I stumbled upon this great site about a week ago and have been reading thread after thread since then. There is tons of information, great advice, and humor to be had but at times can be overwhelming. I am in the market for a new TV as I will be upgrading from a 27 inch Sony CRT. The primary viewing distance is 10-12', so I focused on tv's 58" and larger.

Initially I fixated on the Samsung HLT6187S LED DLP, but after seeing it in person I was not very impressed. The viewing angle seemed very narrow, and the set only looked decent when you were watching from dead on center. The appeal for me was size, cost, and technology.

I moved away from that and began researching plasmas when I came across a 190+ page thread about the Pioneer PDP 6070HD. I read through that, went to a local store and was blown away by the quality of the picture, but was intimidated by the price. I found an internet site that gave me a very competitive price which would have included delivery and extended warranty, but was worried by the fact that if something went wrong or the "honeymoon" feeling wore off I would not be able to return it.

So I started looking a little deeper and came across the Panasonic TH-58PX60U. The reviews were very good and the price cheaper than the Pioneer. I couldn't find a great looking set anywhere, but I know that none of them were tweaked to optimal settings. I found a local retailer that was offering 2 year warranty at no cost and the ability to return within 90 days no questions asked.

Here in lies my dilemma. With all things considered the Pioneer would be $1000 more than the Panasonic. I don't believe I will be upgrading anytime soon, and once I do it will be a HD Projector for the basement, once its finished. Given these circumstances what would you do?

I am sorry about the length of this post but I hope to make a decision before the weekend is over, please weigh in with your thoughts and insights it will be greatly appreciated.

I went through this exact same process. I was able to see the 58" Panny & the Pioneer side by side. It wsn't even close. The picture on the Pioneer was a lot better, so I wnet with the Pioneer, paid the extra money and haven't looked back. For me, I knew that if I got the Panny I would wish that I had gotten the Pioneer everytime I looked at it. And that was worth the extra $ to me.

Welcome to AVS Forums Norm78.

Get the one you really want if you plan on having it for a long time. For me, I could easily justify a higher cost since I knew over time the cost difference would be minimal per year to own. Just like njmarlin said, I didn't want to be 10, 15, 20 yrs down the road wishing I had spent more and had what I wanted all along.

Also take into account the looks of the set. Some people love the silver of the Panny, some hate it. The same can be said for the Pio.

This of course doesn't mean you have to go for the Pio just because it costs more. Do the best you can researching and viewing each set and then go with your heart.

Do yourself a favor and check out the pricing from the forum sponsors. They all have been regarded as having great pricing and excellent cust service, especially Invision Displays and Cleveland Plasma. You can research those companies in the forums to find others experiences.

Good luck and above all, try to have some fun!

Buy the Pioneer. The Panny is amazing, but the Pioneer is in a class of it's own.

Seems like you preferred the PQ of the Pioneer better.
Since you're not planning to upgrade any time soon, pay the extra bucks and get what you really like.
You sure don't want to second-guess yourself few months down the road.

Make sure you check the site sponsors on the top of this page if you decide to buy on line.
Also for your viewing distance 50" would be "big enough". But I can see why you're wanting the 60 :D

I got the Pio 6070 "after" seeing the Panny 58 incher, meaning the reason I bought the Pio was because I saw the Panasonic's picture.

Davyo

Thanks for the replies thus far, they have been very helpful! One thing I failed to mention in the previous post was that a majority of my viewing will be standard definition, I don't own a blue ray or HD dvd and don't have any plans to buy one soon. I will initally use an antenna to recieve OTA HD broadcasts and then eventually get an HD DVR.

I don't think there was any question that the Pio has the better picture. I have been struggling with whether it is $1000 better than the Panasonic.

Plus buying from an online seller makes me nervous due to the fact you can't just take it back if something is not right with the set. The online seller has a very good reputation on this site and others.

I would hope that the TV would be fine and never have any issues, but there have been lots of reports of dead pixels and buzzing, that as far as I know the warranty does not cover. It seemed like in most instances the people that had these issues just swapped the TV out at their local retailer down the road.

