Plasma TVs: Industrial vs. Consumer models? [Archive] - Audio & Video Forums

PDA

View Full Version : Plasma TVs: Industrial vs. Consumer models?



Woochifer
07-08-2004, 07:22 PM
I'm starting to gather info together for an upgrade to HDTV probably around the end of the year. Given how our space is arranged and how my wife would like the room, we're probably looking to go with a plasma TV.

One thing I've noticed is that some plasma manufacturers like Panasonic and Hitachi market separate models for industrial and consumer use. I read that they are basically the same except that the industrial models typically leave out the speakers and tuners, and have less shielding than the consumer models. Because of this they are also notably less expensive than the consumer models (In the case of the 42" HD Panny, the industrial model lists for $600 less than the consumer model). Since I plan to use a satellite receiver as my HD tuner, and I always use my home theater rig for TV sound, the industrial option is appealing because I probably won't use the speakers and tuners anyway. Also, in the case of the Panasonic, the industrial model has native support for a lot more HD modes, including 720p, which gets upsampled to 1080i by default on their consumer model.

Has anybody gone with an industrial model rather than the consumer model? Any input would be very helpful. Industrial models are not typically carried found through retail stores, but they are common with web vendors. I'm leery about buying over the internet, but if an industrial model is the way to go, I might not have too many retail options available. If anybody's tried this avenue, do tell!

nick4433
07-09-2004, 08:53 AM
"Has anybody gone with an industrial model rather than the consumer model? Any input would be very helpful. Industrial models are not typically carried found through retail stores, but they are common with web vendors. I'm leery about buying over the internet, but if an industrial model is the way to go, I might not have too many retail options available. If anybody's tried this avenue, do tell!"

Wooch, please give us links to these industrial vs. non industrial models. Based on your requirements, you should be OK with the industrial model. Make sure that the contrast ratios, etc. are the same in those models and that the picture quality is the same too.
I had a friend order a 50" Plasma online and from what I know, he is enjoying it now.
The only caveat being (online) that you must be 100% certain of the product you want because some of these online guys have no return or refund policy and exchanging a unit can also be very expensive in terms of shipping. Also make sure you buy this from an authorized etailer.

Woochifer
07-09-2004, 02:28 PM
Wooch, please give us links to these industrial vs. non industrial models. Based on your requirements, you should be OK with the industrial model. Make sure that the contrast ratios, etc. are the same in those models and that the picture quality is the same too.
I had a friend order a 50" Plasma online and from what I know, he is enjoying it now.
The only caveat being (online) that you must be 100% certain of the product you want because some of these online guys have no return or refund policy and exchanging a unit can also be very expensive in terms of shipping. Also make sure you buy this from an authorized etailer.

Heya Nick, I'm sort of digesting all this information as we go! It's all new territory for me. Fortunately, I'm not in a hurry right now. One concern I have is that the plasmas are said to lose their picture quality after a few years. My wife has pretty much nixed all the RPTV options and has fixed in on the wall-mounted options, so I'm starting with that. The front projector option isn't very appealing to her either (and I'm not too keen on having to turn the lights down every time I want to watch TV either). The industrial plasma option looks intriguing because all I really need is a monitor, and don't need speakers or a tuner.

As far as shopping options go, there is a professional video dealer near where I live listed as an authorized dealer for several companies, so I might pop by sometime. I also heard good things about Visual Apex as an online vendor (plus they are an authorized dealer for the brands that they stock), although anything with the name "apex" in it rings all kinds of alarm bells for obvious reasons! Anyway, here's a comparison for you to peruse.

