Panasonic Plasma Prices vs LCD

[gobats]

I was in Costco today and happened upon a 42 inch Plasma for 699.00 after rebate! My question (or rather Mrs. Gobats question was if the prices are coming down why not Plasma?) So I ask the forum if prices are falling;why not Plasma? Even if the technology is deemed obsolete won't the Panny people still carry parts for say,10 years?
Thanks

 

[annunaki]

Who said they were obsolete? Sounds like sales trash. The Panasonic even at that price will beat nearly any LCD where it matters (motion performance, viewing angle, black levels, moving resolution, etc.) regardless of cost except for the local dimming sets.

The base model sets are rated to 60,000 hrs to half brightness. You will replace the set far before you should have to worry about it.

 

[bandphan]

Do a quick search of the forum and you will find test results for motion resolution that will give you an idea of performance. imo plasma is still the one to best.

 

[Warpdrv]

Nothing better in the display dept. IMO then Panasonic Plasma's...

Best QUALITY picture for the money... Search around, I'm not the only one with this opinions...

 

[Geno]

I just left Costco, too. They have a 60" Pioneer Kuro for $4k...Hmmmmm. Wasn't it 6K a couple of months ago? Lord hold me back

 

[ThA tRiXtA]

Your local Costco stocks the Pio Kuro line? On top of that they are selling the 60" for 4k?

At my costco they sell mostly unknown brands of tv's, and any that are panasonic or of a known brand are typically smaller displays like 42"


I am in Canada, and the 6020 kuro is still $6K here, nevermind the 151 elite

I am in the market for the 6020, if they had it on sale for $4K I'd snap it up in a heartbeat.

Thanks for the heads up Geno, I appreciate it.

 

[Warpdrv]

Yeah, I saw those Kuro's over at costco.....

I was about to write that they are not worth the extra cash over the Panny, but then quickly realized that you are talking about the 60".... Thats a sweet deal IMO compared to the $6000+ for the 65" panny....

 

[Geno]

Update

Yeah, I saw those Kuro's over at costco.....

I was about to write that they are not worth the extra cash over the Panny, but then quickly realized that you are talking about the 60".... Thats a sweet deal IMO compared to the $6000+ for the 65" panny....

I just Google'd the Kuro and found that Amazon is selling it, through one of their dealers, for $3800 with free shipping and no sales tax. Temptation, get thee behind me...

 

[jostenmeat]

I am in Canada, and the 6020 kuro is still $6K here, nevermind the 151 elite

I am in the market for the 6020, if they had it on sale for $4K I'd snap it up in a heartbeat.

Thanks for the heads up Geno, I appreciate it.

tRiXtA, I know I've already bugged you. I don't remember your exact response. If willing to plop 4k, why wouldn't you get a PJ considering that you've just built a dedicated room? I don't get it. I really don't.

I love Kuro's. I've been in dedicated Pio stores. Kuro's have ANSI ratings that other displays can only dream about.

I'd still take my PJ over a KURO in a heartbeat, any day of the week. Subjectively, my display blows away anything I've ever seen. And for that 4k price, I got a 159" screen with PJ included. Shipping included too. 4k on the dot.

 

[walter duque]

Your local Costco stocks the Pio Kuro line? On top of that they are selling the 60" for 4k?

At my costco they sell mostly unknown brands of tv's, and any that are panasonic or of a known brand are typically smaller displays like 42"


I am in Canada, and the 6020 kuro is still $6K here, nevermind the 151 elite

I am in the market for the 6020, if they had it on sale for $4K I'd snap it up in a heartbeat.

Thanks for the heads up Geno, I appreciate it.

A friend of mine just purchased the 151 Elite from link below. I own the 1140 Elite which cost me $4850.-- a few years ago, it is a great display kind of hard to beat.
http://www.tvcity.tv/productview.aspx?CatID=1&ID=2640
http://www.tvcity.tv/productview.aspx?CatID=1&ID=2566
We picked it up since it is only 1/2 from where we live.

 

[EJ1]

Kuros at Costco? Weird!

jostenmeat, what kind of PJ are you running?

 

[jostenmeat]

JVC RS-1u. $3k, open-box from AVS, 3 hours on unit, replete with 2-yr mftr warranty. Shipping about $70. Mack AVS powerbuy warranty, $265, gives me 6 yrs on PJ, 5 yrs on bulb, up to 2 replacements, IIRC.

The most incredible picture anyone I know has ever seen. I'm curious what an RS-20 could do, coupled with even better light control than what I currently am enjoying (pretty decent indeed, but a white ceiling) . . .

 

[EJ1]

JVC RS-1u. $3k, open-box from AVS, 3 hours on unit, replete with 2-yr mftr warranty. Shipping about $70. Mack AVS powerbuy warranty, $265, gives me 6 yrs on PJ, 5 yrs on bulb, up to 2 replacements, IIRC.

The most incredible picture anyone I know has ever seen. I'm curious what an RS-20 could do, coupled with even better light control than what I currently am enjoying (pretty decent indeed, but a white ceiling) . . .

That is a nice projector (and a good deal). A deal can be had on these as people are upgrading to the RS-10 and RS-20.

 

[ThA tRiXtA]

tRiXtA, I know I've already bugged you. I don't remember your exact response. If willing to plop 4k, why wouldn't you get a PJ considering that you've just built a dedicated room? I don't get it. I really don't.

I love Kuro's. I've been in dedicated Pio stores. Kuro's have ANSI ratings that other displays can only dream about.

I'd still take my PJ over a KURO in a heartbeat, any day of the week. Subjectively, my display blows away anything I've ever seen. And for that 4k price, I got a 159" screen with PJ included. Shipping included too. 4k on the dot.