I've also seen instances where upon delivery the screen was cracked or the set didn't power up, so the delivery was sent back and a new set was sent. The online retailer I would potentially buy from is local, so I would probably just pick it up. If this happens I don't think I can swap it for another.......then I would be stuck with a new non working plasma.

Also, is it worth the extra money to spring for the extended warranty? I have heard mixed opinions on this.

I know this is not something most people lose sleep over, but I just want to e confident in the decision that I make. Right now I am not positive which way to lean thats why I came here seeking advice. Thanks!

Well I can't tell you what to do. I can tell that if you cannot make up your own sound decision, you shouldn't do anything at all. The tv's will always be there but if you don't make the right choice, your peace of mind won't.

I have no doubt that the Pio PQ may be better than that of the Panny. But is it worth an extra $1000? Only you can answer that. But I will say that almost everyone who has bought the 58" Panny has been delighted with it. I have had the 58PX600U since last Fall and I'm continually impressed by its high quality HD performance. I'd rather take that $1000 and invest it in good audio, which is just as important than video IMO.

The 6070 is easily worth $1000 more than the 60u (even though the 60u is very good as well)

The Pan 60U series is last years model. It has the silver frame styling. Pan changed the styling for 2007 and went to the black frame like most of the other manufacturers.

Pio 6070 has the black frame styling.

Perhaps a better direct comparison would be to compare the 2007 model Pan series in the 75,77 or 700u in 58" to the Pio 6070. The model 77 and 700u from Pan have the anti-glare screens, the 75 does not.

it's Just An Opinion

Well, I am also in that same boat!!! I have to decide between Pio 1540HD or Panny 58PZ700U(dunno when the 750 will be available same as the 60" 8 gen Pio) in 2 weeks. The Elite will be ~$500 more than the Panny. My viewing area will be 9-10ft.
I will get a blu-ray (PS3 maybe) and then a htpc with hd-dvd. But I can see most of my content will be SD channel + SD DVD + divx/rmvb and will switching to blu-ray/hd-dvd slowly (no rental store carry them in my area!). And I never see a Elite in person (the only carry them in my area only pushing Sony lcd, so no Plasma in display) but base on what I found from BB, I like pio 5070HD way more than Panny 50" 60U. But can't judge on the 700U since it is a 1080p panel which of course no display anywhere at all!

Or should I go get a 5070HD(surprisingly, it has been out of stock for a while but then is available again quite cheap! only a few hundred more than the Panny 75U) now and then upgrade to the new pio 8gen 1080p 2-3yr later and move the 5070HD to my room and get rid of my terrible 40" Bravia!!! But I am afraid 50" will be too small for my taste as my main HT. Currently my main HT is a 62" Toshiba DLP on my other room with 15ft viewing distance. But this will going to be SD TV and game delicate unit. So please help me to make decision!

Well, I am also in that same boat!!! I have to decide between Pio 1540HD or Panny 58PZ700U(dunno when the 750 will be available same as the 60" 8 gen Pio) in 2 weeks. The Elite will be ~$500 more than the Panny. My viewing area will be 9-10ft.
I will get a blu-ray (PS3 maybe) and then a htpc with hd-dvd. But I can see most of my content will be SD channel + SD DVD + divx/rmvb and will switching to blu-ray/hd-dvd slowly (no rental store carry them in my area!). And I never see a Elite in person (the only carry them in my area only pushing Sony lcd, so no Plasma in display) but base on what I found from BB, I like pio 5070HD way more than Panny 50" 60U. But can't judge on the 700U since it is a 1080p panel which of course no display anywhere at all!

Or should I go get a 5070HD(surprisingly, it has been out of stock for a while but then is available again quite cheap! only a few hundred more than the Panny 75U) now and then upgrade to the new pio 8gen 1080p 2-3yr later and move the 5070HD to my room and get rid of my terrible 40" Bravia!!! But I am afraid 50" will be too small for my taste as my main HT. Currently my main HT is a 62" Toshiba DLP on my other room with 15ft viewing distance. But this will going to be SD TV and game delicate unit. So please help me to make decision!

