Panasonic 50PZ800U or Sony 52W4100?

[FSUguy]

Alright guys, I have to decide between getting either the Panasonic 50PZ800U or Sony 52W4100. I setup an A/B comparison in my Best Buy and I can't decide. Here is my opinion thus far. Let me know what you think....

Panasonic 50PZ800U: Obviously the motion handling is superior to that of the LCDs and most of the colors look more natural. This is especially true in THX mode (supposedly the closest to being ISF calibrated w/o actually being calibrated). Skin tones are great, and it has great deep reds and "primary" blacks (more on that in a second). I'm not a big fan of the double glass panels, in comparison to Pioneer's single glass, but that's part of why you pay for Pioneer quality. I'm slightly concerned about "ghosting" for the small amount of video gaming/computer monitor using I do....BUT...my biggest drawback has been the crappy "secondary/background" black levels. I feel like I can't even call them black levels, but rather green levels! When run in the A/B comparison, they couldn't even touch the Pioneer, or even the 52W4100 for that matter.

Sony 52W4100: Great motion handling and anti-blur technology when compared to other LCDs. I am very impressed with the video processing too. Of course the motion handling on the plasma is better, but I am very impressed with the Sony. The reds and blacks don't look to great on "vivid" mode (waaay to bright), but on "cinema" mode, the blacks and reds are point on! Especially when compared to the Panasonic. The Sony's primary and secondary blacks look outstanding. There does seem to be "slight" color bleeding between frames sometimes though. I don't have to worry about glare (not that its an issue right now, but I will be moving shortly) or worry about ghosting either.

Ahhh, I'm so used to plasmas being superior, but this is really throwing me for a loop! The price is a $300 difference in favor of the Panasonic, but that is negligible. Guys, what am I missing? Let me hear your opinions!

Thanks!

 

[bandphan]

If it were my purchase, the panny hands down no question Properly setup TVs look different than what you see in the box stores.

 

[FSUguy]

If it were my purchase, the panny hands down no question Properly setup TVs look different than what you see in the box stores.

Ok, ok. Any justification of why that is? And how do you properly setup the Panny?

Thanks

 

[ParadigmDawg]

Display are easy now, you have 2 options.

If money is no object you get the Pioneer KURO.

If money is an issue, you get the Panny.

Simple as that and you cant judge a picture at Best Buy.

 

[gus6464]

Display are easy now, you have 2 options.

If money is no object you get the Pioneer KURO.

If money is an issue, you get the Panny.

Simple as that and you cant judge a picture at Best Buy.

Actually the Samsung A850 is looking to become a big contender with it's extremely good black levels. I think next year might be the year where LCD's match plasmas for their black levels with LED LCDs.

 

[ParadigmDawg]

Please don't make this any more difficult than it is....

Actually the Samsung A850 is looking to become a big contender with it's extremely good black levels. I think next year might be the year where LCD's match plasmas for their black levels with LED LCDs.

 

[gus6464]

Please don't make this any more difficult than it is....

But where would we be in life if we didn't have a lot of choices?

 

[The Dali]

Just bought the Panasonic 50" ... still in the box until I can hang it... based on reviews I read everywhere it was the winner. I was initially going for an LCD, but the Panasonic looked awesome in the store and was cheaper than all the LCDs I looked at...

 

[FSUguy]

Display are easy now, you have 2 options.

If money is no object you get the Pioneer KURO.

If money is an issue, you get the Panny.

Simple as that and you cant judge a picture at Best Buy.

Still no justification on getting the Panny over the W4100. No setup advice or adjustments, just people saying get the Panny. I messed around more today with the settings, and the Sony won hands down with black levels, and believe it or not, motion handling. The Panny was really pixelating. Again, the black levels looked green, but even the white levels had a yellowish tint because of the Panny's tinted glass. This was not only my opinion, but a few other Geek Squad installers and HT associates. I know we are not the hands down authority, but we see more than the average consumer. I understand you can't exactly judge a TV at BBY, but it's still A/B as both are there and my eyes aren't deceiving me. I REALLY want to believe the Panny looks better, but I just can't see how.

I unfortunately can't afford a Pio, so it's not looking to good for the Panny.

