Plasma TV

[Dennis]

Anybody have any idea which plasma is better and why taking into consideration the HD broadcast for Singapore and quality of the panel ?. Thanks.
1) Pioneer PDP-506HDG (50")
2) Hitachi Alis8 55PD8800TA (55")
3) Panasonic TH-50PV500H (50")

 

[RossChang]

Wua... dennis going big screen...

sorry no answer from me... still planing to get a HDB now...:embrass:

 

[espn]

Dennis, MTL. When unsure, BUY ALL!!! :thumbsup:



*espn runs.

 

[soma]

Anybody have any idea which plasma is better and why taking into consideration the HD broadcast for Singapore and quality of the panel ?. Thanks.
1) Pioneer PDP-506HDG (50")
2) Hitachi Alis8 55PD8800TA (55")
3) Panasonic TH-50PV500H (50")

:bigeyes: :bigeyes: :bigeyes: can get some serious lens liao..

 

[hwchoy]

just bought a 43" pioneer so I'd share some of my thoughts.

first I was offered the PDP435 which is the previous model. I have no issue with it as I know the improvements of the new models would not be obvious once you get the TV home. also the old model was being sold at a good discount, even Audio House cannot match.

Drawback (or so I thought) was that Pioneers have an external tuner, so you have one extra box to find a place for. vs Panasonic, which I thought the colour was slightly more neutral, had a built in tuner and better speakers. unfortunately there are no "previous" models of Panasonic so it is a $1000 premium over the PDP435.

Only after installation did I realise that the Pioneer was much more practical. the tuner with all the mess of cables can be hidden below or on the cabinet (if you have a cabinet). with the panasonic all the cables will have to fly up to the TV along the wall, not pretty.

The older pioneer also has an HDMI input and I think 13xx x 768 pixels, guess it is HD compatible?

 

[Dennis]

Thanks hwchoy, Good choice for you. I am also currently using Pioneer 43" older model and was the best few years ago.
Thinking of retiring it to my bedroom and get a bigger one for the living room.
I know Panasonic's black is one of the best and Hitachi is the worst.
Pioneer is somewhat in between but Hitachi 55" is very tempting and also have many practical input and output however Hitachi does not have external box which I think is good.
BTW most newer ones comes with 2 HDMI input.
Of the 3 actually I thought the competition is between Pioneer and Hitachi Alias technology.
Cannot make up my mind now or wait slightly later to get Pioneer's 7th generation screen ???.
Any more thoughts especially on Hitachi's Alias technology.

just bought a 43" pioneer so I'd share some of my thoughts.

first I was offered the PDP435 which is the previous model. I have no issue with it as I know the improvements of the new models would not be obvious once you get the TV home. also the old model was being sold at a good discount, even Audio House cannot match.

Drawback (or so I thought) was that Pioneers have an external tuner, so you have one extra box to find a place for. vs Panasonic, which I thought the colour was slightly more neutral, had a built in tuner and better speakers. unfortunately there are no "previous" models of Panasonic so it is a $1000 premium over the PDP435.

Only after installation did I realise that the Pioneer was much more practical. the tuner with all the mess of cables can be hidden below or on the cabinet (if you have a cabinet). with the panasonic all the cables will have to fly up to the TV along the wall, not pretty.

The older pioneer also has an HDMI input and I think 13xx x 768 pixels, guess it is HD compatible?

 

[Dennis]

espn can you follow me and I buy you pay OK :bsmilie:
Oh than I got to go back and measure my toilet to see if I can hang it there.

Dennis, MTL. When unsure, BUY ALL!!! :thumbsup:



*espn runs.

 

[hwchoy]

if you dare to use LG they now have 60".

 

[Dennis]

Er I was looking at Samsung and on spec it does not seems to be too bad as well but LG I am not sure. 60" seems too big for the same resolution (1366x768?) I think max I will go is 55" for the Hitachi, at least I know they will last a while. Actually I am not sure why Hitachi 42" is 1024 x 1024 but the 55" is 1366 x 768, has it got something to do with the way HD 1080i/p will be broadcasted.

if you dare to use LG they now have 60".

 

[Carllim]

For plasma tv, I prefer Panasonic/Pioneer/Hitachi/LG/Samsung bcos they make their own display. Other brands are usually oem (read from some articles).

