Plasma HDTV

[vh_bu98]

Planning to buy a Plasma tomorrow and I narrowed down my choices. Do any of you own or recommend one over the other? Yes I know the Pioneers are suppose to be the best, but a 42" Pioneer 720p is about the same price as a 50" Panasonic or Samsung 1080p.

42"
Panasonic TH-42PX75U
Panasonic TH-42Z700U
Pioneer PDP-4280HD
Pioneer Elite PRO-950HD
Samsung HP-T4254

50"
Panasonic TH-50PX75U
Panasonic TH-50PZ700U
Pioneer PDP-5080HD
Pioneer Elite PRO-1140HD
Samsung HP-T5054
Samsung FP-T5084

[wandyprawira]

I'd recommend the Panasonic with 1080p. The Samsung doesn't keep up with the rest and Pioneer is just more expensive than the rests.

Do you prefer Plasma over LCD? Because now the trends are towards LCD. The only disadvantages of LCD compared to Plasma is in black contrast in a dark room where plasma is more natural black. However, LCD provides a more vivid color in normal lighting condition (eg. during the day). Also if you often watch action movies, plasma simply won't keep up with the intense picture movement/changes and will result in smearing.

Just my opinion, I would opt for a LCD over that plasma with a bit of more money.

[Robb]

I have the 50 inch Pioneer Elite and the 42 Samsung..

They are both great!!!

[EvEr34]

Pioneer elite or 5080. You wont regret. (panasonic also make a great plasma, pioneer is just my preference)

I have a plasma in our living room and an LCD in the kids living room and I much prefer the image on the plasma. The viewing angles on a High quality plasma such as pioneer are much better than on LCD. In my case the LCD blurs the image of fast moving objects much more than the plasma.

You'll have a bunch of opinions on this subject and the debate can go on forever, and in the end you will still be in the same situation you are now. So just get what you think looks better.

Also, do your own research as you are doing now. You could speak to 2-3 different people inside one store and get conflicting info.

If you opt for an LCD screen, the lower the pixel response time the better.

[Randy]

Pioneer plasma way to go 5080 or wait for new 1080p Pioneer end of August-September! Check out AVS forum and pricing from forum sponsors!

[S2000 Driver]

Originally Posted by wandyprawira

...Do you prefer Plasma over LCD? Because now the trends are towards LCD. The only disadvantages of LCD compared to Plasma is in black contrast in a dark room where plasma is more natural black. However, LCD provides a more vivid color in normal lighting condition (eg. during the day)...

Just my opinion, I would opt for a LCD over that plasma...

I agree with this.

I spent the better part of '06 learning about new HDTV technologies. I am not one to 'flip' my possessions (whether they be HDTVs or watches!) so this investment decision was for the long haul, i.e., I would be keeping the TV for at least 10 years. Given this long ownership horizon, a technical requirement was that it be 1920x1080p resolution, i.e., the "FULL HD" standard. Given the dimensions of the viewing room the minimum display size had to be 50-inches and a flat panel design. My budget for the display was US$10K.

I went into this with a bias toward Plasma because that was the generally accepted "high end" HDTV technology to go with. I subscribed to several of the videophile magazines including SOUND AND VISION, THE PERFECT VISION, and HOME THEATER and read as much as I could about products and industry trends. I also joined the online AVS Forum.

In the end I narrowed it down to 2 HDTVs: the 50-Inch Pioneer Elite PRO-FHD1 Plasma and the 52-Inch Sony Bravia KDL-52XBR3 LCD.

I ulitmately chose the Sony. Yes, the Pioneer has a marginal advantage with black color but the Sony has a marginal advantage with white color. Also, the Sony has the advantages of a far less reflective screen (which is particularly important when you have ambient light in the room) and less risk of image burn-in.

I've had the Sony for 9 months now and I couldn't be more pleased!

[Paulie]

Panasonic Plasma. The other advantage to plasma is the viewing angle, it's much better than LCD. I have mine on the fireplace mantle, and no matter where you sit in the room, the picture is clear. Panasonic also makes their own plasma glass, and anything from the 8th generation panel and up are wonderful, as they have true black (i.e. absence of light).

[S2000 Driver]

Originally Posted by Paulie

Panasonic Plasma. The other advantage to plasma is the viewing angle, it's much better than LCD. I have mine on the fireplace mantle, and no matter where you sit in the room, the picture is clear. Panasonic also makes their own plasma glass, and anything from the 8th generation panel and up are wonderful, as they have true black (i.e. absence of light).

Although this is true with some other LCD HDTVs, it is not true with Sony Bravia XBR2 or XBR3 LCD HDTVs.

The viewing angle is 178 degrees and the blacks are excellent. And, unlike some/most plasma TVs, you don't have to close the curtains to reduce ambient light so you can watch TV during the day!

The best testament to the quality of the XBR2/XBR3s is a close friend of mine who owns a 50-inch Panasonic Plasma HDTV. Whenever he comes over to my house to watch something, he is extremely jealous and offers to swap TVs with me -- NO WAY!

I expect plasma technology will either be gone or have a single-digit HDTV market share in 5 years. As Wandy mentions in the post above, this trend has already begun and will just accelerate.

The real debate now in home theater is HD DVD vs. Blu-ray!

[Blue Bull]

Panasonic 50 inch,if the same $ as the Pioneer 42.

Panasonic and Pioneer the only choices

[S2000 Driver]

Originally Posted by Blue Bull

Panasonic 50 inch,if the same $ as the Pioneer 42.

Panasonic and Pioneer the only choices

"Forgive them for they know not what they do..."

[S2000 Driver]

Regardless of which display technology you go with -- and you know where I stand on this -- you should seriously consider having your new display ISF Calibrated once it's installed in your home for approximately US$250.

