Sorry if this has been covered already. I've read a zillion posts and haven't seen it...

Thread title says it.
I'm getting a 50", and 720 is fine by me for this. (It's the 2nd-TV, not the main one.)
I have a slight preference for the monitor's appearance, but it's not a huge issue.
I also have a preference for saving a couple $hundred via the PX80U. However, I'm gonna be living with the TV longer than I'll be living with the bill.

What I don't know is whether the monitor will buy me better visual performance.
I have a 55" SXRD, love it, and am used to tweaking things. I do care what the picture looks like.
What I don't know is whether the monitor's picture is gonna look any better.
It's mainly gonna be DirecTV-HD and the occasional DVD. (No BluRay. I got bit by HD-DVD, and am v. unlikely to splurge on a replacement soon.)

I would appreciate the opinion of anybody who knows what they actually look like. (I can read spec sheets just fine.)

ps: On a related note, does anybody know if there is there any visual-performance diff between the 10 and the 11?

I would suggest that you go with the 50PX80, as you just said that you don't care what the picture looks like and is a second bedroom display. It will give you less picture adjustments, solid picture compared to the 10UK/11UK.

Chris

What I don't know is whether the monitor will buy me better visual performance.......What I don't know is whether the monitor's picture is gonna look any better. It's mainly gonna be DirecTV-HD and the occasional DVD. (No BluRay. I got bit by HD-DVD, and am v. unlikely to splurge on a replacement soon.) I would appreciate the opinion of anybody who knows what they actually look like. (I can read spec sheets just fine.)

ps: On a related note, does anybody know if there is there any visual-performance diff between the 10 and the 11?The TH-50PH10UK shares the exact same plasma panel module and some of the internal video components as last year's TH-50PX75U. The TH-50PH11UK uses the panel and components from the current 50PX80U so if you've seen a PX80U, then that's what the picture on the PH11UK will look like. I like the picture quality of the PX80U a lot better than last year's PX75U - the PX80U has better black levels and seems to be brighter so yeah, the PH11UK should look better than last year's PH10UK.

The PH11UK however does give you the ability to fine tune the colors a little better so in theory it can be made to look a little better than it's PX80U counterpart. I just set up a new 42PX80U for a family member a few days ago and i tell ya, the colors were just fine and i didn't feel the need to adjust them further, and he was very very happy with the image. The TV we took down was a nice older Sony Trinitron that also looked very good. I even told him to cancel the upcoming calibration that BB talked him into and he was all for it because he thinks the colors are perfect. Could they be better on the PH11UK? Probably a little, but DirecTV isn't the greatest source in the first place so the extended adjustments in the PH11UK may not really benefit you. Another issue regardless of source, is that colors can look perfect on one channel, then you switch to another channel and faces may appear redder so any extended adjustability would just be kinda wasted anyway. Different programs are produced with different color as well so even on the same channel one program may have more accurate color than the next one, so there are other variables that interfere with your perfect calibrated settings.

Also, i like the option of being able to connect an antenna and watch the local channels OTA where the signal is pure and clean. Can't do that with a Pro model.

I do care what the picture looks like...


I would suggest that you go with the 50PX80, as you just said that you don't care what the picture looks like...
What we have here is a failure to communicate ;-)

Regardless, the 50px80u provides a great picture.

What we have here is a failure to communicate ;-)

What we have here is a failure to communicate ;-)

Opps that is my mistake. On that. However, I still agree with Randy and the PX80 would be my choice.

Chris

Thread title says it.
I'm getting a 50", and 720 is fine by me for this. (It's the 2nd-TV, not the main one.)
I have a slight preference for the monitor's appearance, but it's not a huge issue.
I also have a preference for saving a couple $hundred via the PX80U.

The only time you save $$ on the monitor is if you are wall-mounting and don't need to purchase additional input "blades". It doesn't come with a stand, and it comes with 2 HDMI inputs, one component input, and a VGA input that can also be configured for component. If that's enough input flexibility, and you are wall-mounting, then you can save a little bit of cash.

The main advantages of the monitor vs consumer set are:
1. stripped down -- no speakers/tuner -- and the aesthetic of the thin bezel
2. you can configure the input configuration exactly how you want it (for $$$ of course)
3. more "tweakability" if you are going to calibrate -- several gamma presets, hi/low RGB controls for grayscale calibration, etc. give you the potential for superior PQ...

If you aren't going to use/need those features, the consumer sets probably make more sense for the majority of folks.

The only time you save $$ on the monitor is if you are wall-mounting and don't need to purchase additional input "blades". It doesn't come with a stand, and it comes with 2 HDMI inputs, one component input, and a VGA input that can also be configured for component. If that's enough input flexibility, and you are wall-mounting, then you can save a little bit of cash.
I understand about the spec sheet.
I understand about monitor options.
That's not the point of the question I'm trying to ask.


3. more "tweakability" if you are going to calibrate -- several gamma presets, hi/low RGB controls for grayscale calibration, etc. give you the potential for superior PQ...
This gets to the heart of it: "potential".
What I don't understand is "How much potential?"
If the monitor's tweakability permits "potential for superior PQ", well then, superior by how much?

I realize these matters are subjective and therefore are resistant to useful measurement.
So, how about this: Let's use a "subjective PQ scale":
Let's say the user-tweaked PQ for the 50px80u has a "subjective scale" value of 100.
Let's say the pro-tweaked "potential PQ" of the monitor is some value greater than 100.
For those who might be familiar with both, what "subjective scale" number would you attach to it? 103? 139? 186? 217? What?
I know the exactitude of these numbers is goofy, and I know that subjective-PQ is fuzzily defined.
Despite these issues, I'm asking (and trusting) you to calibrate your subjective impression of the post-tweaking comparative PQ: user-tweaked 50px80u vs. pro-tweaked monitor.
(Make sense?)

I can only compare my old 42" PX600U to my newer 50" 10UK. I would say, totally subjectively of course, it's about a 15-20% improvement.

It should be noted that my older one was tweaked by eye, whereas on my newer UK I have calibrated with a probe and software.

If you are willing to enter the service menu, you can tweak the grayscale of a consumer model, and this probably cuts the gap to 10%.

For me, the gamma adjustability is a nice differentiator. Also, the UK models have superior color decoding, no "red push" which can sometimes plague the consumer models.

These two last points add up to a more accurate, saturated picture, which is really nice for watching movies.

However, you will not be disappointed at all with the consumer model. And the px80u will have slightly better blacks than the 10uk (though not the 11uk).

I think, if you tweaked both and put them next to each other, you could see the difference pretty clearly -- especially again in the gamma and color accuracy.

But they are much more similar than they are different. For a secondary bedroom set, unless you are super picky, I wouldn't sweat the difference honestly...

If your main criteria/issue is the ability to tweak easily, then its a no-brainer in my humble and useless opinion...11uk or even 10uk