I recently purchased the new Vizio 551 LED LCD and it was a tough choice for me as I was really wanting a 65" panel but was wanting to stick with LCD.

After seeing the Sharp and Sony 65" LCD's I was much more impressed with the Sharp, but because of the price and the fact that the Sharp was not LED I purchased the Vizio LED 55 incher.

After the Vizio purchase I was still thinkin about the Panasonic 65" S1 so I wandered into my local BB and they made me an offer I simply could not turn down (I have a friend that works there) anyhow, I got the Vizio and the Panny set up in my living room and got to play with them both at the same time at home.

The verdict, Im keeping the 65" S1 and returning the Vizio.

The Vizio has a killer picture and I really do love it (sorry all you LCD hater's) and the S1 also has a killer picture and I love it as well.

As I have said before in my postings, plasma and LCD both have there pros and cons but for me the thing that tipped my choice was the bigger screen size of the 65" S1.

Anyhow,,, I have come back to the dark side and am now a very happy 65" Panasonic plasma owner,,,, the 65" S1 really does have a great picture, and with BluRay,,,, it's jaw dropping.

Will I ever purchase another LCD,,, Yes,,,, when an affordable 65" or bigger LED LCD comes out in the next year or two I will jump ship and go back to LCD/LED but for now I am very happy with the new plasma.

Cheers
Davyo

Just when I think I have seen it all from you davyo, you manage to pull another one out of your hat. Sales reps must run for the hills when they see you coming!:D:D I am glad to be the first one to welcome you back to the Dark side;):cool:. The big test, what tipped the scales in favour of plasma for me was sports viewing. I watch a lot of English Premier League soccer, Champions League, and IRB rugby. LCD failed the test for me. The plasma picture was a lot smoother. Enjoy your new set! JoeB

IMO, it comes down to whether your viewing room has seats with side-angle viewing. If so, LCD/LED would be a poor choice. Otherwise, both do give great PQ. Yes, price is certainly a factor right now (the new Sammy 8500 LED sounds great, but is way overpriced, IMO).

I'm a LCD converter too going to a 58" S1 so this is good to hear you're happy with the set!

I'm actully going later today to look at it!

It doesn't come as any surprise given that a 65 inch has 40% more screen area than a 55 inch. Even if you were going from plasma to LCD, 40% more screen area has a tremendous amount of impact. More than minor differences in picture quality.

Now when is Panasonic going to release an affordable 83 inch plasma? :p

Screen size is hard to compete with, regardless of technology.

I have a 65" DLP projection set and a 42" LCD.

While I would love to have the advantage of the larger screen size, with the benefits of the LCD picture attributes, it is cost prohibitive at this time.

I have Blu Ray on both TVs and always go with the 65" set to watch a movie. Screen size trumps technology for movies and sports.

I just returned my samsung 8000 led yesterday after two weeks of use. The picture quality is really good on and I didn't have any of the problems people were having with them, but the off angle viewing is SO bad I couldn't handle it. Worse then any regular florecent LCD. A lean to right or left of center was noticeable. Also with the blurr redution at 10 there was still to much for me. The 54V10 replaced it.

Came into this thread thinking I'd see pics and a comparison between the two. Son I am disappoint. :(:(

Came into this thread thinking I'd see pics and a comparison between the two. Son I am disappoint. :(:(
First time being wrong?

I'm wrong all the time. It gets easier with practice.

Just when I think I have seen it all from you davyo, you manage to pull another one out of your hat. Sales reps must run for the hills when they see you coming!:D:D I am glad to be the first one to welcome you back to the Dark side;):cool:. The big test, what tipped the scales in favour of plasma for me was sports viewing. I watch a lot of English Premier League soccer, Champions League, and IRB rugby. LCD failed the test for me. The plasma picture was a lot smoother. Enjoy your new set! JoeB

Hey Joe

Yes, I always do try to keep it entertaining (pulling things out of my hat) and to be honest I really did not think I would ever purchase another plasma so I kinda shocked myself on that one,,, and thanks for the welcome back to the dark side.

