Torn between 2...samsung g60 and panasonic gx800

Just to give a bit perspective, the 55" RU8000 isn't even far off price the 49SM8600 at very, it never makes sense to go for a smaller TV. Never. Not just are TVs smaller but they are also worse spec. If going small, go cheap.

50RU7400 is the best buy for you, no need to go for anything else. LG SM8500/SM8600 at 49" is still using an IPS panel.

Why consider IPS panelled TVs and VA? Choose which panel type you want first before looking at different options. Yes the LG may have a better refresh rate but this means very little if you want a TV that has good blacks, contrast and screen uniformity and you don't need wide viewing angles.
Thank you again Dodge. I genuinely appreciate your help. If I'm honest, I didn't know too much about VA and IPS, so I had a look and VA is my choice. Sorry again, but I couldn't see what TV's are IPS or what are VA from the two mentioned above..
 
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Thank you again Dodge. I genuinely appreciate your help. If I'm honest, I didn't know too much about VA and IPS, so I had a look and VA is my choice. Sorry again, but I couldn't see what TV's are IPS or what are VA from the two mentioned above..
Its not a problem, just gets confusing sometimes. Its the manufacturers fault for messing about with specs. You would have thought the same TV would be the same TV at all sizes if it carries the same name, but its not the case.

One of the reasons I made the guide is because it separates TVs in different categories based on the type of panel, so if you are looking for a VA panel type it makes it easier to see which TVs are good buys with that panel.

When making it, I trawled through price comparison websites to find each exact model which was the best buy right now.

So if a TV isn't listed there's good reason, that is why there's no RU8000 at 49" but there is at 55".
 
It's a shame as I've just re measured and I just cannot fit a 55" in the surface I've got...I think I'll opt for the 7400, I just didn't want it to feel too much like a compromise. I'd obviously assumed that the gx800 and the ru8000 was a better TV...I read as much as I can but obviously I am limited to a degree through my lack of knowledge in the finer details.

Manufacturers purposely make things more complicated I swear.. it's also odd that the nu8000 was 120hz and the RU isn't. sorry, where can I find your guide?

Thank you once again...I know you must have loads of posts you try to answer to..
 
It was the same last year with the NU8000 at 49" it was still only using a 60hz panel.

Its even the same with the higher end Samsung Q70R.

There are still small things that make them better TVs (the GX800 and RU8000) but they aren't worth paying the extra for.
 
I was in Curry's tonight and I had a good look at the 50 inch RU7470. I pinged the display model with my fingernail and although it wasn't a very scientific test I think it was a VA panel.

For some reason I preferred the look of the 50 inch at ÂŁ499 than the 55 inch at ÂŁ599. But that was probably because it was showing the nice video with all the lovely food rather than the rubbish one with Borderlands and The Secret Life Of Pets 2.
 
For some reason I preferred the look of the 50 inch at ÂŁ499 than the 55 inch at ÂŁ599. But that was probably because it was showing the nice video with all the lovely food rather than the rubbish one with Borderlands and The Secret Life Of Pets 2.
You can't really draw conclusions from picture quality in the store but the 50" model is definitely using a VA type panel. We know because there are no 50" IPS panels available.

The 55" could be either type. If you pinged that and got a different result from the 50" then its likely IPS, but you wont know conclusively.

@zeppelino mentioned he's seen some European reviews citing each Samsung is a VA panel, even at 55", but I have tried to search and haven't found any conclusive evidence of that.
 
I didn't ping the 55 inch RU7470 (I might go back tomorrow) but it was on display next to a 55 inch LG SM8200 at the same price. The blacks looked a lot better on the LG, the Samsung display model looked really washed out.
 
You just can't judge based on picture quality, even if the Samsung next to the LG was using a IPS panel there's no reason for it to look more washed out than the LG other than it being set up wrongly. Do yourself a favour and don't judge how they look in a shop.

Anyway, the reason they don't give out the panel info is unknown, my theory is because the people who are asked about it don't get that information from the company themselves, the other plausable reason I can think is they like to cut costs in certain markets or with certain TVs to put different panel types on the same model. This is probably most true of Samsung though that have like a million different model variations for the same TV, even in the UK alone.