Thats what I did and are planning on doing when the new 1080p Pios get lower in price. I was also worried like you since I was coming from a 65" HDTV, but once I got the 5070 in and setup, I no longer feel like I am missing anything. The 5070 is really an amazing plasma.

The 6070 is easily worth $1000 more than the 60u (even though the 60u is very good as well)


I would agree, the picture on the 6070 is well worth the extra money if compared to the 60 series Panny 58 incher.
Have not seen the new Panny 58" yet, and I am wanting to see how it compares to the Pio 6070.
On a side note: The new Pannys sure do look alot nicer these days since they got rid of those ugly silver frames/bezels.

Davyo

Well I think I am going to wait until the next generation of Pioneer's come out to see how the 1080p picture looks. I know these are going to be much more expensive, so I will be looking at 50".

This is slightly off topic, but I thought I came across this in another thread and search didn't turn up the results I was looking for.

If you have a TV with HD tuner and use an OTA antenna, but also have a Scientific Atlanta 8300 set top box, is there a way to run the antenna to the box and get HD channels other than the local ABC, NBC, CBS.

For example, where I live ESPNHD was part of an HD sports package that cost extra, but now its part of the standard HD package. Can I get ESPNHD without getting the 8300HD box and paying the monthly service just using the rabbit ears?

I think about it too but then it has no benefit to have a 50" 1080p for my 10ft viewing distance! If I go for 50", I will go for 5070HD now and then upgrade it to 1080p 60" the future(when it dropped to a price like the 5070HD today :p )

I think about it too but then it has no benefit to have a 50" 1080p for my 10ft viewing distance! If I go for 50", I will go for 5070HD now and then upgrade it to 1080p 60" the future(when it dropped to a price like the 5070HD today :p )

At 10 ft you should get the 60" 6070 now, and upgrade a few years down the road to 1080P when Pioneer comes out with something 65-70".

The extra 1k or so for the larger screen is really worth it.
Having lived with it for a few weeks now i couldn't imagine going back to 42" in my main viewing room,

At 10 ft you should get the 60" 6070 now, and upgrade a few years down the road to 1080P when Pioneer comes out with something 65-70".

The extra 1k or so for the larger screen is really worth it.
Having lived with it for a few weeks now i couldn't imagine going back to 42" in my main viewing room,

Well said I agree 100 %

I currently have the Panasonic 58-600U.

I'm selling it do get either the 6070 (5gs + tax here in canada) or the Pio Elite 60" (I can get it for $7500 taxes in which is $6578 + taxes)

I'm leaning towards the elite as I love Elite Products (I have the 84 receiver and 46 dvd player)

Is it worth the extra 2gs for the Elite? I've seen the picture on both and was blown away. I love Panasonic but the sliver frame is an eye sore and doesn't match a thing in my viewing area.

Anyone wanna buy a 58-600 for 3gs? ! I'll post in the classified right now.

At 10 ft you should get the 60" 6070 now, and upgrade a few years down the road to 1080P when Pioneer comes out with something 65-70".

The extra 1k or so for the larger screen is really worth it.
Having lived with it for a few weeks now i couldn't imagine going back to 42" in my main viewing room,

Well, for us Canadian, the price on 6070HD is double than 5070HD, not 1k difference, 6070HD is $2700 more than 5070HD! But I think even on US, they are something like 2k difference, right?

Is it worth the extra 2gs for the Elite? I've seen the picture on both and was blown away.If you haven't seen this already, read the first post in this thread. It details the extras the Elite has over the Pure consumer panel. You'll really need to decide for yourself whether the extras are worth it to you for the extra $.
Official Pioneer PRO-1540HD/1140HD/940HD Owner's thread/merged thread (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=720961&page=1&pp=60)