best plasma tv for Blu-ray?

[ss218]

im hearing the g10 has jaggering and flickering problems.. what plasma is going to look better than my sammy lna46550? in the 1k ish range

[HiDefRev]

For $1,000 ??? The best you are going to get MIGHT be the Panny G10. But, unless prices continue to drop after Christmas, it's going to be the Panny S1. The G10 and S1 work fine at 60Hz with the 3:2 pulldown. You might be thinking of the V10, which has been reported as having flicker problems at 48Hz, but none at 96Hz.

[crackinhedz]

ss218, in your price range...I would not worry a whole lot about 24fps. (48Hz mode for the G10)

The G10 is the best tv you will find for that price. Plasma is the best experience for Bluray. Regardless of the 24fps feature.

I mean, youve been watching 60hz 3:2 pulldown for the last decade...im sure youve never had a problem or even noticed it.


My $.02 - get the G10.

[crackinhedz]

If you can find a Pioneer PDP-5020 in the 1000 ish range, that would be a better buy....but if not, the G10.

[JJ]

Originally Posted by crackinhedz

If you can find a Pioneer PDP-5020 in the 1000 ish range, that would be a better buy....but if not, the G10.

Eric, where the heck are these 5020s in that range, so I can buy another?

[ss218]

thanks guys

ok, so plasmas dont have the whole refreshing thing and its hard to compare hz. but will the g10 look as smooth as a 120hz lcd?

[thePope666]

sammy 50in 850 series has a nice picture and is super sleek.

[wafi]

Originally Posted by JJxiv1215

Eric, where the heck are these 5020s in that range, so I can buy another?

Yeah where does one find 5020s for 1K?

[HiDefRev]

ss218 - There is NO LCD that can touch a plasma for smoothness, clarity, depth of color, viewing angles or black levels whether it be 120Hz or 240Hz. The Panny G10 is BY FAR your best bet. You ABSOLUTELY cannot do any better for the money. There are several members here who took their new LCDs back to the store and exchanged them for plasmas. I have yet to hear of someone who exchanged their new plasma for an LCD ! Case closed.

[crackinhedz]

Originally Posted by JJxiv1215

Eric, where the heck are these 5020s in that range, so I can buy another?

well I figured these being older models perhaps someone sells them reasonable...

[lojack1976]

Originally Posted by HiDefRev

ss218 - There is NO LCD that can touch a plasma for smoothness, clarity, depth of color, viewing angles or black levels whether it be 120Hz or 240Hz. The Panny G10 is BY FAR your best bet. You ABSOLUTELY cannot do any better for the money. There are several members here who took their new LCDs back to the store and exchanged them for plasmas. I have yet to hear of someone who exchanged their new plasma for an LCD ! Case closed.

This is a very broad statement. In a lot of cases plasmas are best but there are some LCD's that are better than a lot of plasmas. In most cases these are more expensive, but the Samsung B8500, Sony XBR8(the upcoming XBR12 should be even better), the LG 55LH90, and the Sharp 52LE700UN are all examples of LCD's that outperform most plasmas on the market. Only the top tier plasmas can compete with these models.

Chad B. over on avsforum believes the Samsung and the LG to be two of the best three sets available with only Pioneer besting them. He stated this in his review of the B8500 which happens to be the only TV available that has an ANSI contrast ratio that can rival Pioneer's ANSI contrast ratio. In Cnet's review of the Vizio LED LCD they noted that even it was able to deliver deeper blacks than the Panasonic V10. Its overall performance wasn't as good due to some other issues, but to say plasma always bests LCD is just not true.

Both techs have their own issues, and one has to decide which issues he/she can live with. I like you hate off-axis viewing issues so plasma is a given for me, but there are some LCD's that I would gladly take over some plasmas. Lucky for me that I was able to get my hands on a Kuro before they were gone, so I wouldn't have to rack my brain to finally settle on a set for my budget.

In the OP's price range plasma is his best bet though. I would say the G10 is a good way to go if he can swing it. Another good choice is the Samsung PNB650 which is pretty close to the G10's black levels...not quite there, but close. Its much more color accurate though, and it also has a 96hz Cinema mode for 24p playback. This set is actually closer to budget coming in at $1139 shipped HERE from Amazon. Newegg has the TC-P50G10 for $1250 shipped should you choose that.

[lojack1976]

Originally Posted by crackinhedz

well I figured these being older models perhaps someone sells them reasonable...

The 5020FD's are going for around $2500 right now and it seems there are few out there now. Abe's of Maine has the 6020FD right now for just under $3600 shipped which is a pretty good deal. Wish I had the dough. Best Buy still has them on the website, but they want $4000 plus taxes of course. They're offering free shipping though.

[crackinhedz]

Originally Posted by lojack1976

The 5020FD's are going for around $2500 right now and it seems there are few out there now. Abe's of Maine has the 6020FD right now for just under $3600 shipped which is a pretty good deal. Wish I had the dough. Best Buy still has them on the website, but they want $4000 plus taxes of course. They're offering free shipping though.

My dad got a brand new Pioneer PDP-6020 for $2500 shipped! ...long story.

