Plasma: Which One?

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Greeink

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After quite a bit of time being made up of research regarding LCD and Plasma, I've finally decided on going with a Plasma screen instead. I've weighed advantages and disadvantages of both.. So, if we could... let's not turn this into a Plasma Vs. LCD thread.

I'm looking for some opinions. This is my FIRST purchase regarding a HDTV and I'm just looking to make the right choice. I've come to the conclusion that Panasonic seems to be the choice for Plasma televisions by many, or so I've heard. I think I've narrowed by choices down to the following two televisions:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...mpareItemList=N82E16889005086,N82E16889187122

Any thoughts, opinions? I've only been able to see the Panasonic VIERA's in person and I cannot say the same for the LG. I loved the clear and crisp picture of the Panasonic. Just breathtaking. Obviously the LG is bigger... seems to have better sound (which is big for me)?

Some other points to keep in mind: The television would be accompanied by a Blu-Ray player (Will also be my first choice, but will get to that when I actually have a television!). Mounting is also in the works. Some gaming is a possibility as well.

I would like to go 50 inch, but if the Panasonic just too good to pass up... I don't really see any 50 inch VIERA's?

Anyhow, would anyone like to chime in? I'm not the best at these types of purchases... and would like some honest opinions. Heck, even if you can recommend a different Plasma... for around the same price range or lower that I should keep my eye on as well.

Thanks Guys. :D
 
Pioneer was/is regarded as making some of the best plasmas ever, but they're out of production afaik, not sure if you've got any interest in looking for a used display

otherwise, Panasonic is a popular choice, I wouldn't worry about onboard speakers, at the minimum, get an HTIB with the Blu-ray player built in and use those speakers (seriously, you don't want to spend thousands on a 50" TV to use its wimpy built-in speakers, I won't even tolerate that from a 22" TV)

honestly, I'd probably get the Panasonic, and grab one of their HTIBs to go, set VIERA link up, it'll be neat

as far as 46" vs 50", there won't be much difference tbh

edit:
this thing
http://www.newegg.com/Product/NewProduct.aspx?Item=N82E16882103414
and the Panasonic plasma
 
second the panasonic plasma...i have the 50" viera...and it's down well past $1000 now in certain places...

re: the HTIB route with the panasonic...think hard before going that route with the panasonic...i bought the panasonic HTIB 5-DVD system a year or so ago because i wanted everything to match in my living room :rolleyes: the main knock against HTIB'S is that everything is usually proprietary, so expansion can be a no-deal...

i recently wanted to go blu-ray, but panasonic HTIB lacks outputs (1 HDMI)...i recently went with a new onkyo 7.2 system...5 HDMI...all good now, to hook up blu ray, and a PS3 later if i wanna :D the system is simple enough for a tech-averse guy like me to set up without a hitch, yet good enough to keep the receiver around and swap out other parts as i grow (speakers, next gen video players, etc.)

good luck with your search
 
zentech said:
re: the HTIB route with the panasonic...think hard before going that route with the panasonic...i bought the panasonic HTIB 5-DVD system a year or so ago because i wanted everything to match in my living room :rolleyes: the main knock against HTIB'S is that everything is usually proprietary, so expansion can be a no-deal...
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true, however with that setup you can just feed digital audio back from the TV into the HTIB, and use the TV's inputs as needed, and aside from Blu-ray what is there a need for HDMI for?

I'm not disagreeing with you, but I also know that HTIBs have come a long way in the last year or two, if you don't mind if it matches, Sony has a new model that has 3 HDMI inputs with full audio decoding, costs about $300, they package it with a network enabled BD player for like $450

if money was/is no object, I totally suggest going with a proper receiver and speakers, however if budget is a consideration, a ~$300-$400 HTIB is going to be better than a ~$100-$200 BD player and the TV's speakers
 
obobski said:
true, however with that setup you can just feed digital audio back from the TV into the HTIB, and use the TV's inputs as needed, and aside from Blu-ray what is there a need for HDMI for?