Link to the Panasonic consumer TH-42PX25U/P model
http://catalog2.panasonic.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ModelDetail?displayTab=F&storeId=11251&catalogId=11005&itemId=70169&catGroupId=11068&modelNo=TH-42PX25U/P&surfModel=TH-42PX25U/P&ignoreRedirect=1

Link to the Panasonic industrial TH-42PHD6UY model
http://catalog2.panasonic.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ModelDetail?displayTab=O&storeId=11201&catalogId=13051&itemId=67905&catGroupId=14624&modelNo=TH-42PHD6UY&surfModel=TH-42PHD6UY

On paper, they're identical except for the aforementioned differences in the tuner, speakers, and resolution modes available. Also, with the industrial model, you have to add expansion cards if you want different types of connections available.

eqm
07-10-2004, 02:37 PM
Heya Nick, I'm sort of digesting all this information as we go! It's all new territory for me. Fortunately, I'm not in a hurry right now. One concern I have is that the plasmas are said to lose their picture quality after a few years. My wife has pretty much nixed all the RPTV options and has fixed in on the wall-mounted options, so I'm starting with that. The front projector option isn't very appealing to her either (and I'm not too keen on having to turn the lights down every time I want to watch TV either). The industrial plasma option looks intriguing because all I really need is a monitor, and don't need speakers or a tuner.

As far as shopping options go, there is a professional video dealer near where I live listed as an authorized dealer for several companies, so I might pop by sometime. I also heard good things about Visual Apex as an online vendor (plus they are an authorized dealer for the brands that they stock), although anything with the name "apex" in it rings all kinds of alarm bells for obvious reasons! Anyway, here's a comparison for you to peruse.

Link to the Panasonic consumer TH-42PX25U/P model
http://catalog2.panasonic.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ModelDetail?displayTab=F&storeId=11251&catalogId=11005&itemId=70169&catGroupId=11068&modelNo=TH-42PX25U/P&surfModel=TH-42PX25U/P&ignoreRedirect=1

Link to the Panasonic industrial TH-42PHD6UY model
http://catalog2.panasonic.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ModelDetail?displayTab=O&storeId=11201&catalogId=13051&itemId=67905&catGroupId=14624&modelNo=TH-42PHD6UY&surfModel=TH-42PHD6UY

On paper, they're identical except for the aforementioned differences in the tuner, speakers, and resolution modes available. Also, with the industrial model, you have to add expansion cards if you want different types of connections available.

Wooch:

from what i've been told, the industrial lines have a few things not as desireable as the consumer grades: the tolerance for defective pixels is higher, they tend have noisier fans, and run hotter than their consumer counterparts. these are often designed to go in airports and sports arenas where noise and heat aren't really an issue. i do not have physical confirmation of any of these things, but they might be good questions to ask from a panasonic tech or from someone who doesn't sell industrial-use plasmas.

hope this helps :D

AVMASTER
07-15-2004, 02:39 PM
We sell quite a few of both Panasonics and to be perfectly honest the consumer has a bit of an edge over the industrial in PQ. Technically i couldn't tell you why ( i'm just going by what i've seen )and i've had more pixel failures with the industrail model than consumer. The differences are minor ( better remote with consumer, better menu with industrial, etc.) and relatively speaking, the cost difference is not that great(figure in the wall mount and plug-in boards). So how do you choose? Most of the customers that come in asking about the industrial are making thier inquiry based upon price only and have convinced themselves they don't need a tuner or speakers; which maybe just what they need but there are a few things to consider about how you'll use it and how it fits into your life style that might make an consumer model a better choice. A industrial might work best in your case but will the wife mind having to take several steps before seeing or hearing anything? Can your satellite receiver tune OTA HD? Once again, the differences are minor;IMO plasma displays are just a bit to delicate to warrant the cost, if i were you i'd check out a larger LCD or the soon to be released wall-mountable DLP tvs or Samsungs pedestal mounted DLP and JVC s D-ILA rear projection

Woochifer
07-16-2004, 12:30 PM
Wooch:

from what i've been told, the industrial lines have a few things not as desireable as the consumer grades: the tolerance for defective pixels is higher, they tend have noisier fans, and run hotter than their consumer counterparts. these are often designed to go in airports and sports arenas where noise and heat aren't really an issue. i do not have physical confirmation of any of these things, but they might be good questions to ask from a panasonic tech or from someone who doesn't sell industrial-use plasmas.

