Samsung or Pioneer?

[william04]

I am looking at purchasing a 42" plasma and really can't decide between the Samsung 4264 or Pioneer 4270. They are comparable in price with the pioneer being just a little higher.

Are there major differences in the quality and/or longevity of these two? After reading many reviews, it seems as though the pioneer may be a step up from the sammy, but I'm not for sure.

Also, under the pioneer specs, it says that it has the ability to accept 1080p signal. What does this actually mean? Most tv's are listed as 1080p or 720p.

Thanks!

 

[BMXTRIX]

I would buy the Pioneer in a second over the Samsung. Pioneer, in my experience, consistently provides better image qualilty, black levels, contrast, colors, and image processing across the board, then combines it with basic engineering that is simply 'better' than the competition.

1080p acceptance: It means that you can feed the TV a 1080p source and it will convert it to the native resolution of the display. You should mostly disregard when TVs are listed as 1080p or 720p - what you want to know, and what matters, is the actual resolution of the display. Is it 1024x768, 854x480, 1280x720, 1365x768, or 1920x1080? It most LIKELY is 1024x768 on a 42" HD plasma.

Then you want to know what formats it accepts. Most often it is 480i, 480p, 720p, and 1080i. Some newer displays also accept 1080p. But, unless the TV itself is 1080p, there is often not a huge advantage for a display to accept this resolution.

Another way to put things: If you speak English, and only English then that's your 'native resolution' (language). We'll say that you have no ability to ever speak any other language - ever. Okay, great. Now, let's list the languages you understand: English (obviously), Spanish, French, Italian... and (maybe) Chinese. Those are your accepted (resolutions) languages. But, before you can say what you are hearing you must first convert them all to English.

That's the way TVs work. They have to convert from what they understand, to what they can produce. In the above example, the best conversion happens when you hear English and can speak it again as English. With video, it is the same when you feed a display it's native resolution, it tends to reproduce the best possible image. Video, fortunately, is fairly forgiving with different resolutions as long as there are good video processors in place.

 

[william04]

Thank you for the great info... i am leaning towards the Pio, but wanted to get additional opnions on it.

Another question in regards tot he Contrast Ratio--- Samsung makes a big deal with their 15,000:1 ratio while other TVs are typically 5-10,000:1. Do the manufactures use the same scale or ways of measuring or do they test them differently to enhance the specs?

Does pioneer have any type of Anti Burn-in technology similar to Samsung or is that pretty much a moot point nowadays with plasma screens?

 

[william04]

In addition to the Samsung 4264 and Pioneer 4270, i am also looking at the Panasonic 42PX75U model.

 

[BMXTRIX]

If I were to rate the manufacturers in order of their general engineering skills and display quality on a 'general' basis then I would rank them as follows:
Pioneer
Panasonic
Samsung

With Pioneer being the best.

Now, I'm not sure on a TV by TV basis which one will actually prove to be best overall without seriously sitting down with a dozne test discs and a few days of free time to spare reviewing all of them. But, making a guess based on my personal experiences is what leads me to think the Pioneer would win.

Now, for contrast ratio, it is typical that many manufacturers use a full on/full off measurement of contrast which usually results in some numbers that are just wrong. In real world use, you simply aren't going to get near the numbers they are giving. But, you may come close. Yet, if contrast ratio isn't combined with solid image processing then you may get some serious false contouring issues - this appears as a banding from one shade (or color) to the next. Most often, it appears in faces and is called 'clay facing' which just looks crappy!

If you have access to the three displays you are looking at, see if you can see different material on all three displays which includes HDTV, DVD, and SDTV so you can compare what you might be sending to these displays under your 'normal' home viewing environments.

 

[william04]

I've also been hearing that unless you go up to the Pioneer "elite" series, that they aren't all that different than a mid-priced panny or samsung. I'm just trying to find the best 42 plasma for the money in the $1k-$1,500 range. I'm not a big gamer... will mainly be used for sports and movies.

 

[The Dukester]

I agree with all that BMX said in his posts. Go with the Pioneer. I went with a 50 incher and decided on the Pioneer after several months of checking out all the units I could find as well as reading until I went cross-eyed.

