Plasma choice?

[newguy1]

After my earlier thread, I will be purchasing a plasma for my basement ht. I constantly see pioneer and panasonic but I was also looking at the samsung 58". How do the samsung plasmas rate compared to the competition?

 

[stratman]

For the money vs performance criteria, Panny can't be beat. Money not a problem, get a Pioneer Kuro.

 

[JBthatsme]

nothing like pioneer but samys are a good choice too!

 

[Clypher]

For the money vs performance criteria, Panny can't be beat. Money not a problem, get a Pioneer Kuro.

Couldn't have said it better.

I was standing in the shop the other day, pioneer 5010hd in front of me, jaw on the floor. Never have I seen a better TV, but it's just too much money for me.

 

[stratman]

Pioneer makes beautiful sets, but when you factor in the money you can do better.

 

[bandphan]

Pioneer makes beautiful sets, but when you factor in the money you can do better.

its all relative. I think a 768p kuro looks better than a 1080p panny.

 

[stratman]

And which is more expensive?

 

[bandphan]

And which is more expensive?

not arguing about anything, just saying it doesnt always come down to money.

 

[stratman]

not arguing about anything, just saying it doesnt always come down to money.

I know, that's why I wrote if money no object go with the Pio, money a bit tight, Panny's the answer. I know we're not arguing, just conversing.

 

[head_unit]

I love Samsung.

BUT Consumer Reports found some kind of weird effect in their latest flat sets, don't remember exactly what.

Just got myuncle Panasonic 42" plasma, and 32" Vizio LCD. Both quite nice.

I personally highly prefer LCD as the plasma glass reflects, which I hate. Also avoid gloss black finish around the screen

 

[giacona]

Plasma

I am also looking for a TV and now I am leaning twoards plasma since they are made much better since they were in the past. A friend of mine just purchased the new 1080P Panasonic 50" and he loves it. I did not see it yet, but I will soon. He got a deal from a local reatiler on this TV and paid $2,500.00.

I went into best buy last weekend and looked at the TV's. In my opinion I did not see a big difference between the Sharp, LG, Pioneer, and Pansonics. However some did have darker greens when watching football games, etc. But the salesperson was telling me they all can be fine tuned. I am looking to get something around a 60 Inch, so the 58" inch panny I did like, but retail price for about 5,000.00. I am not sure on the model, but I know it was the latest one out.

Are there any other TV's I can consider and have a similar quiality and refresh rate to the Pannys and maybe save some money? The sales people at Best Buy for some reason are all in love with Pionner and were pushing that brand the most. I did not notice a remarkable difference between that brand and Panny

 

[Duffinator]

Money not a problem, get a Pioneer Kuro.

I'm very interested in the Kuro. But the reports of the buzzing from these sets is a concern for me. Does anybody own one and can confirm or deny how loud the buzzing really is? Is it coming from the panel itself? I'm very sensitive to faint noises and even the very quiet fans in my Sharp LCD bug me.

 

[bandphan]

I'm very interested in the Kuro. But the reports of the buzzing from these sets is a concern for me. Does anybody own one and can confirm or deny how loud the buzzing really is? Is it coming from the panel itself? I'm very sensitive to faint noises and even the very quiet fans in my Sharp LCD bug me.

I dont think youll find an isue with buzz, ive installed 3 in the last couple of weeks, and no hmm, but lots of Buzzzz from watching the awesome pic

go demo some, and see whatcha think

 

[1tribeca]

If you're talking plasma, refresh rate isn't an issue. Stratman said it best...Panny for good value, Pioneer top performer, without question.

Personally, I dislike LCD (even though I have one hanging under my kitchen cabinets...hey it's small!) I find the picture "false" looking as opposed to plasma. I guess 60 years of CRT watching has groomed most discerning people to what a TV "should" look like. I find plasma to be closer to the CRT look.

Worried about screen glare? Spend $200 on some drapes!!! You just dropped $2500 on a TV set!!!

 

[funked up]

I
I went into best buy last weekend and looked at the TV's. In my opinion I did not see a big difference between the Sharp, LG, Pioneer, and Pansonics.

From what I have been told it is pretty much impossible to "really" compare tv sets at stores like best buy. These TV's are usually taken straight out of the box and setup on the shelves. To preform properly plasma tv's need to be calibrated. I was also concerned about this when I was looking at tv's recently. The panny I was interested in didn't look any better than a LG that was sitting right next to it, infact it may have been worse than the LG. But I went with the reccomendations of the people on this forum. I got the panny home and calibrated it the best I could, and now I have no doubt that picture on my tv would blow away the picture on that LG set. Trust the guys on this forum, they know there stuff. Panasonic or Pioneer(if you have the money) are the way to go.

 

[kurtkrum]

About 3 weeks ago I bought a 1080p Panasonic plasma. I got 42" because of size constraints in the room (wanted something more like 50").

I am completely happy with my Pana plasma and recommend it to anyone.

 

[mouettus]

I would've bought a Pio but I plug my computer onto my tv for internet surfing and all so I think it would've damaged the "gaz cells" in the long run. You don't want to mess with a 4000$ tv. So I bought an LCD instead. Safe bet. But I have to admit that the Kuro is the best TV I've ever seen.

 

[Duffinator]

From what I have been told it is pretty much impossible to "really" compare tv sets at stores like best buy. These TV's are usually taken straight out of the box and setup on the shelves. To preform properly plasma tv's need to be calibrated. I was also concerned about this when I was looking at tv's recently. The panny I was interested in didn't look any better than a LG that was sitting right next to it, infact it may have been worse than the LG. But I went with the reccomendations of the people on this forum. I got the panny home and calibrated it the best I could, and now I have no doubt that picture on my tv would blow away the picture on that LG set. Trust the guys on this forum, they know there stuff. Panasonic or Pioneer(if you have the money) are the way to go.

Don't you think the LG would have looked better if it was calibrated properly? You say that you can't compare TV's sitting side by side but you can compare one that's in your home to one in the store?

 

[Emusica]

From what I have been told it is pretty much impossible to "really" compare tv sets at stores like best buy. These TV's are usually taken straight out of the box and setup on the shelves. To preform properly plasma tv's need to be calibrated. I was also concerned about this when I was looking at tv's recently. The panny I was interested in didn't look any better than a LG that was sitting right next to it, infact it may have been worse than the LG.

I saw this in action at Best Buy also. The panny was next to a samsung, I believe, and the panny looked bad. I asked the store guy if I could see the remote for the panny. I checked the settings on the panny and they were set to low brightness (cinema mode) as compared to the samsung, (set on vivid). I'm not sure if they are trying to sell more sams or not but the average joe would buy the sam judging by the picture.

 

[Hi Ho]

Panasonic plasma sets have horrible settings out of the box and any store that simply takes it out and turns it on is not doing the sets justice.

I would not buy a Samsung plasma myself. They have been far too problematic. We have two in for repair at work right now that came in within the last two days.