[Alwayswantmore]

I'm planning to purchase a 50" plasma. Based on user comments and reviews at CNET, I planned to get the Pioneer 50" w/ 720P resolution.

Yesterday I spent 30 minutes in a BB store looking at both, viewing BB's continuous loop demo disk. If I didn't know the Pioneer was supposed to be the better unit, I would have selected the Panasonic as the better picture. The Pioneer was dark, and at times appeared to lack detail compared to the Panasonic. I also found skin tones lighter, but just as good on the Panasonic.

Also the 720P Pioneer had the same shortcoming when compared to the Pioneer 50" with 1080p. I'm wondering if the settings might have been off, or if what I saw was an accurate reflection of the various units. Anyone else done this comparison? What were your findings? Thanks, Kent

[DavidS]

I did the same comparison and in the store I thought the Pioneer was ahead of the Panny but it was real close and for the difference in the price I purchased a 42" Panny Plasma.  There are so many factors that can  impact what you see in the shop.  I have had my Panny home for a week now and no regrets at this point - it is a fabulous tv.  Watched Casino Royale last night - wow!

[Bigfish]

Kent:

I have owned a 50" Pioneer Plasma - 720P version for the last 14 months.  I had selected a Samsung Plasma but my wife preferred the Pioneer; therefore, we went home with the Pioneer and I am extremely happy with the picture.  To be totally honest with you, I think when you get any of the new plasma's in your home you will be amazed at the picture quality and you will be a happy camper.  Regardless of which set you select make certain that you have at least two HDMI Connections.  Don't let anyone sway you as they are superior to component connections.

One piece of advice, if you are planning to play games I would recommend you look at the Bravia Series Sets from Sony.  The picture is pretty much on-par with plasma and you never have to worry about screen burn-in.  

Good luck with your choice!

Ken

PS:  I would recommend you purchase the HDMI cables from Blue Jeans Cables.  The big box stores rip you off with the Monster Cable HDMI that most of them push.

[gitarretyp]

PS:  I would recommend you purchase the HDMI cables from Blue Jeans Cables.  The big box stores rip you off with the Monster Cable HDMI that most of them push.

Agreed, except you can save even more from monoprice.com.

You appear to be shopping in a bit higher price range than i was a few months ago, but my girlfriend and i both preferred the samsung plasmas over anything else we saw. Also, keep in mind that the TVs aren't optimally adjusted in most stores.

[John151]

+1 on monoprice. 

No need to pay big $ for premium HDMI/DVI cables for regular length runs.  Either these cables work, or they don't and you get sparkles.  I have an expensive DVI cable for the 25' to my ceiling mounted projector, but the inexpensive monoprice cables are working just fine everywhere else (the 25' cable was purchased before I knew about monoprice). 

[satfrat]

I would recommend spending a few extra $300 and have your plasma ISF calibrated. You're never going to get all your plasma has to offer w/o having it done alltho I will admit the sets being sold today are much closer calibrated than they were 5 years ago when the brightest set on the display floor was considered the best. Nothing could be further from the truth!   I'm sure this is the 1 thing George (Zybar) will agree with me considering he's gone the ISF-calibration route himself. If you plan on finding an ISF-calibration dealer, I would recommend waiting at least 3 months first so to give your set time to burn in. I've had my sony XBR calibrated twice now in a 5 year period and it made a positive improvement each time all tho the improvement was HUGE the first time it was done.

Buying any TV from the showroom floor is a crapshoot because you'll never know what this set can actually do,,,,, unless of course you happen to be very very fortunate to find a knowleadgable showroom who has the ISF- calibration knowledge to setup a viewing room with ambient lighting and has the display device setup with a close gray scale. Unfortunately today, there's still too many dealers out there trying to show off the brightest picture in a brightly lit room to an unknowing public and telling them that this is the best picture available.  

Cheers,
Robin

[Alwayswantmore]

Thanks for all the input so far. I was wondering about where to buy cables, so those tips are also very much appreciated.

I like the clean look of the Pioneer faceplate, and it's also about 4 inches narrower than the Panny, so it would be a better fit for where and how I intend to use it. On the other hand, the Panny is about $800 less, which goes a long way toward buying new speakers and such.

At a minimum I intend to view the two units at different store before pulling the trigger. Everyone makes a good point, that once I get either unit home I'm probably going to love the picture.

One more consideration: The Panny 1080P costs about the same as the Pioneer 720P. Again from what I've read, I'm not sure if 1080P is a big factor at 50" in a Great Room setup.

[John151]

The Panny 1080P costs about the same as the Pioneer 720P. Again from what I've read, I'm not sure if 1080P is a big factor at 50" in a Great Room setup.

From what I can tell, the resolution is not nearly as big a factor on plasmas as on LCDs. 

[Bigfish]

One more consideration: The Panny 1080P costs about the same as the Pioneer 720P. Again from what I've read, I'm not sure if 1080P is a big factor at 50" in a Great Room setup.

Would I spend the extra money for 1080P on Plasma?  No.  However, I will not deny that the 1080P will look superior with BluRay and HD Disc Playback.  Nothing else will take advantage of the extra lines of resolution. 

I visited a SAMs club the other day and they had the 60" Version of my Pioneer for the price I paid for my 50" Plasma last year.  Man, I would really like that 60" screen because size does matter.