 

[Photobug]

Recently I stayed in a 5 star resort hotel, and they use panasonic plasma in all their rooms.

 

[Dennis]

Same same here. That is why I don't consider Sony.

For plasma tv, I prefer Panasonic/Pioneer/Hitachi/LG/Samsung bcos they make their own display. Other brands are usually oem (read from some articles).

 

[Dennis]

Actually I think Panasonic have one of the best panels.
What I don't like is their electronics and IO implementation.
I am looking at longer term with HD broadcast in mind.
Just for info for those interested I might just wait for Panasonic to release their true HDTV 50" plasma 1920 x 1080 (1080p full res standard) or the Pioneer 50" HDTV res and also the recently announced Hitachi / Fujitsu 42" 1920 x 1080.

Recently I stayed in a 5 star resort hotel, and they use panasonic plasma in all their rooms.

 

[Carllim]

Actually I think Panasonic have one of the best panels.
What I don't like is their electronics and IO implementation.
I am looking at longer term with HD broadcast in mind.
Just for info for those interested I might just wait for Panasonic to release their true HDTV 50" plasma 1920 x 1080 (1080p full res standard) or the Pioneer 50" HDTV res and also the recently announced Hitachi / Fujitsu 42" 1920 x 1080.

I'm currently using a low end Panny TH-37PA30 ED panel mainly for tv watching (80%). I thought the colours are vivid and contrast are excellent.

Not enough mola for 50-inch mammoth HDs.

 

[Dennis]

For all interested party, I enquired with others and was advised to wait for the release of true HDTV resolution Plasma to be released in 2006 by many manufacturer.

 

[espn]

Buy 4, one for putting outside your door, entertain others when they come to your house and wait for you to open your door, then put one in your living room, 1 in bed room, and 1 in toilet.

Shioks!! :thumbsup: :bsmilie:

 

[wind30]

Actually,

it does not make economic sense to get a HD panel now. I know the rational is for future proof but I think it is MUCH cheaper to get a NEW panel 1-2 years down the road when the HD format is more finalised. Then you can get a screen cheap with perfect HD format maybe 1920 by 1080, no scaling required.

As for display, I think it is not wise to spend more than 4k on it unless you are really rich. They depreciate too much. The panels you are looking at cost I think 6k+ right? If you are looking for big screen size, a projector picture is still the best. Go and demo a cheap LCD projector like the Epson TW600 or AE900, I think the picture quality of these $3k odd projector will be better than the small 50" screens you are considering.

But you must demo is a proper set up. And projector is quite a hassle... still they offer the best cost/screen size ratio.

 

[Canew]

I noticed a pattern between the resolution and the contrast ratio. They seemed to be inverse of each other. One in high while the other will be lower and vice versa. Anyone else noticed this?

 

[ricohflex]

when I look at LCD Tvs
and then look at plasma Tvs

I see the LCD looks sharper

but something strange. Maybe the shops set the contrast too high or what.

I feel uncomfortable viewing the LCD TV for long periods >anything more than 5 minutes

The plasma feels a lot more comfortable for prolonged viewing

This is about user feeling , so no scientific proof.

 

[Dennis]

IMHO projector cannot match plasma no matter what in terms of colour, black depth, clarity and ambient viewing conditions.
Getting a screen that can display 1080p standards without scaling is the best choice now.
I was told more such panels will be release 1Q next year and the challenge is to make such panel in the smaller size i.e. below 40".
I agree the later you get the panel the cheaper it is and they depreciate too much but that is the price to pay for technology. BTW 50" screen is not small and they cost about $9000 now without the full res of 1080p broadcast but still cheaper than my 43" brought just a few years back.

Actually,

it does not make economic sense to get a HD panel now. I know the rational is for future proof but I think it is MUCH cheaper to get a NEW panel 1-2 years down the road when the HD format is more finalised. Then you can get a screen cheap with perfect HD format maybe 1920 by 1080, no scaling required.

As for display, I think it is not wise to spend more than 4k on it unless you are really rich. They depreciate too much. The panels you are looking at cost I think 6k+ right? If you are looking for big screen size, a projector picture is still the best. Go and demo a cheap LCD projector like the Epson TW600 or AE900, I think the picture quality of these $3k odd projector will be better than the small 50" screens you are considering.

But you must demo is a proper set up. And projector is quite a hassle... still they offer the best cost/screen size ratio.