The sales rep's at BB all like me and dont run,, but such is not the case at Ultimate Electronics,, I kinda got banned and or 86'ed from Ultimate for as they claim "retruning to many items" ,,, ohh well,,, more money for BestBuy.

It doesn't come as any surprise given that a 65 inch has 40% more screen area than a 55 inch. Even if you were going from plasma to LCD, 40% more screen area has a tremendous amount of impact. More than minor differences in picture quality.

Now when is Panasonic going to release an affordable 83 inch plasma? :p

Yes,,, I would agree 100% !!!!

And yes,,, when will someone release a bigger that 65 inch "affordable" panel,,I can already see my 65 incher slowly shrinking ;).





Hey everyone (plasma only lovers),, I just thought of something,,,, a reason I should not have bought a plasma.

Since I like LCD and plasma I have found in the past that on occasion when I come here on the plasma thread I tend to get a bit pissed/miffed/ when I read postings slamming LCD (LCD lies/exagerations) and when I see those kinda BS postings I tend to defend LCD,,,, defending LCD on the plasma thread is not the smartest thing to do.

So now that Im a plasma owner again and will be coming to this thread more often how do I deal with the BS LCD comments,,,,,, hummmm,,, mabey I better return the plasma ;)

Cheers
Davyo

Hey everyone (plasma only lovers),, I just thought of something,,,, a reason I should not have bought a plasma.

Since I like LCD and plasma I have found in the past that on occasion when I come here on the plasma thread I tend to get a bit pissed/miffed/ when I read postings slamming LCD (LCD lies/exagerations) and when I see those kinda BS postings I tend to defend LCD,,,, defending LCD on the plasma thread is not the smartest thing to do.

So now that Im a plasma owner again and will be coming to this thread more often how do I deal with the BS LCD comments,,,,,, hummmm,,, mabey I better return the plasma ;)

Cheers
Davyo

spend more time watching the plasma and less time posting;)

spend more time watching the plasma and less time posting;)

Very funny,,,,,, and and good advice !!!!!!!!!

Cheers
Davyo

Hi Davyo,

Probably opening a can of worms here, but since you had them sitting next to each other would you mind posting your thoughts on how the pictures compared? (contrast, black levels, shadow detail, color, etc)? I was always planning on buying an LED LCD but got in on the recent insanely cheap P50S1 deals. I'm more than pleased with my TV, but it would be interesting to hear how the Vizio picture compares from a "neutral" source. ;)

Hi Davyo,

Probably opening a can of worms here, but since you had them sitting next to each other would you mind posting your thoughts on how the pictures compared? (contrast, black levels, shadow detail, color, etc)? I was always planning on buying an LED LCD but got in on the recent insanely cheap P50S1 deals. I'm more than pleased with my TV, but it would be interesting to hear how the Vizio picture compares from a "neutral" source. ;)

Hard question to answer as to which panel has the best picture,,, LCD LED and plasma both have such a different look,,, it really is just personal preference.

As I have always said/thought, I think LCD and plasma both are capable of showing jaw dropping images,,,,, if I had to pick one over the other as far as best image quality I would give the slight edge to LED LCD,,, the new Vizio LED/LCD has a killer picture, the colors and black levels are very impressive to say the least,,,, the blacks are truely better on the Vizio than on the Panny plasma.

But after spending a few days with the 65" S1 I have to say the picture is looking better and better to me, so who knows,,, after the S1 is broke-in and the picture quality becomes even better I could very well change my mind as to if the LED/LCD has the better PQ.

I think the best way for me to put it is if I was buying the same exact size panel at the same exact price I would pick LED/LCD over plasma, but since there are no 65" LED/LCD's out yet the 65" Panny S1 is the winner.

As an example, if I had a choice between the 54" S1 or V10 or the 55" LED/LCD Samsung and they were both the same price, I would take the Samsung.

With all that being said though I really have to say the picture of the 65" S1 is really growing on me, I am liking it much more than I thought I would,,,,this plasma has really suprised me on how great it looks and I am very very happy with it !!!!!

