best flat panel for under $5,000 Pioneer 5020,Samsung 950 or Sony Xbr8 or 9
viewing dim room,50 percent blue ray 50 percent dtv hd.... which of these 3 sets stand out from one another

Best flat panel would be very hard to justify as everyone has different motivating factors. If that's the case the Pioneer 111FD would be among the best as well as the 151FD for under $5000. Those are my choices.

Chris

best flat panel for under $5,000 Pioneer 5020,Samsung 950 or Sony Xbr8 or 9
viewing dim room,50 percent blue ray 50 percent dtv hd.... which of these 3 sets stand out from one another


Pioneer without a doubt. for 5grand though, look at the pro-111fd

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1086102

.. i agree w/ Chris on the Pioneers; plus, he is a very good Forum sponsor to call-on once you've made your decision. ;)

Don't forget the rules.

http://www.guidetohometheater.com/flatpaneldisplays/sony_kdl-55xbr8_lcd_tv/

"Which would I choose if money was no object? I'd have to go with the Pioneer (pro-111fd) as the best picture of them all. But if I needed an LCD for its greater brightness and money was really no object, I'd pick the Sony (kdl-55xbr8) over the Samsung (ln55a950)."

Imho it comes down to 2 questions.

1) How much am I really willing to spend on a tv?
2) Does my viewing room have a high level of ambient light?

You can get a pioneet ELITE for under 5k and its the best money spent PERIOD. Its plasma technology and best processing in a tv for the money and best PQ for the price.

You can get a pioneet ELITE for under 5k and its the best money spent PERIOD. Its plasma technology and best processing in a tv for the money and best PQ for the price.

I'm debating this with myself if I go down the Kuro road.

A lot of people tell me a properly calibrated non Elite can basically equal an Elite and others swear by the Elite in any event.

the non elite can NOT be fully calibrated even with the rs function device. Ask D-nice or better yet look at his signiture pdf for the reviews.

SD wil be better because the picture fucntion settings colors will be spot on and the option to go from cs 1 or 2 is great too again amog other things.

Think about it, if i could achive / replicate the same picture quality of an elite i would not paid the difference.

and this is on a NON calibrated set so far just D-nice settings

OH PURE PURE PURE mode

I'm debating this with myself if I go down the Kuro road.

A lot of people tell me a properly calibrated non Elite can basically equal an Elite and others swear by the Elite in any event.

the non elite can NOT be fully calibrated even with the rs function device. Ask D-nice or better yet look at his signiture pdf for the reviews.

Oh yeah, I've been pouring all that. With Control Cal and an ISF man, it looks like the Non Elite can come "pretty close." ;)



SD wil be better because the picture fucntion settings colors will be spot on and the option to go from cs 1 or 2 is great too again amog other things.

Think about it, if i could achive / replicate the same picture quality of an elite i would not paid the difference.

Therein lies the rub. That's the kind of detail I'm trying to really makes heads or tails out of.





and this is on a NON calibrated set so far just D-nice settings

OH PURE PURE PURE mode

The Pure mode is a major draw to me towards the Elite, no doubt.

What i have found out is that the non Elites can only be calibrated for grayscale, where as the Elite's can be calibrated for grayscale, gamma, noise reduction, etc.

What i have found out is that the non Elites can only be calibrated for grayscale, where as the Elite's can be calibrated for grayscale, gamma, noise reduction, etc.Plus color accuracy. And if you like more punch with an accurate picture, it has the ISFccc modes.

Without a doubt the 5020 is for the price! Did I just say a good value with Pioneer for pricing?! :eek: In those you listed that would be my choice for the price no doubt. Read the reviews, the Pioneer's have the most consistent black levels out of all digital displays out there.