Everyone seemed to enjoy this deal last time it came round. It's available again, get one before there's none left! Pretty much universally agreed as the best bang for buck TV you can buy at the moment (picture quality/size/price)
Panasonic 60" ST60 Plasma TV - $1596 @ JB Hi-Fi
580
Related Stores
closed Comments
As an actual owner of this TV, the picture is spectacular. The set ups in every store I have been to are rubbish and shouldn't be used for comparison (unless you like the eye searingly bright over saturated colours every LCD seems to be set to for demo)
What TightBottom wrote is right. If you're close to this plasma model, as one would in a store, you'll see a lot of dither (or deliberate noise) and compare it to nearby LCDs which will have none.
Anyone contemplating this model, should have a good close look and judge for themselves and not be swayed but all the videophile glory beset on it, because once you see dither and able to resolve it from viewing distance, no amount of contrast or colour fidelity can compensate for it.
Funnily enough, me and a mate took a look at TV's and came to the same conclusion that Sharp TV's had the best picture….
I have the 65 inch version of this TV, and the image is amazing at home, far better than when I was looking at the shops. However I had already felt it was better than most LED TVs compared under $3000 at the time.
Difficult to find a 65ST60 with past sales.
Waiting for the 65VT60 to come down in price.
FYI I managed to convince a guy at Myer to sell me one at $1950 (65ST60) about 2 months ago - Often Myer can be the dark horse when it comes to finding stock of things like this…Harvey's, JB etc had very little stock of the 65ST60 and 65VT60 at the time - and also weren't prepared to discount at all when I was shopping around. So if you have one nearby get them to see what they can do, can PM you a copy of the Invoice if that's any help.
Picture on this TV IMO is the best bang for buck at present, especially if you watch more TV/Movies than game on your panel I couldn't see why you would go any other way.
Thanks for the feedback.
Have seen various posters in other threads here comment on getting great purchase price on this TV since the Xmas sales. However your price is on par with the lowest.Do agree with poster further above that on display this TV displays very visible dither, however owners, like yourself, have probably calibrated for best picture viewing.
Depends on the source material quality. I've had AAA blurays that were just barely better than upscaled DVD and looked quite disgusting.
@PonyTable: Hi I would really appreciate it if you can send me a copy of the invoice if you have it. Thanks a lot.
Plasmas have their fans :-)
Some people prefer plasmas over lcd and some prefer lcd over plasma…
I prefer lcd ..
Currently waiting for a replacement to be delivered for my second dead Panasonic plasma.
Opted for a LCD this time.
What does "comments discounted bundle" mean?
probably some field to discount the price down. I didn't bundle anything - bought just the TV.
OK so I went into JB last night @Moore Park and took havok44 receipt with me. Asked the guy to match it and i would buy it and walk away. Easy sale. He trotted off to his manager and then came back saying there was no way they could match that price and gave 2 reasons
1. its well below what they could sell it for.
2. they would need to see the original receipt to matchanyway he knocked $10 off and i got it for $1585. That will do!!!
Great price on a great TV. (Disclaimer: Pana Plasma Fanboy here)
I bought 50st 2 years ago for $1499 from my personal price point reference The electric discounter. They had stock before anyone else in Queensland and at a price $200 below the major retailers. (Shipping was only $25 to my house)
First time in a while I've seen a major retail outlet significantly beat their price. ($1699 as of today)
As I understand it, this will be the last year Pana do plasmas.
I plan to sell my 50st and want to upgrade to the 65ST. Just waiting for it to get below $2k before I pull the trigger.My ultimate dream would be to find a floor model VT slashed to the bone near the EOFY.
You may want to pull the trigger sooner rather than later, from what I have read the 65inch can be hard to come by
I bought my 55" Sony LCD a few years ago, just when LED's were coming to prominence but were still a few hundred dollars extra. At the time I chose to be a tight arse and go the cheaper route and have regretted it ever since. How does the brightness of a modern day plasma compare to a quality LED?