I think that if you really compare the plasmas on SD, the Pio will by far and away have the better picture. Unfortunately, most everything is still SD for now, so that plays a big part.

As for burn in, just use common sense and you should not have any problems on any good plasma. For example, if about all you watch is CNN or ESPN with the info bars at the bottom and you watch it for long periods of time every day, you will get burn in. I have noticed it on store display plasmas on about every brand I was looking at in one store or another. Most of them keep their sets on ESPN HD b/c the pic looks good when broadcast in HD. Keep the brightness and contrast down, especially for the first hundred hours or so, watch a variety of programming and you will be fine. Some will argue the "break in" policy, but in my opinion, what can it hurt, even if it's bunk?

Good luck and enjoy your new tv when you buy it!

 

[william04]

Thanks... so there's an actual break-in period? A plasma after so many hours is less likely to experience burn-in compared to when it's brand new?

 

[Hi Ho]

Image quality aside, I would not buy a Samsung plasma. They have been having more than their share of problems. Red sparkles is the most common and is caused by defective parts which are replaced with more defective parts.

Pioneer and Panasonic offer a better plasma anyway you look at it. They are more reliable and offer better image quality. At work, we have yet to service a single Panasonic or Pioneer plasma but we have serviced numerous Samsungs.

 

[The Dukester]

Thanks... so there's an actual break-in period? A plasma after so many hours is less likely to experience burn-in compared to when it's brand new?

So many people claim. I called Pioneer's customer service and asked for the manager of the plasma dept. I asked him about the break in policy b/c nowhere in their literature did it mention it. He said you would not find it there, but they do reccommend a break in of 3-400 hours. When I tried to pin him down as to why, he never really gave me an answer I was satisfied with. He basically just said to do whatever I wanted, but he always broke in his personal tvs. Good enough for me. As I said, it's an easy thing to do, so no harm no foul.

I turned down the settings for a hundred hours or so before moving them slightly back up. I have no issues with burn in or image retention and the pic is really great.

You can find more info than you probably care to read over on AVS forum about the subject if you care to investigate further.

 

[william04]

Image quality aside, I would not buy a Samsung plasma. They have been having more than their share of problems. Red sparkles is the most common and is caused by defective parts which are replaced with more defective parts.

Pioneer and Panasonic offer a better plasma anyway you look at it. They are more reliable and offer better image quality. At work, we have yet to service a single Panasonic or Pioneer plasma but we have serviced numerous Samsungs.

I was all set on the pioneer 4270 until I did some searching on the avs forum and it seems as though the consesus over there is to go with the new Sammy 4264 over the pioneer 4270. I'm undecided now between the two.

Is $1400 OTD, a good price on the pioneer 4270? Did it really retail for $3500 last summer?

 

[william04]

I had a sales rep tell me today that the pioneer 4270 would provide about 70,000 more hours of life over the Sammy 4264. Is this true? I find it hard to believe

 

[Hi Ho]

I just took in yet another Samsung plasma for repair today. As I said above, Samsung is the only brand of plasma that has had problems and they have had quite a few, hence the reason I do not recommend them. I don't know about 70,000 hours more, but from what I've seen I'd say the Pioneer would outlast the Samsung.

 

[william04]

I just took in yet another Samsung plasma for repair today. As I said above, Samsung is the only brand of plasma that has had problems and they have had quite a few, hence the reason I do not recommend them. I don't know about 70,000 hours more, but from what I've seen I'd say the Pioneer would outlast the Samsung.

which samsung model was it? I understand that their previous models weren't that great, but I've heard nothing but great things about the new 4254/64 models. There are a lot of independent reviews/write-ups that say the new sammy 42" plasamas are the best in the mid entry price range. I understand that pioneer model is almost a year old and the new 80 series will most likely outshine the sammy, but for the same price the new sammy is a step above the pioneer4270, at least that's the feedback I've been receiving.

ps After making some calls, it sounds like the avg life span on the pio is about 10,000 more hours. (60,000 compared to 70,000)