Size wise,,, NO CONTEST of course,,,, Im sitting about 9' away and 65" is light years better to watch than 55 inches,,,,,,, I will never ever ever go under 65 inches ever again,,, that is one thing I am 100% sure of.

Hope my ranting helped a bit.

Cheers
Davyo

These are the same two panels I'm deciding between. I really could use the extra inches of the panny as my seating is 12' back, but the Vizio is truly impressive for the $$. I know you can't post prices here, but can you give me an idea of what the 'hard to pass up' deal was on the S1? My BB quote was really high.

By the way, I spoke with someone at Vizio and was told that they have a 65" LCD in the works, but it won't ship for 4-6 months. A 652 would be a beautiful thing!

Hard question to answer as to which panel has the best picture,,, LCD LED and plasma both have such a different look,,, it really is just personal preference.

As I have always said/thought, I think LCD and plasma both are capable of showing jaw dropping images,,,,, if I had to pick one over the other as far as best image quality I would give the slight edge to LED LCD,,, the new Vizio LED/LCD has a killer picture, the colors and black levels are very impressive to say the least,,,, the blacks are truely better on the Vizio than on the Panny plasma.

But after spending a few days with the 65" S1 I have to say the picture is looking better and better to me, so who knows,,, after the S1 is broke-in and the picture quality becomes even better I could very well change my mind as to if the LED/LCD has the better PQ.

I think the best way for me to put it is if I was buying the same exact size panel at the same exact price I would pick LED/LCD over plasma, but since there are no 65" LED/LCD's out yet the 65" Panny S1 is the winner.

As an example, if I had a choice between the 54" S1 or V10 or the 55" LED/LCD Samsung and they were both the same price, I would take the Samsung.

With all that being said though I really have to say the picture of the 65" S1 is really growing on me, I am liking it much more than I thought I would,,,,this plasma has really suprised me on how great it looks and I am very very happy with it !!!!!

Size wise,,, NO CONTEST of course,,,, Im sitting about 9' away and 65" is light years better to watch than 55 inches,,,,,,, I will never ever ever go under 65 inches ever again,,, that is one thing I am 100% sure of.

Hope my ranting helped a bit.

Cheers
Davyo

I live in Vegas. Which Ultimate are you banned from. Ha ha. I used to go to the one on Rainbow. By the way I just bought the 65V10 from BB (Magnolia store on Charleston.) Arrives tomorrow between noon and 2:30. I'm shaking!

I looked at the led/lcd samsung at Fry's and I just don't think I could live with glowing neon white for the next few years. JMO

These are the same two panels I'm deciding between. I really could use the extra inches of the panny as my seating is 12' back, but the Vizio is truly impressive for the $$. I know you can't post prices here, but can you give me an idea of what the 'hard to pass up' deal was on the S1? My BB quote was really high.

By the way, I spoke with someone at Vizio and was told that they have a 65" LCD in the works, but it won't ship for 4-6 months. A 652 would be a beautiful thing!

Im guna have to take the 5th on the price I paid, I got the feeling my connection at BB did not want me to really make it public knowlege.
But I will say this, make BB an offer, if they dont take it check with another BB in your area,, I have found that different BB's in the same area are not equal as far as deals they will make.

Ahhhhh geeze,,, Vizio is coming out with a 65" LCD :eek:

I live in Vegas. Which Ultimate are you banned from. Ha ha. I used to go to the one on Rainbow. By the way I just bought the 65V10 from BB (Magnolia store on Charleston.) Arrives tomorrow between noon and 2:30. I'm shaking!

I looked at the led/lcd samsung at Fry's and I just don't think I could live with glowing neon white for the next few years. JMO

Hey Larry,,,, the Ultimate I got banned from was the one on Rainbow, the sales guy that banned me is named Greg, if you mention my name to him Im sure he will roll his eyes and say "Yea, that guy,,, the one that returns lots of stuff".

Cool, you got the 65V10 being delivered today,,,, Im sure you will love it, I know I am very much diggin my 65" S1.

