Finally got the money for the tv. Is it the right one?

[lojack1976]

Originally Posted by fuwa

I read a review on one of the new Panasonic's (for $10,000) and although the Panasonic surpassed the Pioneer on paper for the video processing the reviewers could not notice any visual difference. They concluded that the Pioneer was the best TV overall.

Ultimate Audio Video Magazine said any new Panasonics would not have any significant picture improvements over the Pioneer Kuro as the Kuro is already close to perfect in all categories such as black level, contrast, color, grey scale etc. The only thing that can be improved significantly is the video resolution and that would be going to 4000p and is years down the road.

I would recommend the Pioneer over the 800u or would wait for the new Panasonics and compare prices and sizes with the Kuro to decide which is best for your needs.

I never stated that Panasonic bested Pioneer on a whole. I only pointed out that Panasonic has surpassed them in motion resolution. I also stated that black levels and contrast are better than the current Panny's, but I didn't say that they were equal or better than Pioneer. I advise waiting for the new V10 58" Panny since it won't have the flicker that the current models have due to the 96hz 24p feature versus the 48hz refresh that the current models have. This is also superior to Pioneer's 72hz refresh even if the difference can't be seen in real world performance. It should also be pointed out that there are no reviews on the V10 series sets, so we really don't know how they will compare to the Pioneer's.

The review you are pointing to is on the Premiere TH-65VX100U which is a very expensive set with similar specs to the V10. Because of the price it gets scrutinized even more than the rest and rightly so. There are two reviews that I've read on this set. Both concede that the blacks are not quite as deep as the Pioneer Elite, but the set is superb nonetheless. THIS review made a few points that should be considered. Here are some quotes:

"It’s arguably at least as good as it is on a local- dimming LCD like a Sony XBR8."

"While the black letterbox bars on 2.35:1 films looked respectably dark, they were more visible than on a Pioneer."

"In the above com- parisons, I’m definitely splitting hairs. But such hairs must be split con- sidering that the Pana- sonic Premiere is much more expensive than the Pioneer and Sony flagship sets, which aren’t exactly selling for chicken feed, either. Still, apart from those sets, the Panasonic Premiere’s blacks are the deepest we’ve ever measured on any plasma or LCD flat panel. It never failed to produce a con- vincing image on a high- quality source. By any reasonable standard, its overall performance on dark scenes is excellent."

"The Panasonic Premiere’s shadow detail is superb. It’s arguably as good as or better than those other sets. It’s largely immune to the gray fog effect—a lightening that can subtly wash out the dimmest regions of a dark scene. Plasma’s inherent ability to deliver punchy highlights in otherwise low-brightness scenes also works to this set’s advantage."

With all of this said, the V10 series will be an extremely good value. Its nowhere near the price of the Premiere series or Sony's $7000 XBR8 which the Premiere compares very well to. And you certainly won't find a top of the line 60" Kuro for less than $4500, so that leaves the V10 as the best set for the money since its specs are very similar to the Premiere.