Glare free screen 40-46''

I can only speak for my end-of-line 2011 42" Panasonic plasma which I have just bought as in my sig below for £700 (whilst stocks last) , which has their top line "Infinite Black Pro" filter to reduce glare etc.

The TV is sited on my far wall, and approximately 2' forward on the left hand side is a larg-ish South facing window. Now when it's cloudy (like now) you will stilll have a perfect picture, but when the sun is shining there is then a reasonable amount of reflection etc. For general/casual viewing I don't find this a nuisance, but if I want to get down to serious viewing with the sun out I do have to draw the curtains (black-outs from Argos!)

It has amazing PQ from HD sources, and also upscaled DVD's through my modest Sony BDP. Half price from launch a year, and as long as you don't have the sun shining directly on to the screen then it's definitely one to look at IMO.

If it's a bright room i would avoid plasma otherwise you could end up with a £800 mirror.

Ok, thanks, was looking at the Panasonic gt30 but if they goona be that reflective maybe worth going LED.

Does anyone know if these are less reflective or any low reflection sets.

I am sure glare free was one of the early selling points of LCD sets.

Thanks for all replies

I've never seen a reflective LCD panel from the point of view of looking in a mirror.

The LCD monitor I'm looking at now is directly opposite the window I mentioned earlier and when the sun is shining (some chance!), sure, it washes out a lot of the colour, but I can't see a reflection of myself on the screen. My previous TV was a Sony 32V5500 and no such problems there either, so do you have a mirror effect on your Sony when you say it's reflective then?

Hi again,

the z5500 is certainly a lot more reflective than my d3500, not a mirror but the older set has a matt screen and the newer one is gloss and in off mode you can pick out reflections of table, sofa against wall and an ugly bloke in the room (can't be certain on the looks).

Maybe both modern lcd/led sets and plasmas have more reflection than my d3500 or maybe the z5500 is very reflective but was wanting to know if some tv's have less glare than others which would be a factor in my choice.
I have no preference over either format and the Panasonic gt30 range would probably be in my top 3 choice and as you say very good value at current prices.

Will try and get time to pop into a store over the weekend and have a look, thanks for replies so far,

In that case then forget the Panny or plasma.

When you said that your Sony was reflective I was taking that as meaning with the TV being actually on, hence my confusion. With any light falling on to the screen when switched off it's going to be very reflective, and as mentioned earlier you will have an £800 mirror!

Hi,

OK thanks for that pointer, obviously my concern is glare in the sun when the tv is on, i just thought that trying to describe how the 2 screens compared when they were off might give a better indication of the nature of the screens.

If the newer led/lcd's have the same issues then it is all open again ,the other thing I have noticed is that most Sony tv's don't review well which is what I normally would go for as all my other AV stuff is Sony and I know after I bought my z5500 they marketed some screens as glare free, maybe this reduces the screen performance.

Off to the shops for a butchers, thanks again

Well if you have the sun shining directly on to the Panny then I would have to say it's a no-no.

As I mentioned earlier I can put up with that just for casual viewing, but if I want to settle in to something I do have to draw the curtains (not a problem for me as I only have to think of myself!). Again, if the room is just very light with no sun directly on the TV then I find the filter is doing a very good job so far of cutting out on-screen reflections. Obviously this is very difficult to replicate in the shop - particularly having the sun shining on it! - so can only offer these thoughts (maybe you could take a torch to shine on the screen lol).

See yours is the gt30.  Im considering theg30. Is this the same spec set but 2d variant ??

And assume nthis will be good with footy motion ?

Cheers. Bri Gray.

Not quite.

The GT30 has the "Pro" version of "Infinite Black", which from my understanding it's supposed to improve viewing under bright conditions, a freesat tuner and, of course, a 3D panel. As you are obviously aware these are both end-of-line TV's so it may be difficult to demo to compare side-by-side (it was for me). The G30 has some very good write-ups and is considerably cheaper but I could only get to view the GT30.

I've just noticed your "Which TV???" post which may be an issue regarding light. The GT30 has handled  "general" bright light just fine so far, but sun shining directly on to the screen is a little bit of a different matter. For casual viewing it doesn't personally bother me, but if  I want some serious viewing under those conditions then I have to draw the curtains so I don't know if that may be an issue for you.

This is my first non-Sony TV so obviously also my first plasma.Viewing from even my modest Sony BDP-S380 it's just amazing to my eyes. Not from the point of view that the screen is 10" bigger than my previous TV, but that it really does bring (to me) a cinematic WOW! factor. Motion and blacks are just superb. First disc I spun was "Hidden Tiger Crouching "Dragon" on DVD to give this a test and....mmmm.

Properly HD shot BBC drama, documentary, etc, for example, are also just superb. Only had the telly for less than 2-weeks and have hardly watched any footy to be honest so wouldn't like to comment on that too much. From what little I have watched, though, there doesn't seem too much in the way of ball-blur as compared to my previous 32V55500.Hope you can get the chance to get out and have a view somewhere and see what you think.

If you have a Richer Sounds in the vicinity with availability they also provide a 5-year warranty (I had to settle for one from Currys with just the usual 12-months). I hate - and fear - buying expensive items from them but I just wanted the TV! Hope you let me know how you get on.

Will do - thanks.

Been out today to both Currys & Richer Sounds.

In a nutshell, down to 2 sets - PANASONIC TX-P46 GT30 £699 from Curys (no stock in Richer)

SONY KDL-46HX823  £799 from Currys (free bdp 480 Blu-Ray & 2 pr of gigs for £60 !!)

Demo'd both - thought they were both fantastic in 2D /3D !  

Totally torn now -only niggle is no review for the Sony although its 55" brother is reviewed in What Hi-Fi - gets a 4* at £2300 - the 46" er is on for £800 inc. blu-ray - £1000/£1100 everywhere else. 

I would be willing to get some curtains up to negate the reflection issue so that's me - wadda u think ???

I don't know, only you've compared the two.

Again, I can only comment that personally I don't have any problems with bright light in the room on my TV as the screen filter does a very good job IMO. If the sun is shining directly on to the screen and if it's just for casual viewing then I can put up with it, but I guess a lot of people wouldn't. This is going to be more of a problem when (hopefully!) there will be long sunny evenings to look forward to, as under those circumstances if there was something I really did want to watch on TV then I would have to draw the curtains (I draw them regardless if spinning a disc).

For my own viewing needs I thinks it's an amazing TV with either DVD, Blu Ray, or true HD-TV sources, although I can certainly see why people may be put off plasma if they do have light issues. Good luck with your final choice, though.

hi i am in total agreement with sizzers i have the 50" gt 30 i have had mine for 4 months and it is a great tv after having lcd/led for 4 years and so many issues with backlight bleed motion issues etc i like sizzers plunged for plasma and have never regretted it i do watch alot of football and i have to say the picture is stunning no motion issues at all which is what you would exspect from a plasma and why alot of people who like sport and gaming go for this technology hope this helps

Yeah, cheers.

Not a bad dilemma to have I suppose. Read a few reviews and, if I can get past this "Green Blob" issue a few are banging on about, think I'm gonna plug for the Panny - ultimately, looks like it is the better picture, all said and done !

Thanks for the input.

Bri.

Well I'm sure you'll be more than happy with it (I know I am with mine).

When are you hoping to pick it up?