Could you elaborate on the basis for your recommendation? The VT is more expensive, smaller and most people wouldn't be able to tell the difference in the image quality between the two in a real life test.
http://www.digitaltrends.com/home-theater/panasonic-2013-tv-…
"The more expensive VT-series, which ranges from $2,600-$3,600 (55-inches to 65-inches), is a major step-up in quality from the ST models, primarily because it uses the new Ultimate Black “Studio Master” panels, which we are duly impressed with. While VT60 demands a premium over the ST60 series, we found the picture quality differences to be more pronounced between the two this year.
Read more: http://www.digitaltrends.com/home-theater/panasonic-2013-tv-…
Follow us: @digitaltrends on Twitter | digitaltrendsftw on Facebook"Probably doesn't matter much, since it's hard to find any Pana plasma's in stock.
Interesting info, thanks. My opinion was based in the previous years ST vs VT comparisons. I remember reading that what Panasonic commonly did in the past is include previous year's VT panel in the new year's ST. Sounds like this the final VT-series is a special treat for videophiles.
searching for samsung 64" F8500 plasma. This is the best plasma so far. Can anyone please post if they find good price for this model?
http://www.samsung.com/au/consumer/tv-audio-video/television…
Have you done a search?
Am deciding between the Samy 64F8500 and Pana 65VT60A myself.
Most retailers have already cleared the 64F8500. Some HN still do have.
Last week Cable Connection had it for $2840, now $2998.
http://www.thecableconnection.com.au/PS64F8500----Samsung-64…
This week its Exeltek at $2650.
http://www.exeltek.com.au/samsung-ps64f8500-64-inch-full-hd-…
Bought this during their last sale. It was after returning 4 LCD's of various brands. Simply put - if you're watching 1080p content, this is probably the best TV that JB Hifi sells in-store.
Picture quality is amazing, even during the day. No pesky backlight bleed or uneven screen uniformity. Games look gorgeous.
A+
Wondering how do you manage to return so many TVs? Just saying "Don't like the picture" should not be enough, when you have the chance to check the TV in store. How does it work?
is there a huge difference in quality vs this?
http://www.harveynorman.com.au/tv-home-theatre/tvs/tvs/samsu…
this is 65 inch, but price is more than double, is it really worth the difference in price?
http://www.jbhifi.com.au/tv-lcd-led-plasma/panasonic/65-inch…
Yes. And it's completely different technology, so it's kinda hard to compare.
If you watch the same channel constantly and have a tendency to leave something not-moving on the screen (e.g. play ton of games), or have a brightly lit room with no way to darken, get LCD.
If you watch movies from DVD or bluray, get Plasma. It is best for picture quality.
Even with a glass panel the Pana ST60 has less reflection than the majority of LCDs, that is not to say the contrast is unaffected by ambient light but that goes for all types of displays. I actually prefer specular reflection to diffused so both my plasmas have no filter but most people will appreciate the filter.
ST has anti-reflective coating, where the S60 doesn't. Fares a lot better in brighter areas. I don't have any problems with my ST60.
Afaik S60 is just a straight sheet of glass on top of the plasma panel, they are both great panels but the ST60 has every advantage in a bright room
I managed to get the TH-L50ET60A at $1000 at JB-HiFi the other day, spoke to the bloke for ages and said he was selling it for 'under cost price', i didn't believe him but eh, I was happy paying 1K for a 50 inch LED TV
great price for a good lcd / led
Would you care to upload the receipt? :)
Can any owners comment on the media playback?
Not expecting a plex/xbmc interface, but is it easy enough to navigate a large number of movies or shows off a NAS? Any feedback?you want media playback get a media player , choose your tv based on picture and maybe sound
Thanks heaps. I have a media player, but would be great to drop a device if this had functional capability. Consensus seems to be picture & sound is great.
yea its pretty good. as good as it gets when navgating on a remote with just arrow keys and an OK button
Thanks.
