance for now is a solid 11-12 feet so I hear that size is extremely important at this distance. I was leaning toward the 50 inch. But if the 46 has better features, would it be worth the sacrifice in viewing size to get those features. Both are within my budget so it comes down to the models themselves.

Any suggestions?

At 11 to 12 ' viewing distance you will want to move up to a 58". Viewing for a 50" would be more in the 6 to 7' range.

Heh, no freaking way that would be within my budget. The 11-12 ft. range is only for a short time which I failed to mention in the OP. I hope to be moving soon and that will surely change the way I view the TV. Will have more living space to spread out, and more space to move the couch in. I don't think I'd be able to shell out the extra cash for 58"

What is the story with the veiwing distance anyway? Why is 11-12 ft. for 50 inches so horrible anyway? If I walk toward my TV until I'm within to like 7 ft. am I all of a sudden going to be blown away by what I see?

I figure right now I'm watching a 27 inch TV at that distance, wouldn't 50 inches blow me away anyway?

Heh, no freaking way that would be within my budget. The 11-12 ft. range is only for a short time which I failed to mention in the OP. I hope to be moving soon and that will surely change the way I view the TV. Will have more living space to spread out, and more space to move the couch in. I don't think I'd be able to shell out the extra cash for 58"

What is the story with the veiwing distance anyway? Why is 11-12 ft. for 50 inches so horrible anyway? If I walk toward my TV until I'm within to like 7 ft. am I all of a sudden going to be blown away by what I see?

I figure right now I'm watching a 27 inch TV at that distance, wouldn't 50 inches blow me away anyway?

You can't compare watching Stardard Definition (SD) TV to High Definition (HD) TV viewing as there different! The higher resolution the display the closer you have to sit to resolve the picture, so watching SDTV at 11-12ft. is fine, not so with HDTV. I have my 52" HDTV at 9-10ft., any smaller and I'd be squinting like I did with the 46" version of the display I have now.

Viewing distance cal http://myhometheater.homestead.com/viewingdistancecalculator.html

btw the g series is thx certified and it allows the end user to make more adjustments (tweaks) to the picture once you get it home...overall it has a better picture with some bells and whistles thrown in as well...

the 50 inch g10 should be going for 1250.00
the 58 inch s1 can be had for under 1800.00
the 50s1 is now under 1000.00 with a blu ray player throw in for good measure.

i own (just bought) a panny 50s1 and if the g10 and v10 have a better picture than what the s1 has i just can't imagine...with direct tv and blu ray the budget s1 series works for me.

Don't get the 46inch. You are to far away. I would stick with at least the 50.

Sheesh, maybe I'd just be wasting money on an HDTV then...I can't imagine sitting 7 ft. away from a 50 inch TV. It would be like watching a movie in the theater...in the front row. I hate that. You actually have to turn your head to look at one side of the action, and then turn it to the other side when the action moves.

7 ft. from 50 inches? Then how come when I watch the TV's in stores I can stand 10-12 ft. back and notice a HUGE difference over my current tv? (which is 1080i BTW, but only 27 inches).

I think I'm missing something. I understand resolution, how the human eye works and so on. I know that HD looks good because I've seen it in action plenty of times. About 6 weeks ago I watched Tiger Woods win a tournament in HD at my work on a 52 inch Vizio LCD and I could tell how great it looked over my current TV from all the way back at 15 ft. or so. Now, even I know that 15 ft. is too far back, but the point is that I could tell that what I was watching was HD even from that far back.

Does it make a difference if I see better than 20/20 though? Because I do. And I pay HUGE attention to detail. So maybe that is why I see HD at longer distances? Or do you all say that what I'm describing is impossible and all in my head?

I've played PC games for years and have pumped tons of money into video cards, CPU's, and monitors just so I'd have the best looking games and the highest frame rates. I can easily spot differences in resolutions while playing games on my computer. I understand that I'm very close to the monitor however...but the damn thing is not 50 inches lol.

Sheesh, maybe I'd just be wasting money on an HDTV then...I can't imagine sitting 7 ft. away from a 50 inch TV. It would be like watching a movie in the theater...in the front row. I hate that. You actually have to turn your head to look at one side of the action, and then turn it to the other side when the action moves.

7 ft. from 50 inches? Then how come when I watch the TV's in stores I can stand 10-12 ft. back and notice a HUGE difference over my current tv? (which is 1080i BTW, but only 27 inches).