You could go out and look at RU7400 and it may be using a different panel to the RU7470, you could even see two of the same exact TVs using different panels. Last year the 43" NU7400 was cited with a VA type panel by users, then later on people were buying the same TV and ending up with IPS type panels.

But there have been years of campaigning to TV manufacturers, even from AV professionals such as the staff here at AVForums for other things to change in the TV industry such as releasing TVs with better out of the box picture accuracy but it all seems to go to deaf ears.

I remember a couple of years back someone on here was determined to find out which TVs from Sony had which panels and he got in touch with their customer support. They came back to him with a list of their TVs that came with each panel type. The list was clearly wrong with mistakes on TVs we knew didn't come with that panel type..conclusion was that if Sony customer service doesn't know, we certainly won't.

Another example is when people (mainly professional reviewers) probe manufacturer reps for such information and get given either the wrong answer or one that isn't definitive. Last year the Philips rep told flatpanelshd.com that "most" of the 7 series Philips would come with VA type panels, whilst the 6 series was "mainly" IPS type, with some VA types too. Make of that what you will.

Luckily, at least currently there are certain trends and certain sizes that can't lie. We know from previous years the sizes that are dodgy candidates for both panel types, and which sizes are more common to find one panel over another. With Samsung its a pattern that they only do this stupid panel lottery stuff on their lower end models..or at least I thought it was until this year where people have cited the 43" version of the Samsung Q60R with an IPS type panel.

The mystery continues...
 
You can't really draw conclusions from picture quality in the store but the 50" model is definitely using a VA type panel. We know because there are no 50" IPS panels available.

The 55" could be either type. If you pinged that and got a different result from the 50" then its likely IPS, but you wont know conclusively.

@zeppelino mentioned he's seen some European reviews citing each Samsung is a VA panel, even at 55", but I have tried to search and haven't found any conclusive evidence of that.

It was this one -


Obviously not definitive evidence but it’s something. The problem with lower end Samsung sets is they sell in huge numbers so it may prove difficult for Samsung to control panel stock.
 
It was this one -


Obviously not definitive evidence but it’s something. The problem with lower end Samsung sets is they sell in huge numbers so it may prove difficult for Samsung to control panel stock.
As you say, its not definitive, first its the 43RU7470 which is the Curry's exclusive model. Secondly, we don't know if its a TV provided direct by Samsung or bought from the shop (usually the former). There are no measurements or photos of the pixels. We don't know its contrast ratio or black levels.

Its also by a reviewer I've never heard of before who seems to mainly write news articles for whathifi: Articles by Dan Sung | What Hi-Fi? and has never reviewed a TV before to best of my knowledge...he even writes articles suggesting people look out for deals on Toshiba TVs..

His opinion of poor viewing angles may well be on an IPS TV even, whilst they are better than VA, they aren't perfect.

And..even if it is a VA panel, that's not to say they aren't doing the same as they were last year and having multiple types on the same TV.

Here in a Dutch forum someone bought a 43" "Frame QLED" and found it has an IPS panel: Google Translate

Meanwhile, someone else who bought the same TV had one with a VA type panel.

If they are placing an IPS panel on even their QLED models, then do not be surprised to find one on the 43RU series.

But if you are happy to take the risk, there's a chance based on that review you'll get one with a VA panel...especially if you buy that exact model from Currys. I personally don't see why you'd take the risk and I won't recommend their models until I see more definitive evidence they aren't swapping panels around.

It would be different if they didn't have a history of doing it.
 
@hristoslav2 my friend, what is your take on it? Will you definitively recommend certain Samsung models for those looking for "VA" type panels?
 
@Dodgexander whilst I broadly agree, I think we have to let “new” people review TVs, especially in Europe/Brexitland. There’s little to no interest in detailed reviews of lower end sets - just look here, only Hisense models have been reviewed. Steve, John and Vincent started out somewhere, not to mention Phil. And this is not meant in any way as a slight against those mentioned. I’d say it’s the market dictating it.

The site is broadly recognised as respectable. We have to take what we can get.
 
