Panasonic G10 VS Kuro 5020

[lojack1976]

Originally Posted by HDTV1080P

Your correct, the P50S602 has the "Ultra High Contrast Black Stripe filter" . The advantage of the P50V702 and P50XD902 is they have the better blacks since they use the "Deep-Black Stripe Filter". The remote is better on the P50X902. I still pefer the Pioneer Kuro line since they have a better picture but for the low clearance prices on the Hitachi plasmas they are a bargain.

Yeah, the remote for the P50X902 is a learning remote. This set also has a 2 year warranty while the other two models have a 1 year warranty. The difference in the filter probably gives the two upper models the very deep blacks I witnessed in the store, but according to people in the owner's thread over at avsforum the blacks on the P50S602 are still very good. I would think that it would be a little more reflective than the other two though.

The Kuro is still better than these sets, but these are very close. I'd say more so than the Panny G10 from what I've seen, and at these prices they are a very good option. Of course at the original prices I would take the Kuro, but saving $800 to get what I'd say is 95%-98% of the 5020FD(depending on which model you go with of course) is a tremendous bargain. Flicker free 24p is an added bonus too.

Right now I'm just hoping that TigerDirect can fulfill my order. It seems they may have oversold these and they have them on back order. For this price I'm willing to wait awhile, but if more money comes my way and it takes too long I may cancel and get a 5020FD or the KRP500 unless I can get one of the Hitachi's from another site for under $1700 shipped. Once I go beyond that I might as well get a Kuro. Heck, if its over $1600 it may sway me towards a Kuro.

[Mike7300]

yea originally i was planning to buy the 500KRP for 2k. But getting this for 1,200 saves a lot of money... seemed like to good a deal to pass up.

[Sonny]

Originally Posted by Mike7300

yea originally i was planning to buy the 500KRP for 2k. But getting this for 1,200 saves a lot of money... seemed like to good a deal to pass up.

Was it the 602 that you got for $1,200?

[Mike7300]

yea 602

[lojack1976]

Just checked the status of my order and it shows that the TV is in the warehouse my order is now in process. I'm glad this wasn't back ordered too long!

[lojack1976]

Well, here's another update....and its not good. After the status on the website was changed stating that the set was in the warehouse and my order was being processed I was notified via email the next day that it was on back order....again!

A call to TigerDirect wasn't any better. They had no ETA and aren't even sure that they will be getting more of these sets, so I canceled my order. I'm very disappointed. I should have known this was too good to be true. I'm disgusted that they would advertise something as being in stock and ready to ship when it clearly was not. The customer service guy I spoke with was a real @$$ too.

To cope with my disappointment I decided to upgrade my front three speakers with THESE JBL towers and center channel which are scheduled to arrive Tuesday. Got all three brand new for $545 shipped.

I guess I'll wait awhile and maybe by the end of the summer I'll upgrade my TV. I'm now leaning towards a Kuro...60" if possible, but I'll settle for a 50". A 54" Panny is also under consideration.

[Sonny]

Originally Posted by lojack1976

Well, here's another update....and its not good. After the status on the website was changed stating that the set was in the warehouse and my order was being processed I was notified via email the next day that it was on back order....again!

A call to TigerDirect wasn't any better. They had no ETA and aren't even sure that they will be getting more of these sets, so I canceled my order. I'm very disappointed. I should have known this was too good to be true. I'm disgusted that they would advertise something as being in stock and ready to ship when it clearly was not. The customer service guy I spoke with was a real @$$ too.

To cope with my disappointment I decided to upgrade my front three speakers with THESE JBL towers and center channel which are scheduled to arrive Tuesday. Got all three brand new for $545 shipped.

I guess I'll wait awhile and maybe by the end of the summer I'll upgrade my TV. I'm now leaning towards a Kuro...60" if possible, but I'll settle for a 50". A 54" Panny is also under consideration.

I'm sorry to hear about all the out of stock headaches... If you want a 60" kuro you should save your self some cash & get the KRP-600M. It's $2,915 from "hifi heaven". Even if you end up with a 50" kuro you will be very happy & wonder why you have not had one your hole life. (we wish right )

Happy hunting!!

[lojack1976]

Originally Posted by Sonny

I'm sorry to hear about all the out of stock headaches... If you want a 60" kuro you should save your self some cash & get the KRP-600M. It's $2,915 from "hifi heaven". Even if you end up with a 50" kuro you will be very happy & wonder why you have not had one your hole life. (we wish right )

Happy hunting!!

Yeah, that was the original plan...to save up for the KRP-600. There's something about spending that sort of money for a TV that just irks me which is why the very close Hitachi was so appealing to me at that price. Now it looks as though it would cost me roughly $1800 for it somewhere else and at that price I might as well get the KRP-500 for $2000 which is what I'm leaning towards. The 60" is what I really want though, so if I can get that cash together and they're still available then I'll probably jump on that. Like I said, spending $3000 for it isn't what I really want to do, but hey...if you want the best you have to pay for it. I'm sure I'll get over it once I watch a Blu-ray on it. I just hope that whichever way I go I won't have the problems many have had with them arriving damaged. Right now I'm just looking forward to my new speakers.

[Sonny]

I understand for sure. I'm worried about ordering a KRP also , but it seems pioneer has got a little better getting them to you in one peice(eventhough there's still reports of cracked screens coming in)... But still... Drop $2,000 on a 5020 & be happy for years to come. I just know you will really enjoy it.