I'm not disagreeing with you, but I also know that HTIBs have come a long way in the last year or two, if you don't mind if it matches, Sony has a new model that has 3 HDMI inputs with full audio decoding, costs about $300, they package it with a network enabled BD player for like $450

if money was/is no object, I totally suggest going with a proper receiver and speakers, however if budget is a consideration, a ~$300-$400 HTIB is going to be better than a ~$100-$200 BD player and the TV's speakers
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i'm with you there on the proper receiver and speakers...it's just that i'm no audiophile by any stretch of the imagination :D i'm what the marketers would call the 'perfect HTIB candidate'...we just want the damn thing to work without a lot of complications...i see setups, even on [H], that look (and probably sound) GREAT but i say to myself 'damn that would take seven days to set up just right like they do'...and patience has never been a hallmark around this household
this is what i ended up getting, and pairing with an LG BR player...all good
http://www.amazon.com/Onkyo-HT-S720...3?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1264204347&sr=8-3

ps - re: HDMI inputs question...so far...1 for the blu-ray player, 1 for the Verizon FIOS cable DVR...and I'm sure more toys will be coming shortly that will require an input
 
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zentech said:
i'm with you there on the proper receiver and speakers...it's just that i'm no audiophile by any stretch of the imagination :D i'm what the marketers would call the 'perfect HTIB candidate'...we just want the damn thing to work without a lot of complications...i see setups, even on [H], that look (and probably sound) GREAT but i say to myself 'damn that would take seven days to set up just right like they do'...and patience has never been a hallmark around this household
this is what i ended up getting, and pairing with an LG BR player...all good
http://www.amazon.com/Onkyo-HT-S720...3?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1264204347&sr=8-3
Click to expand...

heh, I'm with you there
the easier the better, quality matters too, but if it takes me a month to turn it on, BACK IN THE BOX
 
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When weighing out your decision on which screen to buy also take into consideration the weight of the unit and power usage. I bought a Hitachi plasma four years ago and I love it. I was going to sell it and buy a thin Samsung LCD and decided against it because the price to go thinner and lighter just did not justify spending that kind of money on the screen.

However my Hitachi weighs 100 pounds and is quite the power hog, I do know that now they make them lighter with better energy efficiency built in.

I can not vouch for the panny screens but back in December Sears had them advertised for under $1000. Watch for price breaks you never know what you might find.

One thing I do know you will not be dissapointed with a plasma at all. They are still around even after the explosion of LCD's, and I still don't think that LCD's have caught up to quality level that Plasmas have.
 
Thanks guys for the recommendations. I've found a 50 inch Panasonic VIERA (S1 Series) on Amazon for a decent price...

http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-VIERA-TC-P50S1-50-Inch-Plasma/dp/B001U3YJTY/ref=cm_cmu_pg__header

It looks like I'll be going with Panasonic.

And about the sound. I do realize going with a home system with the Blu-ray is a popular idea... and I will eventually be going in that direction. I just do not have the funds right now.. Later in the future I plan on investing in some Rockets or ELT's (Via AV123). So for now, onboard audio and the player is just going to have to do me justice...

Rockets/ ELT's I hear you cannot go wrong?

Also, I do realize the television in the above link is a bit different... all should be well I hope still?

Thanks again!
 
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Greeink said:
Thanks guys for the recommendations. I've found a 50 inch Panasonic VIERA (S1 Series) on Amazon for a decent price...

http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-VIERA-TC-P50S1-50-Inch-Plasma/dp/B001U3YJTY/ref=cm_cmu_pg__header

It looks like I'll be going with Panasonic.

And about the sound. I do realize going with a home system with the Blu-ray is a popular idea... and I will eventually be going in that direction. I just do not have the funds right now.. Later in the future I plan on investing in some Rockets or ELT's (Via AV123). So for now, onboard audio and the player is just going to have to do me justice...

Rockets/ ELT's I hear you cannot go wrong?

Also, I do realize the television in the above link is a bit different... all should be well I hope still?

