Best Choice For HDTV ?????? (UPDATED)

[Video Master]

.. So now its down to these 3. All have their +'s & -'s. (these are mocked up with photoshop)

The tv's have to fit the stand and be from 42" to 46" to fit and I'm still on the fence about going with Plasma or LCD. Plasma has a cleam image, but I feel like I'm looking out of a closed car window when I view them. LCD's have good qualities, but I can't get over the bright and ugly white fluorescent backlights. Makes me feel like I'm on a stretcher in surgery.

Let me know what you think about the choices in terms of PQ and style.


Sony XBR 6 42" LCD $2,500 (Waiting until it hits $2,000)


Panasonic Plasma TH-46PZ800U $1,900


Samsung LCD LN46A860 (2 inches thick) $2,000

[plowmanjoe]

lcd's are always too bright in the store. to properly gauge the color accuracy, you really need to mess with the picture settings.

[PanasonicPlasmaMan]

Panasonic Plasma

Panth46pz80u
Panth46pz85u

both can be found under $1500. Diffrences are a 10k native contrast and a PC input.

or if can you afford it

Panth46pz800u

around 1800-1900

and it will have 24p cinematic playback


if you are looking at LCD

Sam Ln46a860
Sam LN46a650
Sam ln46a630 (20,000 less dynamic but has anti glare screen)

and these are both around $1300 on amazon

or if you can afford

Sam LN46a860 around $1900

but if i were you i would go to best buy or circuit city and do a side by side comparison and see what you like more. you do not have to impress anyone on this forum.

Personally: I love the Panasonic plasma and my only problem is that I am limited in gaming although it does have a pixel orbiter still i can not play Madden or Rock Band 2 for long periods.


Comes down to Samsung LCD vs Panasonic Plasma and i would choose the 800u.

But this is your TV and you have to like it

Good luck

[PanasonicPlasmaMan]

oh and the 800u was rated one of the best TV's of the year... just wanted to throw that in

[Kryptron]

What is your budget?

[plowmanjoe]

i'm glad you can be honest with gaming and your plasma. a lot of people cannot admit that they get image retention. it's not that big of a deal, but in my opinion shouldn't be happening if you're spending good money.


you really should pick what you like the most. most people will just try to get you to buy what they bought and what's best for them.

i also suggest buying online.

[Video Master]

Originally Posted by Circuit City

Comes down to Samsung LCD vs Panasonic Plasma and i would choose the 800u.

But this is your TV and you have to like it

Good luck

Are you anti-Sony? This new XBR6 just got great reviews. I hope they have all of these TV's at Fry's tomorrow. I can't wait to check them out.

http://reviews.cnet.com/flat-panel-t...-33060608.html

[Video Master]

Originally Posted by Kryptron

What is your budget?

Between $1,300 and $2,000.

What store carries the Panny 800u's ???

[PanasonicPlasmaMan]

Circuit City, Frys, Best Buy

i actually like Sony TV's i really like the W4100 and the xbr6 is nice but they are a lot more expensive. Also with the price you pay for a new Sony LCD you will probably find a better TV cheaper.

[arush5268d]

the Panasonic, hands down. It's a great TV with a nearly unbeatable picture.

The fact that they are cheaper than the 120hz LCDs just makes them even more attractive.

[FilmMaster]

Panasonic

[My_Two_Cents]

Pany plasma over any LCD, particularly Sony. If I ever were to look at LCDs, I would not consider Sony, simply because they do not warrant the 30%+ higher price than most other quality LCDs. Pioneer, on the other hand, is justified in their prices versus other plasmas. My opinions, of course.

[FilmMaster]

Originally Posted by Ricshoe

Pany plasma over any LCD, particularly Sony.

He said it, not me.

[callas01]

really you need to go play with the tv's and the setting and see what you like to your eye. that is the most important thing of all, it doesn't really matter what other people prefer cause they are not you and only you are going to be stuck with what you buy.

Personally I say you look at either the Sammy LCD or the Panny Plasma. IMO.

[My_Two_Cents]

Originally Posted by FilmMaster

He said it, not me.

As I said, my opinion.

Edit: Remainder deleted because I can.

[Bruuce]

Personally I am chasing the Panasonic TH-46PZ800U. I find out next week if I get a job at Best Buy so I hope to pick that up or something similar.

[callas01]

Originally Posted by Ricshoe

Pany plasma over any LCD, particularly Sony. If I ever were to look at LCDs, I would not consider Sony, simply because they do not warrant the 30%+ higher price than most other quality LCDs. Pioneer, on the other hand, is justified in their prices versus other plasmas. My opinions, of course.