I think I'm missing something. I understand resolution, how the human eye works and so on. I know that HD looks good because I've seen it in action plenty of times. About 6 weeks ago I watched Tiger Woods win a tournament in HD at my work on a 52 inch Vizio LCD and I could tell how great it looked over my current TV from all the way back at 15 ft. or so. Now, even I know that 15 ft. is too far back, but the point is that I could tell that what I was watching was HD even from that far back.

Does it make a difference if I see better than 20/20 though? Because I do. And I pay HUGE attention to detail. So maybe that is why I see HD at longer distances? Or do you all say that what I'm describing is impossible and all in my head?

I've played PC games for years and have pumped tons of money into video cards, CPU's, and monitors just so I'd have the best looking games and the highest frame rates. I can easily spot differences in resolutions while playing games on my computer. I understand that I'm very close to the monitor however...but the damn thing is not 50 inches lol.

I think you should wait until your move, then buy. By that time you will have enough money to buy what you really need or want! The human eye can not resolve 1080p at 12ft. on a 52", that go's for all humans. You need minimum 54" display at 12ft.!

My wife is already dead set AGAINST the purchase of a big TV, and yet I keep getting told to go bigger. At first I was just going to buy a little 37 in LCD (couple years ago I talked about it but never did). Then I decided that I shouldn't go smaller than 42. Then I saw a nice 46 and figured that at my viewing distance that would be much better.

I joined these forums with a 46" LCD in mind, but now am considering a 50 inch plasma, but being told to get a 58...sheesh.

My wife has said that she absolutley will not tolerate a TV bigger than 50 inches. She already feels like we'd be pretentious A-Holes at that size, let alone bigger. I think I have some more thinking to do on this one.

I will be buying something soon, just can't decide if I should wait until I can move (housing market sucks right now so who knows when that will happen) or get something now that may not fit THIS place, but would fit in nicely somewhere else. I don't want to wait though, I want a new TV for Assasins Creed 2, Dragon Age Origins, the rest of the football season, and some fun Blu-ray viewing with the wife.

My wife is already dead set AGAINST the purchase of a big TV, and yet I keep getting told to go bigger. At first I was just going to buy a little 37 in LCD (couple years ago I talked about it but never did). Then I decided that I shouldn't go smaller than 42. Then I saw a nice 46 and figured that at my viewing distance that would be much better.

I joined these forums with a 46" LCD in mind, but now am considering a 50 inch plasma, but being told to get a 58...sheesh.

My wife has said that she absolutley will not tolerate a TV bigger than 50 inches. She already feels like we'd be pretentious A-Holes at that size, let alone bigger. I think I have some more thinking to do on this one.

I will be buying something soon, just can't decide if I should wait until I can move (housing market sucks right now so who knows when that will happen) or get something now that may not fit THIS place, but would fit in nicely somewhere else. I don't want to wait though, I want a new TV for Assasins Creed 2, Dragon Age Origins, the rest of the football season, and some fun Blu-ray viewing with the wife.

I think if you let your wife do some research, she will understand that by going high def things onscreen get smaller than it would with SDTV. Go to a Best Buy and show your wife a 50" HDTV, stand back as far as you would at home and see if that's enough.

Yeah I'm going to have to take her, but I know she's going act dumb just to spite me. She's already saying that she'll never be able to see the difference, we don't need something that big...it goes on and on.

Don't get me wrong, she's fully aware that we will be getting something new soon, but she's just trying not to act very excited about it because she likes to play dumb about techy things. She'll say that she sees no difference just to give me a hard time.

I still think that 50 inch 50s1 is probably going to be what I get, unless someone can convince me that the 46 inch g10 is hands down the better choice. If it is THAT big of a deal to have the extra 4 inches for total amazement during a movie, then I'll just move the couch closer for those few hours.

I have a 50" display from 8' away and now wish I had the choice of a 54" when I bought mine. These bigger HDTVs do seem huge when you first get them, but over time they begin to look smaller and more people seem to have buyers remorse about buying too small than anything else.

I have 20/13 vision and these charts for viewing distance/screen size ratios are based on 20/20 vision usually. If you cannot get the correct size then get the closest size you can afford unless the move would be in a month or so IMO, in which case then you should wait.

If you can afford the 50" G10 model then that is better than the P50S1, but both will look great really. At 11-12' distance I would take the P54S1 over the P46G10 in a heartbeat, but I would "settle" for the P50S1 if you cannot afford the P54S1.

My :2cents

If you can afford the 50" G10 model then that is better than the P50S1, but both will look great really. At 11-12' distance I would take the P54S1 over the P46G10 in a heartbeat, but I would "settle" for the P50S1 if you cannot afford the P54S1.