hope this helps :D


We sell quite a few of both Panasonics and to be perfectly honest the consumer has a bit of an edge over the industrial in PQ. Technically i couldn't tell you why ( i'm just going by what i've seen )and i've had more pixel failures with the industrail model than consumer. The differences are minor ( better remote with consumer, better menu with industrial, etc.) and relatively speaking, the cost difference is not that great(figure in the wall mount and plug-in boards). So how do you choose? Most of the customers that come in asking about the industrial are making thier inquiry based upon price only and have convinced themselves they don't need a tuner or speakers; which maybe just what they need but there are a few things to consider about how you'll use it and how it fits into your life style that might make an consumer model a better choice. A industrial might work best in your case but will the wife mind having to take several steps before seeing or hearing anything? Can your satellite receiver tune OTA HD? Once again, the differences are minor;IMO plasma displays are just a bit to delicate to warrant the cost, if i were you i'd check out a larger LCD or the soon to be released wall-mountable DLP tvs or Samsungs pedestal mounted DLP and JVC s D-ILA rear projection

Thanx guys, that's really useful information, especially about the pixel failures. I guess I'll cross that bridge when I get around to it. The plug in boards for the industrial models was actually a plus in my book, and I like that the industrial models have more resolution modes available, like 720p. Just seems that the consumer models tack on a lot of items that I won't have use for.

My wife is actually pretty technically adept. We use our TV as a monitor (don't use the speakers or the tuner), the VCR is the TV tuner, and the home theater system supplies the sound full-time. Our satellite receiver will get upgraded to a HD versions when we buy the HDTV. As far as I know, most of Directv's HD receivers include the OTA tuner and that's what we would use.

Plasma only under consideration because it meets my wife's aesthetic wants, and it's still less expensive than comparably sized LCD screens. I was perfectly fine with a RPTV, but my wife vetoed that idea once she swooned over the flat panels. If wall-mountable DLP is on the horizon, that's great information and I would definitely consider that if they're not too bulky. I noticed that some of the DLP monitors aren't that much deeper than the flat panels already and wondered why they don't make wall-mounted versions. Glad that I'm still saving up for the TV and not rushing out to buy one right now given how in flux everything in the TV market is.

kdogg
08-04-2004, 12:20 AM
All commercial products do not have built tuners and also have one input, VGA.

DisplayHaven1
08-05-2004, 12:30 PM
The pansonic industrial is a great plasma. It has (according to panasonic) the best contrast ratio out there, which they say is up to 4000:1, and has a great native resolution. You also get to choose which terminal board you want to buy with the set (which you should be able to find between $130 and $200. If you don't need speakers or a tuner than there is really no huge reason to get the residential version, unless you like the looks better. A lot of manu's dull down the looks of their commercial plasmas so that the residential end up looking better (case in point, sony wega vs. sony plasmapro (pfm)). A business associate of mine recently got the 50PHD6UY and he loves it. Its got a pretty plain look, but for the specs you really can't beat it at the current time. To go LCD you're looking at a 37" which is going to be equal in price if not a little bit more expensive than the pana. 42". Life of the plasma is something everyone is warned about, but it really is not as crazy as people think. If you estimate the life of a plasma at 30,000 hours (ive heard higher and lower) than at 8 hours per day your talking 10 years. 12 hours per day, your still talking 7 years. So its really not as huge a turn off as other people make it seem. Thats my personal opinion anyways...Good luck! Hope you find what you're lookin for.

DisplayHaven1
08-05-2004, 12:34 PM
One more thing, quickly...you can probably get a commercial version for cheaper because most manu's allow internet dealers to get their commercial versions (through distribution as well as direct) EASIER than those same dealers can get the home end. You can't find the home end as readily as the commercial for a lot of companies...