Long, long time reader, first time poster. Forgive me for any ignorance, you guys are hardcore TV people :)

I was all set to buy my new Sony XBR8. I'd read many threads on this forum that the pioneer beats the Sony. I'd say it was a 9/10 people always recommended the pioneer in every thread I've read. But I had decided to buy the Sony and here is why:

1. The room the TV is going into is quite bright, two large windows.
2. We watch TV at night with all lights on. The lights are quite bright and the room is well lit up.

With the lighting conditions I thought the best LCD on the market would be better than the best Plasma.

Now I have to say I had never seen the Pioneer "live". I'd never seen it in Toronto (Best Buy or FutureShop).

Yesterday I went to a store and was going to buy my Sony XBR8 (55inch), when I saw the pioneer for the first time. I was blown away, it was incredible. We were two feet in front of the TV and I couldnt see any flaws. The Sony looked grainy (probably wasnt calibrated properly).

Now I have two main questions:
1. Is the lighting conditions in the room "that bad" for the plasma. The room we were in (when I was blown away by the pioneer) was quite dark, so did that play a huge factor to how well I liked the image?
2. The movie that was displayed for the demo was quite dark - did that play another factor into liking the TV better?

The main purpose of the TV is to watch Sports and regular HDTV. We arent huge movie people. Can anyone suggest which TV is better for sports (hockey) the Sony or the Pioneer?

Oh and a final reason why I was going Sony, and this is dumb, was because Sony is Sony, the brand is king to a lot of people. But what impressed me most is Pioneers warranty - so that was a huge reason for the switch.

btw, I'm looking at either the 111FD or the 151FD, though the 151 would probably be a huge stretch on the budget :)

any feedback is well appreciated..

With an LCD you will have washout in a bright room with a Plasma you might have a bit of reflection so you choose your poison, as far as I've seen being in the CE industry for over 10 years and seeing the XBR8 and Pioneer Side by Side the XBR is an ok set, completely overpriced and not very good at all, the only reason it can command a premium price is because just as you said Sony is Sony, they haven't been the #1 tv seller in a while because there stuff is too expensive for what it is.

The Pioneer also does an incredible job with anything that is a subpar signal and makes the best out of it unlike the Sony which just shows weak video processing and makes everything look like crap except the most perfect signal.

Buy the Pioneer you will have no regrets and a 2 yr warranty as well.

Long, long time reader, first time poster. Forgive me for any ignorance, you guys are hardcore TV people :)

I was all set to buy my new Sony XBR8. I'd read many threads on this forum that the pioneer beats the Sony. I'd say it was a 9/10 people always recommended the pioneer in every thread I've read. But I had decided to buy the Sony and here is why:

1. The room the TV is going into is quite bright, two large windows.
2. We watch TV at night with all lights on. The lights are quite bright and the room is well lit up.

With the lighting conditions I thought the best LCD on the market would be better than the best Plasma.

Now I have to say I had never seen the Pioneer "live". I'd never seen it in Toronto (Best Buy or FutureShop).

Yesterday I went to a store and was going to buy my Sony XBR8 (55inch), when I saw the pioneer for the first time. I was blown away, it was incredible. We were two feet in front of the TV and I couldnt see any flaws. The Sony looked grainy (probably wasnt calibrated properly).

Now I have two main questions:
1. Is the lighting conditions in the room "that bad" for the plasma. The room we were in (when I was blown away by the pioneer) was quite dark, so did that play a huge factor to how well I liked the image?
2. The movie that was displayed for the demo was quite dark - did that play another factor into liking the TV better?

The main purpose of the TV is to watch Sports and regular HDTV. We arent huge movie people. Can anyone suggest which TV is better for sports (hockey) the Sony or the Pioneer?

Oh and a final reason why I was going Sony, and this is dumb, was because Sony is Sony, the brand is king to a lot of people. But what impressed me most is Pioneers warranty - so that was a huge reason for the switch.

btw, I'm looking at either the 111FD or the 151FD, though the 151 would probably be a huge stretch on the budget :)

any feedback is well appreciated..

I have a 111 and have never wished for anything brighter. I have large windows in my place and watch in the evening with lights on as well. My suggestion would be to buy the Pioneer with a 30 day return and if you feel it's not bright enough exchange it for the Sony.