@Dodgexander whilst I broadly agree, I think we have to let “new” people review TVs, especially in Europe/Brexitland. There’s little to no interest in detailed reviews of lower end sets - just look here, only Hisense models have been reviewed. Steve, John and Vincent started out somewhere, not to mention Phil. And this is not meant in any way as a slight against those mentioned. I’d say it’s the market dictating it.

The site is broadly recognised as respectable. We have to take what we can get.
Yes its a very strange phenomenon, when there's tough competition for review samples in the high end market there's still a distinct lack of reviews in the lower end. You may remember I included Samsung models in my past guides with with a warning in respect of the panel risk. I could do that again but I feel like it may confuse people even more.

I'll think about putting the 55RU7470 in their, since at least there's a single review citing it should be using a VA panel, but I'm hesitant to include other sizes or the vanilla 7400 because I don't want people to end up with bad specimens.

The other option I though of was including TVs that are decent value which we are unsure of panel types in a different section, perhaps to those who don't care so much which panel they get on the TV and just prefer to buy a TV on name.
 
43" (42.5) - RU71xx/72xx/73xx/74xx/ - IPS (PLS)
50" (49.5) - RU71xx/72xx/73xx/74xx/ - MVA
55" (54.6) - RU71xx/73xx/74xx/ - MVA
58" (57.5) - RU71xx - MVA
65 "(64.5) - RU71xx/73xx/74xx/ - MVA
75 "(74.5) - RU71xx/73xx/74xx/ - MVA

displayspecifications.com
 
43" (42.5) - RU71xx/72xx/73xx/74xx/ - IPS (PLS)
50" (49.5) - RU71xx/72xx/73xx/74xx/ - MVA
55" (54.6) - RU71xx/73xx/74xx/ - MVA
58" (57.5) - RU71xx - MVA
65 "(64.5) - RU71xx/73xx/74xx/ - MVA
75 "(74.5) - RU71xx/73xx/74xx/ - MVA

displayspecifications.com
Can we can really trust that? A user on setcomb.bg even saw a 55" RU7 with an IPS type panel in the Samsung thread.

I know 50, and 58" are VA, but to trust the rest?
 
Can we can really trust that? A user on setcomb.bg even saw a 55" RU7 with an IPS type panel in the Samsung thread.

I know 50, and 58" are VA, but to trust the rest?

I'm 95% certain that the 43" Samsung RU7400's that I have seen in several Currys recently were all VA panels judging by the way they behaved adjacent to IPS panelled LG's.

This was one of my big concerns when replacing my TV following an accident recently so doing due diligence in all the stores I could visit locally, I was confident that all the 43" Samsung Q60's and RU7400's I saw (as these were the 2 I was considering) were VA panels.

I appreciate this is only a very small sample size of a few shops in the west Wales area.

In answer to the original question, money being equal, the Panasonic GX800 is a better TV compared to the RU7400 and probably the Q60 if both have a 60hz panel.
 
I'm 95% certain that the 43" Samsung RU7400's that I have seen in several Currys recently were all VA panels judging by the way they behaved adjacent to IPS panelled LG's.

This was one of my big concerns when replacing my TV following an accident recently so doing due diligence in all the stores I could visit locally, I was confident that all the 43" Samsung Q60's and RU7400's I saw (as these were the 2 I was considering) were VA panels.

I appreciate this is only a very small sample size of a few shops in the west Wales area.

In answer to the original question, money being equal, the Panasonic GX800 is a better TV compared to the RU7400 and probably the Q60 if both have a 60hz panel.
I'd like to think there's no fishy business going on, but it wouldn't surprise me if the samples they have in the store aren't the same as the ones they sell. Perhaps I should reconsider my recommendations and just place them with a warning. It gives me a bit of headache to be honest.
 
I'd like to think there's no fishy business going on, but it wouldn't surprise me if the samples they have in the store aren't the same as the ones they sell. Perhaps I should reconsider my recommendations and just place them with a warning. It gives me a bit of headache to be honest.
I think if the VA panel TV would meet your approval that would make sense. I don't think anyone would doubt your sincerity or could blame you if they were unlucky.

Maybe the panels are determined by dates built or countries shipped to. There has to be logic to the pattern.
 

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