Click on the image below to locate an ISF-certified technician for your area:

[Blue Bull]

Originally Posted by S2000 Driver

"Forgive them for they know not what they do..."

Yes,sure... see who does what at the CES show in Vegas,held in Jan.Panasonic is building a huge plasma glass producing plant in Japan.

The best plasma and the best LCD is all excellent,its all a question of your preference and the $$ asked.Forget all this BS about,pixels, 10000:1 contrast.... the eye can only see 5000:1 anyway etc.Look at the picture and compare,thats the only way.Thats the test.

High end audio is stereo.Largely tube based amplification and vinyl based.Again,see the various show reports from CES and THE Show,from Vegas.I use tube amps myself.Have been in the audio game for 15 years.

[LMP]

a 50 inch plasma will draw approx. 500 watts. A similarly sized LCD will draw less than half that.

[Paulie]

Originally Posted by LMP

a 50 inch plasma will draw approx. 500 watts. A similarly sized LCD will draw less than half that.

It helps with the winter heating bill.

[Thurnau]

I got a 60inch LG plasma I bought at BestBuy magnolia. I think the picture is a lot nicer than the LCD's the contrast is good, showing black nicely. I watched this movie with an ocean in it, and the picture is so real and large at my viewing distance that me and my wife got a little dizzy watching it.

One disadvantage. I don't have any permanent burn in, but when text remains on the tv too long, the text remains a little. For instance on a black screen with white text stays on too long, such as a warning, when the screen turns black you see ghost text until the screen changes to a normal picture.

[Blue Bull]

Originally Posted by Thurnau

I got a 60inch LG plasma I bought at BestBuy magnolia. I think the picture is a lot nicer than the LCD's the contrast is good, showing black nicely. I watched this movie with an ocean in it, and the picture is so real and large at my viewing distance that me and my wife got a little dizzy watching it.

One disadvantage. I don't have any permanent burn in, but when text remains on the tv too long, the text remains a little. For instance on a black screen with white text stays on too long, such as a warning, when the screen turns black you see ghost text until the screen changes to a normal picture.

Never have burn in on the Panasonics.One reason I prefer them.Excellent plasma glass.

[Welshwatchman]

I'd recommend the Pioneer in a heartbeat.

My 50" Plasma is 6 1/2 years old and still as good as the day I got it. 720p and 1080i HD (no 1080p in 2001) the picture is incredible.

[S2000 Driver]

Originally Posted by Welshwatchman

I'd recommend the Pioneer in a heartbeat.

If you're going to go plasma, there is nothing that comes close to the Pioneer Elite line and the pinnacle of the line is the 1920 x 1080p native resolution PRO-FHD1:




Panasonic isn't even in the same league -- like comparing a Seiko to a Rolex!

[Blue Bull]

You are correct,the Pioneers are the best, in my opinion.The price difference,in my country was huge(It differs in markup between the different importers).For me the difference was just too much.The Panasonic was the better buy.Situations around the world,differ.The backup from Panasonic is better,where I live.

That said the pricing has come down and if I buy another screen,it will again be between the Panasonic and Pioneer.Next time a 50 inch

[S2000 Driver]

Originally Posted by Blue Bull

You are correct, the Pioneers are the best, in my opinion.The price difference, in my country, was huge (it differs in markup between the different importers). For me the difference was just too much. The Panasonic was the better buy. Situations around the world differ. The backup from Panasonic is better where I live...

Chris,

Once again, we are in violent agreement!

I'm starting to think we drink the same water, too!

[Rubenonfire]

I have a 50" Pioneer plasma. When I did my research it appeared to me to be the best, and I purchased it at a great savings from a dealer here in AZ. That being said, I'm not a HUGE home theater techie, so I wouldn't be surprised if there wasn't something out there that's "better."
For whatever it's worth, I get a RIDICULOUS amount of satisfaction out of my TV, and you'd be hard pressed to convince me that there's anything else out there (at the same size and price point) that looks better. Almost all of my friends have purchased TV's of varying sizes, formats (LCD, Plamsa, DLP) and brands and I've still found NOTHING that looks cleaner than mine. It's simply a JOY to watch.

[vh_bu98]

Okay, I ended up picking up the Pioneer PDP-4280HD because anything larger than a 42 inch would have to be 1080P. But when I was comparing the Pioneer with the Panasonic and Samsung 1080P, the Pioneer 720P blew them away in terms of quality. The Pioneer Kuro line is quite amazing and I haven't even calibrated mine yet.

I was thinking about the elite version, but I wouldn't use the extra features so I would rather put the money towards a blu-ray player...probably a PS3 since my 360 just got the ring of light.

One thing most people don't think about is how standard TV will look. It's all about the processor since resolution won't be as relevant and that is highly dependent on the TV quality.

Pioneer is definitly on top of their game. I did look at the Sony XBR 2 & 3 line, but didn't want to deal with the clouding issue. This may have been resolved with the 4 & 5, but those haven't quite hit the stores yet.

[S2000 Driver]

Originally Posted by vh_bu98

...I did look at the Sony XBR 2 & 3 line, but didn't want to deal with the clouding issue...

Now that you mention it, I do see some clouding on the Sony XBR3:



Clouding on some Sony XBRs, poor shadow detail on some Pioneer 4280s, hey, nobody said they were perfect!

[Mrdi]

Lcd

[Ragu]

I have two Sony LCD's a 55" in living room and a 42" in dining/kitchen area.
Both are 720p and 1080i HD (2yrs old w/cable card slot) and still the Discovery channel and others in HD are as clear and vibrant as the day we purchased them.
TV's have come a long way.