Hey Josten,

I'm sorry, I must have forgot to answer you when you first recommended a projector... If you look at the pics of my room and the description I gave you'll see that the ceiling is unfortunately too low for me to use a projector based system.

Otherwise that most definitely would have been my first choice. In my next house that is what I am going with, and I'll be filling your PM box with questions.

By the way, what is an ANSI rating?

cheers.

 

[jostenmeat]

Hey Josten,

I'm sorry, I must have forgot to answer you when you first recommended a projector... If you look at the pics of my room and the description I gave you'll see that the ceiling is unfortunately too low for me to use a projector based system.

I just took a very quick glance. As far as I am concerned, if you can stand straight up in there, then you have space for a PJ. Some people actually want the PJ lower when using a retro-reflective screen, for instance. That includes me (PJ about 15" higher than heads in 2nd row). Some people even put it in front of viewers on a little table, the issue being the limit on screen size in proportion to short throw. Short throw = brighter, long throw = more contrast.

By the way, what is an ANSI rating?

It is a type of contrast test where a black and white checkerboard is used. I mean as far as ANSI contrast. Its value has been argued for sure, as there are those who think its not of such great importance. You will notice that ANSI numbers are WAAAAAY lower than the typical on/off contrast numbers. OTOH, you can get huge on/off with dynamic irises, but any limited "static" contrast is still limited. (Dynamic will increase or decrease brightness as an "average" for any scene, but once you have bright on top of black, its limits will be more evident). Anyways, Kuro's have been rated around 3000:1 (I think slightly less before, and now maybe slightly better?). Other displays do not come close.

Anyways, so that I might not misinform you, I'll just send you to a ridiculously technical thread. At least the intro is pretty easily understandable.

Traditionally two forms of contrast measurements have been used to measure contrast. Sequential On/Off contrast uses alternating full fields of 100% white and 0% black to determine the maximum brightness and darkness that a display device is capable of achieving. ANSI contrast on the other hand uses a 4x4 checkerboard pattern of full white and full black to determine the contrast achievable when 50% of the image is black and the other white. ANSI contrast is often said to be the only metric of intra-image contrast because its contrast is measured with both the white and dark patterns displayed simultaneously. It's important to realize that this is a myth and that both ANSI and on/off contrast play important roles in intra-image contrast. Dark, low APL images (both test patterns and video/film scenes) are more heavily influenced by the on/off contrast while bright content is more heavily influenced by ANSI contrast. On average, movies are inherently a dark medium so on/off contrast plays a large role although ANSI still plays an important role in bright scenes (and sporting events, etc.).

Dynamic and Static Intra-Image Contrast:
Segregating contrast into dynamic and static contrast categories gives the mistaken impression that there are two unique types of contrast. The reality is that there is only one type contrast and that the terms dynamic and static contrast really refer to the mechansims employed by the display device to render contrast in an image. Display devices with dynamic contrast mechanisms have become common only fairly recently. Determining static contrast parameters and also dynamic contrast parameters with these display devices is required because they use a mix of static and dynamic mechanisms.

In this thread we only look at intra-image contrast and we employ two different techniques and two different sets of test patterns to examine the full benefits of contrast from both static and dynamic mechanisms. Because the same intra-image contrast is being measured in both cases (but with different techniques) there is considerable overlap between both discussions and we will see that both technologies can and should be compared using the same techniques and methodologies.

AVS Contrast Thread - Now with Dynamic Contrast Results!

 

[ThA tRiXtA]

I just took a very quick glance. As far as I am concerned, if you can stand straight up in there, then you have space for a PJ. Some people actually want the PJ lower when using a retro-reflective screen, for instance. That includes me (PJ about 15" higher than heads in 2nd row). Some people even put it in front of viewers on a little table, the issue being the limit on screen size in proportion to short throw. Short throw = brighter, long throw = more contrast.

The ceiling is about 6 foot 7 inches, which is plenty of room to stand, but I think if you had a projector hanging down that you could have the potential of people ramming their heads into it, no?

Aside from that, I don't have any conduit or a wiring box where the projector would be on the ceiling to connect it to, so all the wiring would all be visible.

Trust me, on my next kick at the cat in my next house, there are tons of things I am going to do differently.

It takes a few tries of designing things yourself to get to know what you don't like and what you will change. There is always value in not getting things perfect.

I can't believe your screen is 159"... it must be shockingly huge. Oh, and thanks for the link on the contrast quality.

 

[jostenmeat]

The ceiling is about 6 foot 7 inches, which is plenty of room to stand, but I think if you had a projector hanging down that you could have the potential of people ramming their heads into it, no?

Maybe. Put it on a shelf on the back wall. Let guests be aware of it. They'll get used to it. And when the thing is actually on, there will be no missing it.

Aside from that, I don't have any conduit or a wiring box where the projector would be on the ceiling to connect it to, so all the wiring would all be visible.

How about the back wall?

It takes a few tries of designing things yourself to get to know what you don't like and what you will change. There is always value in not getting things perfect.

I agree. Except that a $4000 plasma is kind of an expensive "lesson" that doesn't have to made. Unless you are absolutely sure that you prefer smaller displays. You'd be a rarity, for sure.

I can't believe your screen is 159"... it must be shockingly huge. Oh, and thanks for the link on the contrast quality.

No one I've asked would change a thing. FWIW, BMXTRIX told me he has an even bigger one sitting in the basement.

With all due respect, I think you should keep considering it. I don't think it should be too hard to do, especially given your DIY skill set.

I'll PM you a couple of pics.

j

 

[ThA tRiXtA]

Ok... you've got my interest now with the back wall proposition... I appreciate your persistence, but I'm going to take this to a PM... don't want to thread jack this thread any further.

I have a couple of concerns regarding the projector, but they just may be due to my inexperience with their abilities.

Thanks!