And yea, the BB on West Charleston,,, I just about live there :D

Have fun with the new 65 incher !!!!!!

Cheers
Davyo

^ Is that the dude from the ocean movies?

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0412850/

James

Im guna have to take the 5th on the price I paid, I got the feeling my connection at BB did not want me to really make it public knowlege.
But I will say this, make BB an offer, if they dont take it check with another BB in your area,, I have found that different BB's in the same area are not equal as far as deals they will make.

Ahhhhh geeze,,, Vizio is coming out with a 65" LCD :eek:



Hey Larry,,,, the Ultimate I got banned from was the one on Rainbow, the sales guy that banned me is named Greg, if you mention my name to him Im sure he will roll his eyes and say "Yea, that guy,,, the one that returns lots of stuff".

Cool, you got the 65V10 being delivered today,,,, Im sure you will love it, I know I am very much diggin my 65" S1.

And yea, the BB on West Charleston,,, I just about live there :D

Have fun with the new 65 incher !!!!!!

Cheers
Davyo

I'll be sure to mention you. One of my favorite stores when I lived on that end of town.

I've got to tell you this tv is fabulous. I'm breaking it in but I'm cheating a little to see what it has. I haven't figured out how to use the 24p yet. I guess I need to do a little more reading here. Blacks are wonderful. Colors are very rich. I love the THX picture. I just changed one thing going to 'warm 1'. Warm 2 was a little too yellow. Transformers looked great. So did Mummy. I agree 65 is the only way to go. Does not look at all too big to me.

Once I break it in I'll give my thoughts on it from the time I first turned it on.

I'll be sure to mention you. One of my favorite stores when I lived on that end of town.

I've got to tell you this tv is fabulous. I'm breaking it in but I'm cheating a little to see what it has. I haven't figured out how to use the 24p yet. I guess I need to do a little more reading here. Blacks are wonderful. Colors are very rich. I love the THX picture. I just changed one thing going to 'warm 1'. Warm 2 was a little too yellow. Transformers looked great. So did Mummy. I agree 65 is the only way to go. Does not look at all too big to me.

Once I break it in I'll give my thoughts on it from the time I first turned it on.

Hey Larry, Glad your diggin your 65 incher and congrads on the new purchase,,,,, Im really lovin mine !!!!!!

Matter of fact, I almost hate to admit it, but Im thinkin I might end up liking this plasma as much as I like LED/LCD,,, I just got thur watching a few BluRays on my 65" S1 and the picture was simply jaw dropping !!!!!!!

Cheers
Davyo

An up-date to this thread I started.

Sad to say I am returning my much loved 65" S1,,, the reason,,,, daytime viewing and the amount of windows I have,,, the glare factor in my living room is really a problem.

I have been really tring to figure a way to fix the problem with curtains but I have so many windows and only one wall that I can have the S1 on and sadly every drop of daylight hits that wall,,, and the S1.

My 55" Vizio LED/LCD has a matt screen so light is a non-issue,,,(glad I had not returned it yet).

The 65" is a GREAT display and it really changed my opinion for the better of plasma, if it were not for the reflective issue of the screen I would be keeping it.

Anyhow, I will be waiting for a 65" LCD with a matt finish screen to come out and I heard Vizio is coming out with one within the next 6 months.

I will truely miss my S1.

Cheers
Davyo

How much time do you actually watch tv during the day? I take it you don't have a 9-5 job?

what a novel idea, use the store's 30 day retur policy to play with their toys just for the heck of it. the guy raves and glees about how perfect the plasma is for over a week then all of a sudden the windows and glare are now a problem. Yeah Im sure judge judy and dr phil's glare is just unbearable.

god I can't wait until best buy and other retail start to charge 20% restocking fees like with pc's and laptops. Now I know why 2 of my local bb did not have any 65S1 in stock when I was looking last month...it's because boneheads like this who think borrowing a 3k toy to play round with and return it without paying a dime for it is not a big deal.