[bigbull2984]

I just got a Samsung pn650. No regrets. Now my XBR7 does not even compare.....It gonna be hard to ever go back to LCD from Plasma...

[lojack1976]

Originally Posted by crackinhedz

My dad got a brand new Pioneer PDP-6020 for $2500 shipped! ...long story.

Wowww! He got an excellent deal. Congrats to your pops!

[ss218]

thanks for all the replies guys, a lot of you are verrry helpful and knowledgeable

Another good choice is the Samsung PNB650 which is pretty close to the G10's black levels...not quite there, but close. Its much more color accurate though, and it also has a 96hz Cinema mode for 24p playback.

so this would probably be the better bluray tv?

sorry btw, big on blurays

[lojack1976]

Originally Posted by ss218

thanks for all the replies guys, a lot of you are verrry helpful and knowledgeable




so this would probably be the better bluray tv?

sorry btw, big on blurays

You should go to Best Buy or Sears and take a look at these sets and compare for yourself. There is no definitive best TV here. Both of these sets have their pro's and con's, but its all a matter of opinion. I personally would go with the Samsung, but that's me. You should really check them out and see which you prefer.

Both sets are great for Blu-ray, but yes the Samsung has a slight advantage since it can playback 24p material without possibility of flicker, but again...the flicker is not noticeable to everyone and in your case it could very well be a non-issue, so definitely go to Best Buy or wherever and check the sets out for yourself.

[lokir1]

Originally Posted by ss218

thanks for all the replies guys, a lot of you are verrry helpful and knowledgeable




so this would probably be the better bluray tv?

sorry btw, big on blurays

Panny's top dog for plasma since pio dropped out and their cust service gets way higher marks than sammy's

[ss218]

thanks guys! i went to my local best buy and unfortunately they didnt have a g10 or g15 on display..

however i did come across this bad boy and he looks AMAZING. its an lcd
http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-LN40B7...1852663&sr=8-1

will a g10 look as smooth and fluid as 240hz?

[lojack1976]

Originally Posted by ss218

thanks guys! i went to my local best buy and unfortunately they didnt have a g10 or g15 on display..

however i did come across this bad boy and he looks AMAZING. its an lcd
http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-LN40B7...1852663&sr=8-1

will a g10 look as smooth and fluid as 240hz?

Well, I have to question why you would be looking at a smaller TV than what you already have, but I can tell you that the B750 LCD is one of the best if not the best non-LED LCD's out there. Its very color accurate and it produces very deep blacks for a non-LED based set. Its uniformity is what's really impressive and it actually has decent off-axis viewing angles.

With all of that said I would still take the G10 over it. The B750's 240Hz setting allows for 24p playback without judder, but it will have a cartoonish look to it, or as some people refer to it as the soap opera effect. That's fine if you like that, but its not natural and certainly not the way movies are meant to be viewed. There's no chance of flicker, but I personally think you will like the G10's performance better if you are not affected by the flicker.

Like I said before, you should go to the store and check it out for yourself to see if you can even notice the flicker because it doesn't affect everyone. Most people are not sensitive to it, and from what I understand most people who notice it only see it when watching far off-axis.

IMO you are really putting too much emphasis on 24p playback. Its really not that dramatic of an effect, and you really should be more concerned with color accuracy, deep blacks, and size. Another user stated that Panasonic is top dog and all of that, but really...this applies only to their top sets IMO...the Z1 and the V10.

The G10 is a very good set, but I really think you should give the Samsung B650 a look. Believe me when I tell you that it is much more color accurate, and I can't stress that enough. Yes, the G10 has an advantage in black level, but its not nearly as big of an advantage as some would lead you to believe. The difference is actually pretty small and being that the Sammy can be had cheaper I think its the better value.

I do know that overall Panasonic has a very good reputation with their customer service, but if you look at this year's and last year's reliability surveys that PC Magazine did you will see that Samsung's reliability and service is still on par with the other major manufacturers. I myself own a Panasonic which I still think is a great TV. I chose it over a comparable Samsung at the time because it just looked better and the colors were much more accurate, but I don't believe in advising people with any bias. That set was purchased in a different time and the playing field isn't the same.

I like Panasonic's TV's, but at every price point Samsung has a worthy challenger. Yes, black levels are very important but so is color accuracy and IMO color accuracy holds more weight. What's the good of having good blacks when nothing looks natural? This is exactly why in this year's HDTV Shootout Panasonic's V10 came in fourth....behind the Pioneer KRP-500M, the Samsung B860, and the LG 55LH90 respectively. The V10 had better blacks than both the Samsung and the LG sets and still came in fourth. Why....because the colors weren't as accurate. Both the pro's in the room and the audience weren't thrilled with the color accuracy and the V10 is not a bad set by any means. In fact its much more accurate than the G10 so keep that in mind.

The Samsung B650 produces the same picture that the B860 produces except the B650 actually has slightly deeper blacks, but the set isn't as thin as the B860. I myself would probably still go with a V10 over the B860 because the color accuracy isn't off too much and the blacks are superb, but I would definitely take the B650 over the G10 because the difference in black level is much closer and the G10's color accuracy leaves a lot to be desired.