Any helpful suggestions or advice on setup?

 

[ParadigmDawg]

Yes, get one and put it in your house, buy a calibration disc and calibrate it. If you are just in a store with lighting different than your house and you are just randomly jacking with settings, then you are not accomplishing anything. Did the Panny clip blacker than black or whiter than white? You don't know beacause you are just messing with settings trying to you your eyes to guess what looks best with no control of the source or light.

 

[bandphan]

justification? Between the two sets mentioned the panasonic is more accurate with reproduction based upon measurments If you pefer the sony get it

 

[bnewt]

I am in a similar position. Most everything you read suggests that the plasma is superior, yet when I compare both in the stores, I like the brightness of the lcd. When a white barckground comes on the screens, the plasma looks almost gray in comparison to the lcd. I watch a lot of sports, & supposedly plasma is better, yet I have a 32" lcd in the bedroom & I see no motion blur on football or the baseball playoffs

 

[bandphan]

I watch a lot of sports, & supposedly plasma is better, yet I have a 32" lcd in the bedroom & I see no motion blur on football or the baseball playoffs

Key words, on a 32"

 

[gus6464]

Well my in-laws are about to pull the trigger on the Sony 46W4100 but the main reason was because of the matte screen. Their living room is surrounded by windows and it's almost impossible to watch TV during the daytime with their current 5 year old Sony rear projection. It came down between the Panny TH-46PZ850U and the Sony but because of glare the Sony won.

Honestly if you have to choose between the Sony and Panasonic make the choice based on the lighting in your room. The Panny will offer a better picture hands down but sometimes other external factors will come into play.

 

[Emusica]

I'm not a big fan of the double glass panels, in comparison to Pioneer's single glass, but that's part of why you pay for Pioneer quality.

The new Panny's have a single-sheet glass design, AND it is flush with the entire front of the tv, it is seamless. Looks really nice... Oh, and the whole "glare" thing, if you can spend X amount of coin on a flat screen, you can spend some more and get some curtains.... I have 5 windows that cast sunlight on my tv, I bought some curtains....

 

[dobyblue]

The -800U is a single sheet of glass design.

The Sony does NOT beat the -800U for motion resolution, nor does any LCD.
The LED units will not equal the plasma's for black levels at any time, it's simple physics. They might best all other LCD's for black levels, but they don't beat the Panny and Pioneer plasma's, and the latter continue to beat themselves every year so LCD will always be playing catch up.

Merson tested the -800U and 52W4100 and got the following for motion resolution.

Panny - 820/1080
Sony - 580/1080

You seriously cannot judge black levels on a storeroom floor, LCD will always appear more vibrant and colourful because of the massive amount of overhead lighting, so if your viewing area closely resembles a storeroom floor you'd be best to get get LCD.


If you're comparing on a floor model, chances are it's had hours upon hours of time spent in Vivid mode which may explain why you think the black levels are horrendous. Put a plasma out of the box repeating that nasty bright yellow BB logo and I wouldn't be surprised if it doesn't look too impressive in the store.

You will look after your set differently though, switching it out of Vivid being one of the first things you do.

The Panny was really pixelating? What source are you using and what settings? If it's the same source hooked up the same way and you're noticing pixelation on the panny and not the Sony, something's very wrong with that set. Is it a 480i signal you're sending? If so, that might explain it. I believe the Sony performs better with 480i material than the Panny does.

 

[zhimbo]

Most everything you read suggests that the plasma is superior, yet when I compare both in the stores, I like the brightness of the lcd.

This is EXACTLY what everyone warns about. The brightness and vividness of LCDs in a display room draws people to them. But generally this is in the context of brilliant florescent lighting of showroom floors, which are generally MUCH brighter than the typical living room/home theater.

Don't just judge on "brightness". Plasmas are plenty bright for home use, unless you have unusual conditions (and even then, the usually-reflective screens are the bigger problem).

 

[Alex2507]

No setup advice or adjustments, just people saying get the Panny.

Any helpful suggestions or advice on setup?

Set up aka calibration is done with a calibration disc like an Avia II. The TV's in the store are not calibrated so you are not seeing what they look like when they are calibrated.

It's like being a judge in a beauty contest after the contestants have been in a food fight.