Bought the 50ST during a sale 6 months ago and am VERY happy with it!! BUT only AFTER I calibrated it with some settings I found. That made a HUGE difference. Have a look at these for calibration ideas.
http://goo.gl/MpW4jV
http://goo.gl/5i7c5j
http://goo.gl/48sMyMedia playback is ok but the interface to get to what you want is only average. Personally if I want to play something I just copy it to a USB stick and walk over to plug it in. Waiting for a ChromeCast to become locally available.
Thanks for posting
It can playback MKV no problems. There is the odd video that may not play via Twonky Media Server but will play when transcoded by my Plex Media Server.There is no Plex app for the TV but you will see it under media servers and plays back with no issues.
Got the 50" st60 and assumed would need a media player but ao far it has played every 720p or 1080p mkv file and thats hours a day of them. Only issue had is slow to read a 1tb usb 3.0 wd passport drive and found a flash drive far easier. Only file type not liking which hardly use anyway was a .m4v or some such file type i cant remember. Such great tv for free to air tv and high def bittorrent. Hate to say it but even a 3d show on channel ten or its hd channel actually looked gr8,with the glasses on whichnhadnt even been opened for months. So great tv no media player needed just have a 64gb flashdrive handy.
I have the P60ST50A 60" TV which is abou a year old and I love it. The only complaint against it is that I llove to watch footy and the FOX FOOTY logo at the top right of the screen is burned in there like crazy. I'm a stickler, you can really only notice it on very bright colour backgrounds (like white) and its a bit annoying. But anyone will tell you if you are after sport, go plasma.
I've read many issues with the loose/shaking/vibrating speakers in a lot of Samsung TV's and I anted a TV where I know where its built and the quality parts used. So it was narrowed down to 2 brands. Turned out I've had a couple of Pana's before hand and never had an issue.VieraLINK was handy too, so Pana won. I bought mine from BigBrownBox for $2K a year or so ago.
RoOSTA
Had it in my cart and ready to buy, but read online that these have 70-80ms input lag. Since I pretty much use my TV to play games I think I'm gonna pass.
Yes they do have noticeably more input lag than other brands…. but only if you notice it.
And realistically, if you notice the input lag then I'm surprised you don't notice the input lag from Xbox 360 or PS3 wireless controllers. Only wired gives you the best result.
Anyway, the input lag on this TV doesn't really matter much unless you play multiplayer FPS a lot.
Take it from me, an avid console gamer; it makes 0.001% difference. You will get used to it really quickly and will stop noticing it after 5 minutes.
I don't notice it, but I am probably not good enough to notice 70ms difference. Sometimes when I die/get hit, I wonder whether to blame the lag, but I preferred to watch movies with better picture quality over maybe 40ms gain.
Bear in mind the 70-80ms reports are for the American model. The model sold here is closer to the UK model, which is reported to be 47ms+ (42-inch model). Still not fantastic though. I don't play games on it so I can't really comment on how much of a difference it makes.
This a copypasta of a post of mine from the last deal:
A few points from me, an owner of this particular TV:
A) Store models don't do it justice. You need to calibrate the settings for it to suit you.
B) Panasonic has discontinued Plasma's, so this is the last chance you can pick up one of these.
C) Don't get this unless you watch Blurays. Standard Definition TV and DVD's will look horrible at 60" regardless of what TV you get.
D) There is a little delay when it comes to gaming, but it has not impacted me once.
E) When you've calibrated the TV and start watching movies, you WILL LOVE THIS TV.For this price, you would be stupid to pass this up if you are after a new TV. I would give the TV a 10/10 and would recommend it highly.
Can you elaborate on calibration? Is this DIY or using a pro?
FYI there's tons of calibration setting help pages around the web. Give it time to break-in, then choose the settings. Of course, using a calibrator would get you better results. ..
For calibration ideas check my post above. Easy to do. Took about 30 mins. The perfectionists also recommend doing a burn in routine as well.
Thanks for the lead.