Thanks again!
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on the speakers, depends on the room, rest of the system, etc
if you aren't buying today, don't worry today, come back when you are though :)
 
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I have the 37" viera 720p model and I watch it twice as much as my 40" 1080 LCD. It cost me about $400 less too. Panny makes some great plasmas, I highly recommend them.
 
Yet another who agrees with the Panasonic. This is making the decision that much easier.

Obobski, I for sure will post pictures whenever I get them... though it could be awhile. In the meantime, I'll just drool over the rest of the setups on here! :p
 
CajunPower said:
My Samsung plasma blows my roommates Panasonic out of the water.
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How so? Please define the term "blows."

I've heard nothing but good things about Panasonic, and I don't hear much bad about Samsung as well.

Some models and sizes would be appropriate.
 
Greeink said:
How so? Please define the term "blows."

I've heard nothing but good things about Panasonic, and I don't hear much bad about Samsung as well.

Some models and sizes would be appropriate.
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Comments like that are useless without knowing exactly what model numbers were being compared (and how long ago the models were released). Even then you'd still want a description on how it "blows it out of the water".

It may take me a day or two, but there's some objective/subjective comparison tests by a pro that i wanted to link, hoping i can still dig it up. Of course most of them are the priciest, and some older models, but there should be a couple of afforable ones as well.

Otherwise Panasonics tend to be the default choice, especially with bargain plasmas.

I'll update as soon as i find, or don't find that link. Hopefully late tonight when i get home.

In the meantime you can waste some time at the AVS forums' plasma subforum: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?f=167
 
Panasonic G series have a great balance between price and performance. Amazon has very good prices on them, not as good as during the holidays but still very affordable.

If you can find a good price on a Pioneer then it would be worth getting, but they're pretty rare these days. The Panasonic G10 or 15 are no-brainers, V series if you feel like spending a little extra.
 
I have a Panny 50 G10 and i love it.

Viera cast is awesome :)
 
42" 1080p panny plasma owner here, fantastic TV and computer monitor.
Go careful with excess brightness and static images during the run in period, after that its damn rugged.
 
I own a 42pz80u panasonic and the default colors are terrible. I think it's the late 2008 model. If you calibrated it properly it could probably look good but I saw a 2010 Samsung plasma that looked way better.
 
ebolamonkey001 said:
I own a 42pz80u panasonic and the default colors are terrible. I think it's the late 2008 model. If you calibrated it properly it could probably look good but I saw a 2010 Samsung plasma that looked way better.
Click to expand...

You need to set the TV up, I have the same set (UK version 42PZ80B) and it is gorgeous.
Chances are yours was set up in a display mode which is meant to stand out more in a shop environment.
This is nothing like how you need to set it up at home.
Also which mode are you using, Dynamic, Cinema, Normal or Eco, each has its own effect on the image.
ie Cinema has deeper blacks which reduces black detail, Normal has much more black detail which requires careful adjustment of other settings, Dynamic is for shop display and most of the time looks awful.

Adjust brightness to set the black level and use contrast to set the overall image max brightness.
 
woodscomp said:
One thing I do know you will not be dissapointed with a plasma at all. They are still around even after the explosion of LCD's, and I still don't think that LCD's have caught up to quality level that Plasmas have.
Click to expand...

For what it's worth, my neighbors have a Samsung 8-Series LED TV and personally, the blacks were lacking.

Anyhow, my roommate bought a Panasonic Viera TH-50PZ800U a year ago which is still completely phenomenal. Definitely still optimum in today's standard. So another vote goes for the Panny.
 
Another recommendation for Panasonic. I bought a TC-P50S1 from BB For about $1200 and got a free Panasonic blu-ray player with it about 5 months ago. It's a phenomenal TV, and I've enjoyed every minute I've watched movies or played games on it.
 
I have a Panasonic TH-58PZ800U which I bought about a year ago and it's been superb. The THX mode on it has very accurate colors, so I have not bothered to get it calibrated. The other Pannys and other brands did not have very good colors out of the box comparatively, although if you got them calibrated you could probably get pretty close. I would recommend looking at avsforum if you haven't already since there are very many experts over there.
 
