Quote:
Originally Posted by
audiolover718 
Are all the advanced settings for tweaking in the service menu or the user menu on this set? I ask because in another thread i read somewhere, that the set has tons of ISF calbration settings to mess with. great, but if its not in the user menu, and I have to go into the tech menu to access them, which i am ot willing to do, then it makes the set no different from another with stripped down user menus. I might as well get a kuro, spend the extra money on a calibration guy to come to my house and have a "superior" set.
All this fussing and worry over making the right choice. Here's my two cents: You cannot go wrong with either set, so all you need to do is choose the one that best serves your personal priorities.
If the inkiest blacks are of utmost importance, then eat the extra grand, and get the Kuro, as you will then be able to sleep at night knowing that nobody else has better blacks than you. Your PQ will also be outstanding, and rival that of the 850.
If incredible value and tweakability reign supreme in your mind, then you won't be happier with anything but the 850, which is hands-down the most bang for your buck plasma available today. If the Kuro's blacks get an "A+", then the 850's would rate no less than an "A-". PQ on the 850 rates a straight "A" to the Kuro's "A+", and tweakability on the Kuro rates around a "B" to the 850's "A+".
I may have used this analogy before, but it's sort of like purchasing a BMW 5 series versus a Lexus GS. The BMW costs several thousand more, and most would agree it's the superior car in terms of performance. However, the Lexus GS is way more reliable, and performs almost as well as the BMW.
If you're like me, you like high quality products at great value over HIGHEST quality products for the highest price. This is why I'm extremely satisfied with both my Lexus GS and my Panny 850. Both high-end products for exceptional value.
If you're the type of person who settles for nothing less than the absolute best performing products, (price be damned), then quit whining and go buy your Kuro and be a happy camper.
With regards to comparing one plasma's pic to another, it's a waste of time to do that anywhere but in a high-end store that already has their TV's calibrated and displayed in low-light environments. If you can't find such a store, then simply read through threads such as this on sites such as this, and LISTEN to what the majority of actual owners are saying about the set(s) you're considering. Nobody knows better than us!
We've got 14 pages now on this thread alone, not to mention the specialty threads for 50" and 65" owners, as well as the 800u owners thread. In all these posts, you will find few, if any, negative posts about these particular units. That means STOP WORRYING. You've found a unit that's high quality and clearly worth your hard-earned money. Now simply compare it with other units that owners seem to be overwhelmingly pleased with, and decide which has the features most important to you, then just go out and pony up the cash. Done deal.
Then you get to start posting how much you love yourself for how smart you were making the choice you made, and be welcomed into our mutual admiration society.
On an unrelated note...
Anyone catch this week's
Big Bang Theory? Sheldon was wearing a tee shirt that I believe confirms my theory that producer Chuck Lorre owns the 850u. It was a color HD test pattern on a white tee shirt. It's like he's on a personal mission to challenge the Studio Ref preset to simultaneously "pop" every color in the spectrum at once. I LOVE IT!
Smell ya later.... Crag
. Of course I'll know that an ISF tech with the proper gear can surpass my not calibrated eyeball and test images. So in a few months I'll revisit ISF calibration, but for now it is all good.
I called Panasonic EPP direct & they told me that the trucking company "misrouted" it. Nobody knows when It's going to get here. I'd like to give the forklift operator a swift kick in the rear for putting it on the wrong truck! 
NOT happy in St. Louieeeee....
Nice to be able to trade in one's 58/60" plasma every year.
