# Advice for a Plasma Lover



## Beretta1979 (Jun 17, 2015)

I'm looking at buying a TV soon in the range of 65" to 80" (preferably 70" to 80"). I'm ok with spending a pretty good chunk of money, maybe in the range of $4000 to $5000 if I can find something to fit my tastes. I was a big fan of plasma because of black levels and color, but of course we have to move on. Here is the biggest issue that I'm writing about - I absolutely despise the soap opera effect (SOE). I have only owned plasmas to this point, and have little experience with LCD, aside from seeing them in friend's homes and being totally dismayed by the SOE.

The content I watch is split about 50/50 between sports and shows/movies. Most of my watching is done at night, with the occasional sports during the day. So bright sunlight isn't really an issue for me. I know the first step is to turn off frame interpolation, but I'm curious how well that takes care of the problem, and if there is any weirdness to the picture after doing that? For someone who loves plasma and hates SOE, is simply turning off frame interpolation enough?

I found an article on HomeTheaterReview.com (can't link on here yet since I'm new) - "What is Soap Opera Effect and How to Make it Go Away" to be pretty helpful explaining (with a chart at the bottom) that some TVs have a subset of controls for Motion Control that do not employ motion/frame interpolation, and therefore shouldn't have the SOE. I would love to hear about any experiences with these modes/settings, especially if one manufacturer has better implementation of this than another...I'm assuming my two best choices are Samsung and Sony.

With all of this in mind, I'm also not crazy about going with 4K at this point, due to the lack of content available, and that everything gets upscaled to 4K...and I'm reading widely varying reviews about that being done well. I'm definitely afraid of that, but maybe you've had good experiences? Also perhaps by sticking with 1080p I could save some money and buy something else in a few years after all the 4K stuff, HDR, color space, etc, settles down.

So I guess my question boils down to wanting to come as close to the high end plasma experience as possible. One interesting option I'm considering is a 65" ZT60 Panasonic plasma that I found for $4000, but on the other hand I'd really like to get between 70" and 80" inches.

I love OLED, but LG's new 65" is out of my price range. I'm considering Sony's 2015 line of 1080p TVs, like the 75" KDL75W850C that I'm seeing for as low as $2273 - maybe that would be a good compromise to all of this right now.

I'd really appreciate any advice or specific suggestions you may have for me. Thank You very much for your time!


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## JBrax (Oct 13, 2011)

I'm assuming projector is out of the question. On that assumption I would personally hold out for OLED. I think prices will continue to drop and may do so within your targeted range sooner than you anticipate.


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

Ya, unless you find a new old stock plasma sitting around in someones back storage room Plasma TVs are really hard to find now. OLED is going to be the "new plasma" its got a bit to fall for price but its coming down already.


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## Blacklightning (Nov 22, 2011)

I know this thread is a month old but check out it review. Vizio M series

http://www.avsforum.com/forum/166-l...-led-lcd-uhdtv-official-avs-forum-review.html



> In a dark room, playing movies, the M65 manages to hold its own against one of the last and greatest plasma TVs ever made. If you add any ambient light to the equation, the M65 looks better than the plasma. Adding UHD/4K resolution to the mix, the M65 pulls even farther ahead of what the plasma can offer. If I had to choose between keeping my F8500 or trading it for the Vizio M65, it would be a difficult choice. While I appreciate the moments where the F8500 exhibits better contrast, and it's capacity for colorimetric perfection continues to impress (it'll continue to serve as my reference) the versatility of the M65 offers a sharp counterpoint to that.


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## vinnie97 (Jun 29, 2014)

The F8500 was a relatively poor performer in the black level dept (bested by both Panasonic and Pioneer), so seeing a Vizio beat it doesn't exactly excite...

The Sony 75X940C (75") is arguably the best LCD money can by (topping the notorious Sharp Elite according to those who have owned both). The problem is the price...the lowest I've found is $7k, and the big box stores are still not likely to be budging on the SRP ($8k).


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