Thanks guys for the recommendations. It's great that I'm hearing good things about the Panasonics.

A Pioneer you say? It really is a shame they have stopped producing Plasma televisions. I wouldn't mind going used, but yes these bad boys are real hard to come by.

Pulled the trigger on the Blu-ray aleady though folks. Just too much excitement. Picked up the Panasonic DMP-BD60 for a nice price. Though they don't have too many features, streaming and WiFi capabilities... I was just looking for something to get the job done. For the price, I figured I couldn't go too wrong.

Still holding off on the television though. It's only right to take my time, as this is a major investment (Or for me anyway!). Now with more opinions, Panasonic seems to be a lock.
 
Panny S1 here. Excellent TV. Use service menu settings from avsforum and the colors are amazingly accurate for no professional calibration. Best entry level 1080p plasma period.

The Samsungs are the only ones close, and they tend to have more vibrant colors (not necessarily a good thing, but some like the look). They also are more susceptible to image retention (very noticeable at times).

Pioneer Kuros were amazing, best Plasmas period, but expensive. Panasonic bought the patents and such so you will be seeing Kuro Panasonics soon.
 
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Panasonic G10, or at least S1. Or even the V10 if you want to pay more. Or if you REALLY want to pay a lot, you can try to find a Pioneer Kuro, though they're pretty much gone by now.
 
I did a lot of research before I got my Panna 50inch.
LCD vs Plasma was a LOOONNNGGG read for days :D
Anyways I think you would be fine with the Panasonic Plasma, you'll love it.
Image retention is not a big problem for regular viewers, newer ones are better than older ones. Just break it in for about 100+ Hours, and then just occasionally change image every now and then of hours of use.
Have fun +1 for Pana.
 
SJetski71 said:
It may take me a day or two, but there's some objective/subjective comparison tests by a pro that i wanted to link, hoping i can still dig it up. Of course most of them are the priciest, and some older models, but there should be a couple of afforable ones as well.
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Sorry for quoting myself, but i found the reviews i was looking for: http://hdtvbychadb.com/reviews.htm

Mind you that's far from a comprehensive list, there's a few more newer plasmas that rank highly as well.

Here's a recent thread where they debate the best new plasma models: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1213303 (watch out for some of the regurgitated uninformed opinions here)

The Panasonic V10 and G10 series have new firmware that raises picture quality a notch or two ---> THX color decoding, gamma and grayscale tracking.

Samsung would be the only other competitor supposedly, don't write their plasmas off just yet.
 
Yes, that's one of the major problems with plasma and I agree that they really, really need to work on halving that, but that's maximum power will a full white screen and such. Probably measured in torch mode, too. Average power will be half that or even less.

If we assume it averages half that and you watch it for 4 hours a day every day and your electricity costs $.14/kWh, then you're looking at $4.46/mo in power.
 
dandragonrage said:
Yes, that's one of the major problems with plasma and I agree that they really, really need to work on halving that, but that's maximum power will a full white screen and such. Probably measured in torch mode, too. Average power will be half that or even less.

If we assume it averages half that and you watch it for 4 hours a day every day and your electricity costs $.14/kWh, then you're looking at $4.46/mo in power.
Click to expand...

Granted :)
Panasonic NEO plasmas consume half the power
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http://www.cnet.com.au/panasonic-neo-plasmas-consume-half-the-power-339294252.htm
 
SnowBeast said:
You don't like the enviroment, do you? :p 531watts. Thats incredible. I will be checking this thread again later to see how that power bill was after the first month. :D
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As dandragonrage pointed out, that's worst case scenario, this stuff has all been tested (different ways too) and with normal viewing usage you would expect between 200-350 watts, depending on model of course.

Certain less popular brands may consume more (hitachi i think?) and newer models tend to consume less.
 
New plasmas do not consume much and some are even energy star compliant (my Panny S1 is).

The listed watts are way higher than you will ever see in real world use.
 