I followed someone elses online then tweaked it to suit my own viewing pleasure.
This is really good for watching video and playing games. And the extra 2 Pairs Of 3D Glasses is an added value.
I really want to buy the 65" version of this. But can't seem to find it anywhere except Videopro, where it's still a bit dear @ $2385.
http://www.videopro.com.au/p-6298-panasonic-65-viera-thp65st…
It seem like an awful lot for just an extra 5 inches.
How long do you guys reckon the current crop of Plasma's will last until they get phased out. I am moving into my new place in May and I don't really need a TV till then. Do you think these TV's will last till the EOFY sales?
Any comments will be appreciated.
Appliance Central have it in stock for $2179 with free shipping to major cities.
This is not as great as JB's clearance price on the 60" model, but definitely reasonable in my opinion. Not sure if they will go much lower as the 65" ST-series have a history of hovering around $2300 even for last year's models. That's what I paid for my ST30 two years ago by price matching the best price in Australia at the time.@goku - it's a purchase you won't regret. Personally have a 65" and its a beautiful screen. You'll find a better price at either Appliances Online or Big Brown Box (essentially the same company). Both companies are owned by Winning Appliances and provide excellent support.
http://www.bigbrownbox.com.au/panasonic-th-p65st60a-65-inch-…
So impressed by appliances online. Still pumped got the 50" st60 $997 delivered with key point being their delivery service was so good. Came exactly when they said they would in a short 2,hour delivery window. Really nice guys who were very particular about keeping tv standing right way. Recommended seller.
How do people go with network shares or streaming via dlna to this?
Any issues?
I have had no issues playing HD content or DLNA streaming with either the ST60 or even the two year old ST30.
No issues whatsoever on my ST50. The interface is very Spartan and not pretty but it does the job.
My setup:
ST50a connected to my WiFi
WD Mycloud plugged into stock standard Netcomm ADSL2+ wireless modem/router from TPG.Some points to note:
I find I have to turn the TV off at the switch from time to time as the TV loses connectivity with my wireless network. This I suspect is more the router than anything as I live in a highset house the router is upstairs and the TV downstairs.The interface sorts your videos by date (I think 'date aired' for TV shows not sure. Haven't investigated) so if you are grabbing 'legal backup copies' of TV shows and the metadata is off your TV shows may not be in episode order. E.g. S01E10 may be listed before S01E08 because S01E08 date aired info in the metadata is incorrect and after that of S01E10.
With very little exception the TV play every file format I throw at it. MKV MP4 etc.
bought last night for $1585 Moore Park SupaCentre. set it up on my own. That was fun!
You must have long arms to lift the panel on to the pedestal.
jb doesnt seem interested to sell this tv, its very dark compared to other models….
if you dont know anything about calibration, you wont get interested as picture quality is not highlighted compared to the rest….
I checked it out at a JB yesterday and have to agree. Regardless of calibration. the ST60 was on the bottom shelf in middle of a skinny isle so hard to see at all. At least it was a good demonstration of the superior viewing angle compared to the LCD next to it !
Almost bought it, but then went engagement ring shopping and spent all my spare cash!. grrrr.
Waiting for the 50" to drop back to about $1k again. 60" is probably too big for the bedroom & I've already got a 65" F8500 in the living room :)
Very keen on this TV…
Not sure if to go to my local JB or through Big Brown Box.
What are people's thoughts on each of their extended warranties?
I've often purchased extended warranty with big purchases and there are times I have used it, and other times that I haven't.
It would be ~$290 to extend to 5 years, which at least means I'll have the TV for that long…because good luck going through ACCC for repairs after 2 years (although JB now offer an additional 12 month warranty due to this).Any help would be appreciated as I'm driving my wife crazy with my indecisiveness…
Cheers!
Waiting for 60" TVs to go down below 1k or around $800+
Doubt this will happen, especially with the supply getting shorter every day.
[Deactivated] on 20/03/2014 - 08:19 Comment score below threshold.