My :2cents

That's the kind information I was looking for. I will see if I can find good deals on the bigger screens.

What exactly does the G series do that the S series does not? Picture settings or something? Extra inputs? Because I only need just a few of those.

The G series has a THX mode for dim room settings and also has a little more tweakable settings controls and also has Ethernet for watching online videos (at a cost per view though) from one or two sources.

They are both great but I would rather have a P54S1 and a P50G10 myself.

Newegg has the P54s1 for the best price over BB and Sears, plus they have free shipping. It's about 300$ higher than I wanted to go so I might have to save for a bit longer to be able to get it. The P50s1 I could get right now however.

I don't think the G models are of interest to me. Higher price, plus one stupid feature that I'll never use (streaming), and another feature that some people say is worthless (the THX thing). So S series is it for me. Just have to choose between the 50 or 54 for extra money

The THX mode is for when watching a movie with the lights low or off not for bright daytime viewing. So it is not useless as some claim but rather they are not using it at the appropriate time and room environment. ;)

Newegg has the P54s1 for the best price over BB and Sears, plus they have free shipping. It's about 300$ higher than I wanted to go so I might have to save for a bit longer to be able to get it. The P50s1 I could get right now however.

I don't think the G models are of interest to me. Higher price, plus one stupid feature that I'll never use (streaming), and another feature that some people say is worthless (the THX thing). So S series is it for me. Just have to choose between the 50 or 54 for extra money

Be aware of NewEgg's return policy's regarding dead pixels and such, Amazon is in a different league. I don't see why Sear's wouldn't price match NewEgg's price, I would save up a little more for a 54" minimum!

Heh, no freaking way that would be within my budget. The 11-12 ft. range is only for a short time which I failed to mention in the OP. I hope to be moving soon and that will surely change the way I view the TV. Will have more living space to spread out, and more space to move the couch in. I don't think I'd be able to shell out the extra cash for 58"

What is the story with the veiwing distance anyway? Why is 11-12 ft. for 50 inches so horrible anyway? If I walk toward my TV until I'm within to like 7 ft. am I all of a sudden going to be blown away by what I see?

I figure right now I'm watching a 27 inch TV at that distance, wouldn't 50 inches blow me away anyway?

No need to get all bent outta shape. Just trying to help. :huh

What is the story with the veiwing distance anyway? Why is 11-12 ft. for 50 inches so horrible anyway? If I walk toward my TV until I'm within to like 7 ft. am I all of a sudden going to be blown away by what I see?



I thought everyone knew that at 8 to 10 feet a video display unit 50 inches or greater gives off so much radiation that it will cause hair loss, blindness, insanity and sterility.

A 46-50" display these days is like having 27-32" tube TV, naturally you sit much closer to an HDTV. Some people will loose their hair, but not from watching the display up close! :lol:

Be aware of NewEgg's return policy's regarding dead pixels and such, Amazon is in a different league. I don't see why Sear's wouldn't price match NewEgg's price, I would save up a little more for a 54" minimum!

Yeah, newegg has bummed me out with that dead pixel thing. I'm not sure why they don't up their game to compete with Amazon. I surely do not want to deal with dead pixels. I'm almost tempted to just buy the thing from BB or Sears, some place that I can take it back to if the going gets tough.

Yeah, newegg has bummed me out with that dead pixel thing. I'm not sure why they don't up their game to compete with Amazon. I surely do not want to deal with dead pixels. I'm almost tempted to just buy the thing from BB or Sears, some place that I can take it back to if the going gets tough.

If you were to buy from NewEgg and you had even a few dead pixels your stuck with it, no return! NewEgg looses, Amazon Winner!!

Yeah, I was all set on a 46"/47" set, and after reading what the difference is between resolution, and how far my couch is from the tv, I need to get at least a 50". I'd like a 54", but the V10 series one might be over my budget.
It doesn't make you an A-hole getting a big tv that is only 4"-8" bigger than the one you are looking at. If you would go for a 72" in a living room, then that "may" be a different story if you know someone that just got a 58" one.
You want to be able to enjoy it as much as possible. My wife though that 46" was huge until she saw my brothers samsung lcd on his wall, and she thought it wasn't that big. She asked how big it was, and he told her it was a 46" (or 47"). She said wow, and his living room is smaller than ours. I have a 35" SD tv, and she thought the flatscreen just gets wider, but didn't realize that it cuts off from the top and bottom. She's leaving it up to me, since I am the one that has to live with the decision, since I can't get another one for a while.
Good luck with whatever you get. I'm sure can be happy with a 50", but would probably find the larger one to be the better choice over time.
:)