Yea in real world use you wouldnt see a difference in your power bill.

And if you are worried about your new TV affecting the environment, then you can compensate with some florescent lightbulbs :)
 
I would keep checking ebay and try to get a new Pioneer KRP-500M. Or search other places. There should still be some floating around. I paid $1900 for mine during the summer and saw them dip as low as $1600 during fall. Anything under $2K is a steal.

The later KRP-500Ms have partial next-gen tech that is better than Pioneer put in any of its other TVs except for a certain elite model that also has it (note that the 60 inch 600m does NOT have the improved tech). The picture quality on these is absolutely mind-blowing and they have great calibration options without needing to use the ISF service menu. They're basically a half-price Pioneer Elite without the TV tuner and speakers.

The Panasonic 1080p sets are miles behind. Back with 720p, the two brands were somewhat comparable. I'd say the Pioneers were a 10 and the Panasonics were 8.5. Since bumping up to 1080p though, the Panasonics took some steps back in black level and image decoding while the Pioneers took huge steps forward. If the normal consumer 1080p Pioneer that you could get at Best Buy is a 10, the new Panasonics are more like a 7.5 now. And the elites/500m models are simply off the charts, like a 12. I had certain preconceived notions of how good the 500m would look based on seeing the normal 1080p sets in stores, and they were shattered upon seeing it in person.

Get one if you can but it might be too late. The only completed ebay auction in the last month is $2600.
 
Ive been gaming heavily on a 50" Kuro Plasma over the last 2 years (360/Wii/PS3/PC) and its been an amazing TV, No image retention / Burn in issues, just a beautiful picture with black levels LCD can only dream of (Especially in a dark room).
 
JCDenton said:
I would keep checking ebay and try to get a new Pioneer KRP-500M. Or search other places. There should still be some floating around. I paid $1900 for mine during the summer and saw them dip as low as $1600 during fall. Anything under $2K is a steal.

The later KRP-500Ms have partial next-gen tech that is better than Pioneer put in any of its other TVs except for a certain elite model that also has it (note that the 60 inch 600m does NOT have the improved tech). The picture quality on these is absolutely mind-blowing and they have great calibration options without needing to use the ISF service menu. They're basically a half-price Pioneer Elite without the TV tuner and speakers.

The Panasonic 1080p sets are miles behind. Back with 720p, the two brands were somewhat comparable. I'd say the Pioneers were a 10 and the Panasonics were 8.5. Since bumping up to 1080p though, the Panasonics took some steps back in black level and image decoding while the Pioneers took huge steps forward. If the normal consumer 1080p Pioneer that you could get at Best Buy is a 10, the new Panasonics are more like a 7.5 now. And the elites/500m models are simply off the charts, like a 12. I had certain preconceived notions of how good the 500m would look based on seeing the normal 1080p sets in stores, and they were shattered upon seeing it in person.

Get one if you can but it might be too late. The only completed ebay auction in the last month is $2600.
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I think this is full of misinformation for several reasons.

- I don't argue that Pioneer WAS the king. Even before they got out of the TV biz, they were getting out of the panel biz, and struck a deal to exchange intellectual property with Panasonic, and Panasonic would start making their panels. "Shockingly" Panasonic made dramatic improvements in their panels in the last two generations. Now that Pioneer is completely out of the TV biz, where do you think all that IP still resides?

- Panasonic plasmas were second ONLY to Pioneer. Saying they are a 7.5 while Pioneer is a 12 is doing them a disservice.

- Everyone who has seriously evaluated or researched HDTVs knows that you cannot evaluate a set's performance in the store, or on any of the presets. Only in the home with "proper" settings (better yet, ISF calibration) can you evaluate the performance of a display. Anyone stating that they're unimpressed at Best Buy, or saw a buddy's Panasonic "something or other" that sucked isn't really conclusive or [H]ard.