Also, activating the ISF modes in the Pioneer will increase the brightness considerably.

Long, long time reader, first time poster. Forgive me for any ignorance, you guys are hardcore TV people :)

I was all set to buy my new Sony XBR8. I'd read many threads on this forum that the pioneer beats the Sony. I'd say it was a 9/10 people always recommended the pioneer in every thread I've read. But I had decided to buy the Sony and here is why:

1. The room the TV is going into is quite bright, two large windows.
2. We watch TV at night with all lights on. The lights are quite bright and the room is well lit up.

With the lighting conditions I thought the best LCD on the market would be better than the best Plasma.

Now I have to say I had never seen the Pioneer "live". I'd never seen it in Toronto (Best Buy or FutureShop).

Yesterday I went to a store and was going to buy my Sony XBR8 (55inch), when I saw the pioneer for the first time. I was blown away, it was incredible. We were two feet in front of the TV and I couldnt see any flaws. The Sony looked grainy (probably wasnt calibrated properly).

Now I have two main questions:
1. Is the lighting conditions in the room "that bad" for the plasma. The room we were in (when I was blown away by the pioneer) was quite dark, so did that play a huge factor to how well I liked the image?
2. The movie that was displayed for the demo was quite dark - did that play another factor into liking the TV better?

The main purpose of the TV is to watch Sports and regular HDTV. We arent huge movie people. Can anyone suggest which TV is better for sports (hockey) the Sony or the Pioneer?

Oh and a final reason why I was going Sony, and this is dumb, was because Sony is Sony, the brand is king to a lot of people. But what impressed me most is Pioneers warranty - so that was a huge reason for the switch.

btw, I'm looking at either the 111FD or the 151FD, though the 151 would probably be a huge stretch on the budget :)

any feedback is well appreciated..

big hockey fan here. Watch every MN Wild game I can. the pioneer is going to be the better display.

The sony shouldn't even be considered. You want an LCD, get the LH90 series LCD from LG or an 8500 series sammy.... the pioneer is still better though.

I don't know what your needs are in terms of stand/speakers/tuner, but you can save some money going with a KRP series over the pro-XXXFD panels. You could get the 60" for about 3k. If you need a stand and tuner, the pro-xxxfd is probably the better route.

big hockey fan here. Watch every MN Wild game I can. the pioneer is going to be the better display.

The sony shouldn't even be considered. You want an LCD, get the LH90 series LCD from LG or an 8500 series sammy.... the pioneer is still better though.

I don't know what your needs are in terms of stand/speakers/tuner, but you can save some money going with a KRP series over the pro-XXXFD panels. You could get the 60" for about 3k. If you need a stand and tuner, the pro-xxxfd is probably the better route.

I need to do more research on the monitors vs TV. When you factor in Stand + speakers, the price difference probably isnt that great, and I'd need to buy both if I were to go the monitor route, and isnt the pro better than the monitor (slightly more calibration options?).

Good to know people have the screen in bright rooms and still enjoy watching hockey on it :)

and isnt the pro better than the monitor (slightly more calibration options?).

Technically, the KRPs have more options than the standard Elites as they share adjustability with the Signature panels. The KRPs do require the ISFccc modes to be patched in, rather than "simply" unlocked.

I need to do more research on the monitors vs TV. When you factor in Stand + speakers, the price difference probably isnt that great, and I'd need to buy both if I were to go the monitor route, and isnt the pro better than the monitor (slightly more calibration options?).

Good to know people have the screen in bright rooms and still enjoy watching hockey on it :)

If you plan to calibrate, out of box the elites have more adjustability. But with the addition of the an ISF patch, the KRP series have the same adjustability. The patch would be applied by most calibrators and will run you 50-100 bucks

I wouldn't recommend spending 3-4 grand on a display and using the supplied speakers. I would hope you have a decent set of standalone speakers you will be using. Saying that, I do understand that sometimes space and convenience dictate otherwise.

I really don't know what your exact needs are, but if you 'need' the table top stand and speakers, the pro-151fd is likely the better value. If you plan to wall mount and have a separate speaker setup, the KRP series is a bargain