Of course Ricshoe, after the talk arush and a few other of us had the other day, they were like pioneer will be the best tv you have ever seen. today I went to find a Pioneer, since I have never seen one in person, and unfortunately it was near the entrance to the store 60" huge MF'r with a few other DLP's and XBR's a 750 sammy and a 46" 800U panny, and this is just my opinion and I know it will not be popular but it could have been lighting or whatever, but the Panasonic was the best looking TV right there. granted i am sure that with lighting and calibration, things could have been a whole lot different.. although it was definetly the darkest of all the tv's right there, even the ones without excess ambient light. but the contrast was off. so to date still the best overall looking tv's I have seen are my dads SXRD and my buddies 85U. so no, to me (at this momment) i would not justify spending $6K on that TV vs a panny.

[allstar780]

Originally Posted by callas01

Of course Ricshoe, after the talk arush and a few other of us had the other day, they were like pioneer will be the best tv you have ever seen. today I went to find a Pioneer, since I have never seen one in person, and unfortunately it was near the entrance to the store 60" huge MF'r with a few other DLP's and XBR's a 750 sammy and a 46" 800U panny, and this is just my opinion and I know it will not be popular but it could have been lighting or whatever, but the Panasonic was the best looking TV right there. granted i am sure that with lighting and calibration, things could have been a whole lot different.. although it was definetly the darkest of all the tv's right there, even the ones without excess ambient light. but the contrast was off. so to date still the best overall looking tv's I have seen are my dads SXRD and my buddies 85U. so no, to me (at this momment) i would not justify spending $6K on that TV vs a panny.

I've been reading reviews that say the 800U has more accurate color than the Kuros.

[syk69]

Originally Posted by callas01

Of course Ricshoe, after the talk arush and a few other of us had the other day, they were like pioneer will be the best tv you have ever seen. today I went to find a Pioneer, since I have never seen one in person, and unfortunately it was near the entrance to the store 60" huge MF'r with a few other DLP's and XBR's a 750 sammy and a 46" 800U panny, and this is just my opinion and I know it will not be popular but it could have been lighting or whatever, but the Panasonic was the best looking TV right there. granted i am sure that with lighting and calibration, things could have been a whole lot different, but I was expecting to cream my pants, and I didn't even get hard. although it was definetly the darkest of all the tv's right there, even the ones without excess ambient light. but the contrast was off. so to date still the best overall looking tv's I have seen are my dads SXRD and my buddies 85U. so no, to me (at this momment) i would not justify spending $6K on that TV vs a panny.

its the lighting. at retail stores its just way too bright to get the full experience of how amazing pioneer plasmas can look inside your home with controlled lightning. also i'm very sure it was poorly setup. these are a few pics of what you can expect from a pioneer at home courtesy of cybertec from avsforum....








to the op....i would choose a plasma over an lcd. so you don't get motion blur. i know the new 120hz lcds are supposed to get rid of that but they make the movies look like video(soap opera) and to me just looks weird. also plasmas won't give you backlight bleeding and bad viewing angles.

[My_Two_Cents]

Originally Posted by callas01

Of course Ricshoe, after the talk arush and a few other of us had the other day, they were like pioneer will be the best tv you have ever seen. today I went to find a Pioneer, since I have never seen one in person, and unfortunately it was near the entrance to the store 60" huge MF'r with a few other DLP's and XBR's a 750 sammy and a 46" 800U panny, and this is just my opinion and I know it will not be popular but it could have been lighting or whatever, but the Panasonic was the best looking TV right there. granted i am sure that with lighting and calibration, things could have been a whole lot different.. although it was definetly the darkest of all the tv's right there, even the ones without excess ambient light. but the contrast was off. so to date still the best overall looking tv's I have seen are my dads SXRD and my buddies 85U. so no, to me (at this momment) i would not justify spending $6K on that TV vs a panny.

I understand what you are saying, as I've seen the same thing myself at Sam's before. When they had the 5020 and 6020 there (not for very long), the sets certainly did not "catch my eye" like the bright and colorful LCDs did. In fact, they looked quite dull in the bright store lighting. Had I never known about the Pioneer picture quality (from the web, HT stores and first-hand at friends' houses) I would probably pass the set by for something else (if I were buying). Most Plasmas won't excel until you get them in a darkened HT environment. Then, Oh Boy!