- CNET and others called the 720p Pioneer 5080HD the BEST HDTV picture they've ever seen - even compared to Pioneer's own 1080p sets - both Elite and standard line. Telling everyone here that "down in 720p land" Pioneer and Panasonic are "close" doesn't jive with everything I've seen and heard. The Pioneer 5080HD is a fantastic display, besting everything else from Pioneer in it's final year which, in turn, bested everything from all other competitors.

- When I was researching this heavily in 2008/2009, I found that some of the larger differences between Pioneer and Panasonic weren't simply in the display and its specs. Pioneer had more inputs, had more DIVERSE inputs (ie. component and composites that don't share one audio input - you have to read every page of the owner's manuals to pick up on this) and performed better on various tests such as 24p playback and "lines resolved in motion". In the generation of Panasonics that have come out since, almost all of the sets resolve full 1080 lines while in motion, more than Pioneer in their last generation, have 600Hz subfield drive etc.... Clearly improvement has been made.

All this being said - Panasonic is making the best plasmas out there today and, once properly set up, may be approximately equivalent to the last of the Pioneers. I'd still love to find a deal on a 5080HD but that's unlikely. My research of the market this year indicates that the G series is probably the Panasonic sweet spot, being the equivalent to last year's PZ800 with the out-of-box nearly-calibrated THX mode.

I think that really high quality 720p sets died with the Pioneer 5080HD. The 720p market now seems to be strictly "entry level" or "low end". Even if 1080p isn't needed you must purchase a 1080p set to get a decent number of inputs and the best panel technology in terms of contrast, colour accuracy and power consumption.
 
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I just got a Samsung PN50B530 a couple months ago. I've read a few horror stories and many glowing reviews regarding this TV and Samsung warranty service. I've read of screens cracking in the middle of the night for no reason (thermal expansion/contraction I'd imagine), buzzing, permanent burn-in, dead pixels, etc.

It's impossible to know what to believe. But I've had none of those issues. The picture is great, the sound is okay, and the image retention is never an issue. Even after watching a long movie with black bars, they disapear in a matter of seconds when I switch back to 16:9 TV.

I got an amazing deal on it though. http://slickdeals.net/forums/showthread.php?t=1666021
 
Surly73 said:
I think that really high quality 720p sets died with the Pioneer 5080HD. The 720p market now seems to be strictly "entry level" or "low end". Even if 1080p isn't needed you must purchase a 1080p set to get a decent number of inputs and the best panel technology in terms of contrast, colour accuracy and power consumption.
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unfortunate but true
 
Surly73 said:
- I don't argue that Pioneer WAS the king.
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You do realize Pioneer was still producing displays as recently as the end of summer, right? It's not like they're ancient...they're a few months old. Nothing Panasonic has put out since then even comes close.

Just answer one question: Have you ever seen a Pioneer signature elite (141FD) or late production run KRP500m in person, and where did you see it? Those are the only two TVs with Pioneer's latest technology. Even the newest Panasonics have a long way to go in terms of black level and they still display a very slight amount of LCD-style smearing that isn't present on Pioneers. Panasonic used to make some great 720p TVs but the first 1080p sets they made were terrible. It's pretty telling that Samsung plasmas are almost as good as Panasonic now. That's an indication that they didn't improve like they should have.

- Everyone who has seriously evaluated or researched HDTVs knows that you cannot evaluate a set's performance in the store, or on any of the presets. Only in the home with "proper" settings (better yet, ISF calibration) can you evaluate the performance of a display. Anyone stating that they're unimpressed at Best Buy, or saw a buddy's Panasonic "something or other" that sucked isn't really conclusive or [H]ard.
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This is hilarious coming from someone trying to opine on televisions he's never seen in ANY setting based on a fucking CNET review. Very few enthusiasts would place a 5080 anywhere close to the KRP500m or 141FD. I did not have the opportunity to see my TV in person before buying so the purchase was based largely on viewings of the 5080 and others, plus my good experience owning a 4360. Upon receiving the 500m, the gap between it and the other Pioneers was larger than expected. If it was just a small jump I'd say so, because you give up things like a TV tuner and inputs to go with a commercial panel like the 500m, but the jump is worth it for someone who cares about PQ.
 
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