[lojack1976]

Oh yeah! I am definitely willing to do $2000. I prefer to get the KRP-500, but a 5020FD is definitely not out of the question. At the very minimum I will get a 50" Kuro if they are readily available when I get some more money together at the $2000 price point...unless of course I can get the $3000 up just as quickly. Its possible since business has been going pretty good for me. There will be some sort of a major upgrade sometime this year, but I'm aiming to do it by the summer. Right now the only alternative is another Panny, but it has to at least be a 54" for me to feel good about not getting a 50" Kuro. A 58" wouldn't be bad either, but I'm not sure how much those are going to run when they are released.

[Steelmaker]

Originally Posted by lojack1976

Oh yeah! I am definitely willing to do $2000. I prefer to get the KRP-500, but a 5020FD is definitely not out of the question. At the very minimum I will get a 50" Kuro if they are readily available when I get some more money together at the $2000 price point...unless of course I can get the $3000 up just as quickly. Its possible since business has been going pretty good for me. There will be some sort of a major upgrade sometime this year, but I'm aiming to do it by the summer. Right now the only alternative is another Panny, but it has to at least be a 54" for me to feel good about not getting a 50" Kuro. A 58" wouldn't be bad either, but I'm not sure how much those are going to run when they are released.

Most likely somewhere between 3000 and 3500.

[SamC]

Originally Posted by Steelmaker

Most likely somewhere between 3000 and 3500.

Dang! I figure that some people have a 'price point' way above mine.

[Cooke2312]

Originally Posted by lojack1976

The G10 gets great reviews and I've seen it. I must say that the THX mode disappointed me quite a bit. Over at AVSforum D-Nice gives info on how to calibrate the G10. To get it looking as good as possible you need to go into the service menu which doesn't exactly sit well with me since it could void your warranty. There's also the possibility of screwing something up in there if you're not careful. With all of that said, I think the G10 is a very good set, but it's not quite there yet. The Kuro 5020FD not only has much more accurate colors, but of course the blacks are still deeper. I went back and forth with these sets, and since I decided not to save up for the 60" Kuro I originally planned to get I ended up going a totally different route.

I'd advise anyone who is looking at the 5020FD to look at the 2008 Hitachi line that will also be going extinct this year. They have three 50" models, the P50S602, P50V702, and the P50X902, and all three have the same deep black level with their latest technology. On top of that Hitachi has way better color accuracy than Panasonic, and their sets are getting cleared out for a fraction of the original cost. I was lucky to jump on the P50V702 which originally retailed for $2500 for just $1200 shipped. TigerDirect is now sold out of them, but they are still offering the P50S602 for the same price shipped. Its still the same picture quality as the other two, but without the powered swivel stand and some of the menu adjustments.

If you've never seen one of these sets you can probably find the P50X902 set up in a Best Buy Magnolia Room which is where I found one. Surrounded by last year's Panny's and a Kuro Elite the Hitachi was easily better than the Panny 800u and the 850u, and even though I didn't see it beside the G10 I can comfortably say it was better than that set too which is why I went the Hitachi route myself. The black level was barely shy of the Elite and the color accuracy was nearly identical. It even had the shadow detail of the Panny's.

I saw the G10 and yeah the blacks are better than last year's models, but it obviously wasn't as close as the Hitachi was to the Kuro. Then there's still the issue with color accuracy or the lack of with the G10. I can sit here and tell you how close the Hitachi is to the Kuro, but seeing is believing so go check one out if you can. I would say get the Kuro if you are willing to spend the $2000 because there's nothing better, but look for an Hitachi that's getting cleared out for a good price if you can find it...that is if you are interested in saving some money and getting an excellent set that I would say comes closer to the Kuro than the G10. Oh yeah, and the Hitachi doesn't have the flicker problem with 24p like Panasonic set do either. Nor does the Kuro for that matter.

Do you have the link to DNice's settings for the G10? Can't find them anywhere

thanks

[lojack1976]

D-Nice hasn't posted G10 settings yet. Chad B is another well respected calibrator over on avsforum and he's posted his settings, so you can try those. Here's Chad B's settings for custom mode:

Custom Mode
Contrast +65
Brightness +50
Color +38
Tint 0
Sharpness +25
Color Temp Warm2
Color Mgmt. Off
x.v. Color Off
C.A.T.S. Off
Video NR Weak

Adv. Picture Settings
Block NR Off
Mosquito NR Off
Black Level Light
3:2 pulldown On
HD size 2

The following URL: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1128487 is a link to D-Nice's settings thread so you can keep checking for his post on the G10.

[dtowntke]

i just well i want to say up greaded but i really mean down graded from a 5020 to a panasonic v10. my kuro had picture issues and pioneer wouldn't send parts or a new panelthey just credited me and i went out and bought a v10. i know the v 10 is rated very well and has cool features but man i really miss the deep deep dark blacks of the pioneer.

[lojack1976]

Originally Posted by Zion21

I heard that tigerdirect is getting more of these soon. I really hope this is true im dying to get my hands on one of these!

If they get more of the 702 go for that instead since it has the better black stripe filter and the motorized swivel. It also has more picture adjustments and they've been selling it for the same price as the 602.