Good Luck,

Ken

[PMAT]

I have a 720p Fujitsu that was calibrated and my friends with new 1080p sets think my picture is better than theirs (I haven't told them). I think most people can't tell as long the source is good. You will be happy with either one. Keep the price down on cables, you can change that later if you need to. I think you will be stunned with the picture at home. Way better than at the store. Oh, and by the way if you can't sit back far enough from a 50 or 60 inch, it will look bad.
Paul

[Alwayswantmore]

I have a 720p Fujitsu that was calibrated and my friends with new 1080p sets think my picture is better than theirs (I haven't told them). I think most people can't tell as long the source is good. You will be happy with either one. Keep the price down on cables, you can change that later if you need to. I think you will be stunned with the picture at home. Way better than at the store. Oh, and by the way if you can't sit back far enough from a 50 or 60 inch, it will look bad.
Paul

Thanks, I have a pretty good size great room, so I'm pretty sure I will be able to get back far enough.

[giantsteps]

  Alwayswantmore- check out this site and click on display devices:   http://avsforum.com/
 I'm purchasing a Pioneer 5080 for my wife. I chose it over all the others for its superior black levels and processing. If you do some research you will find out that Pioneer uses higher quality parts which is one of the reasons why it costs more.

[Alwayswantmore]

  Alwayswantmore- check out this site and click on display devices:   http://avsforum.com/
 I'm purchasing a Pioneer 5080 for my wife. I chose it over all the others for its superior black levels and processing. If you do some research you will find out that Pioneer uses higher quality parts which is one of the reasons why it costs more.

I'll check it out now.

Update: Looks like Panny has two versions of 50" 720P, with the primary difference in specs being number of inputs and side speakers. One of the units (the 75) is actually narrower than the Pioneer (width matters with my planned set up). Here are the model numbers and dimensions. Other than inputs and side speakers, from Panasonic's web site, they appear to spec out the same...

TH-50PX75U
Dimensions (H x W x D) with pedestal stand    33.2" x 47.7" x 14.6"

TH-50PX77U
Dimensions (H x W x D) with pedestal stand    31.6" x 52.1" x 14.6"

[Doublej]

Additionally, I believe the 77 has an anti glare coat on the screen and the 75 does not.

[NealH]

The last time (about 8 months or so ago) I spent a day shopping for a plasma or LCD set, I found too much fuzziness in rapidly moving subjects.  Footballs or basketballs in flight, cymbals being struck by a drummer, someone running very fast with the camera panning on them, etc.  Once the subject slows down or stops, it  becomes crystal clear.  Is this still the case today or, do today's sets not exhibit this "fuzzy" characteristic on subjects in motion?  I have been told by some that all these sets display this characteristic and, by others that only the 720P performs better in this respect and, yet by others that 1080P does better in this respect. 

[Bigfish]

The last time (about 8 months or so ago) I spent a day shopping for a plasma or LCD set, I found too much fuzziness in rapidly moving subjects.  Footballs or basketballs in flight, cymbals being struck by a drummer, someone running very fast with the camera panning on them, etc.  Once the subject slows down or stops, it  becomes crystal clear.  Is this still the case today or, do today's sets not exhibit this "fuzzy" characteristic on subjects in motion?  I have been told by some that all these sets display this characteristic and, by others that only the 720P performs better in this respect and, yet by others that 1080P does better in this respect. 

When I was shopping for a new TV last year the reviews I read stated that the DLP and LCD rear projection sets were more prone to the "fuzzy" characterisitic of subjects/objects in motion.  I do not notice this at all on my plasma tv and I watch sports all of the time.  Thin screen LCD panels are rated to be very good for sports, also.

Ken

[Alwayswantmore]

Additionally, I believe the 77 has an anti glare coat on the screen and the 75 does not.

Good catch This feature difference is noted on CNet, but does not show up on Panasonic's web site 

[giantsteps]

 Fuzziness....stuttering motion artifacts... has always been a problem with LCD panels. My Panasonic LCD projector displays this in all its glory on my 92" screen. I try to ignore it. A quality Plasma tv does NOT have this problem. And BTW the Kuro Pioneers have an anti-glare screen that works beautifully.

 

[Mike Dzurko]

I spent a lot of time this summer trying to decide between a Panny and a Pio. Rec. my Pio 6070 (60") in late August and couldn't be more pleased. My son has a 42" Panny, and it is a fine set. On HD material he prefers the Pio, on SD it isn't even close. The Pio has really good internal scalers that make SD content look far better than I expected. I had planned on buying an upconverting DVD, but again, don't need it as it would be redundant to what the Pio does.  I probably would have been happy with the Panny and an upconverting DVD, I am thrilled with the Pioneer.

[zybar]

 Fuzziness....stuttering motion artifacts... has always been a problem with LCD panels. My Panasonic LCD projector displays this in all its glory on my 92" screen. I try to ignore it. A quality Plasma tv does NOT have this problem. And BTW the Kuro Pioneers have an anti-glare screen that works beautifully.

 

What model do you have?

I have a AE-900 and it isn't fuzzy and doesn't have a lot of motion artifacts.  The newer Panny pj's from the last year plus are even better!

George