what a novel idea, use the store's 30 day retur policy to play with their toys just for the heck of it. the guy raves and glees about how perfect the plasma is for over a week then all of a sudden the windows and glare are now a problem. Yeah Im sure judge judy and dr phil's glare is just unbearable.

god I can't wait until best buy and other retail start to charge 20% restocking fees like with pc's and laptops. Now I know why 2 of my local bb did not have any 65S1 in stock when I was looking last month...it's because boneheads like this who think borrowing a 3k toy to play round with and return it without paying a dime for it is not a big deal.

how else do you expect people to see what they like? the showrooms of bestbuy and alike are definitely not ideal to make an informed decision on what product works better for them. (some things you just need to get into your home to see how they are.. aka tv's, speakers, subwoofers.) I would not buy from a place if they tried to charge a restocking fee.. I'd simply go somewhere else.

How much time do you actually watch tv during the day? I take it you don't have a 9-5 job?

I believe he's a standup comic in Vegas.

I'd wondered how his lighting may be since my fallout was the same thing since I have a southern exposure with tall arched windows and daytime viewing or gaming was hopeless especially with dark games and movies when the light would hit the screen throughout the day and competing reflections I don't see on LCD both day and night.

I totally agree with you on size impact and I'm waiting for a 65" LED LCD for $4K-$5K that should be announced at CES by Sharp and it's rebadgers. When I bought my 57" Sharp over 3 yrs ago it was a jump from a 45" and the size has been dramatically different and immersive and have never had an urge to view the smaller panel in my Loft since and it still delivers WoW but waiting on a 65"-70" that isn't the price of a car is my goal.

Plasma lovers enjoy your preference as I won't trash plasma in a plasma thread - I reserve that for the LCD region. ;)

Sad to say I am returning my much loved 65" S1,,, the reason,,,, daytime viewing and the amount of windows I have,,, the glare factor in my living room is really a problem.

Check out the Samsung 63B590 which has the anti-glare screen. Reports are that it works well in a well-lit room.

what a novel idea, use the store's 30 day retur policy to play with their toys just for the heck of it. the guy raves and glees about how perfect the plasma is for over a week then all of a sudden the windows and glare are now a problem. Yeah Im sure judge judy and dr phil's glare is just unbearable.

god I can't wait until best buy and other retail start to charge 20% restocking fees like with pc's and laptops. Now I know why 2 of my local bb did not have any 65S1 in stock when I was looking last month...it's because boneheads like this who think borrowing a 3k toy to play round with and return it without paying a dime for it is not a big deal.

Nice post dude !!!!!

First off,, its not "free, or with-out paying a dime" to "play" with the TV,,,, BB charges $150.00 to come back out and pick it up,,, if you dont belive me call them and ask.
Pehaps you should check the facts before you post Zoey.

As far as me just "playing with the TV for the heck of it",,,,, I live in an upstairs condo/apartment,,,, if I were to return it myself I would have to call a few friends to help me load it down a flight of stairs and then I would have to rent or borrow a friends truck since the 65 incher wont fit in my SUV. Returning a TV of this size and weight is not fun, it is a huge pain in the ass,,, doing a return like this "is a big deal".
Perhaps you might consider that fact as well before posting.

Being self employed I work some very odd hours and for the first few days of owning the S1 I was only able to watch it in the evening hours,,, it was not until I had some daytime hours to watch it that I discovered how much of an issue I was going to have with the glare and sunlight.

As far as returning stuff, I gather by your post you have never had to return anything,,,, is that correct ???

As far as me returning stuff, yes I have, and quite often I might add, it has not been TV's,,, but lots of camera's and sound system's,,, as another poster noted, its very hard to tell if something is going to work for you and do what you want untill you get it home and have some real time to play with it.

Also, for the record, I dont watch Judge Judy or Dr. Phil.

Cheers from the "bonehead"
Davyo

Check out the Samsung 63B590 which has the anti-glare screen. Reports are that it works well in a well-lit room.
Does this anti-glare screen work as well as a matte screen? Or not really?

I too have a good amount of windows....