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Need Advice: Mitsubishi DLP vs Samsung/Panasonic Plasma

post #1 of 16
1/23/13 at 7:25pm
Thread Starter 
I am building out my media room now. I have been stumped on what kind of TV to buy but have decided to get a Plasma or DLP.

I want something that will have a very good picture for movies, watching sports, and gaming with XBOX360. I would like as big as I can get but budget will dictate.

I have sorta narrowed my list to a few choices and could use some expert advice. I am looking at the Samsung 60" Plasma pn60e550, Panasonic 60" Plasma tc-p60gt50, and the Mitsubishi 73" DLP WD-73842. I would consider a bigger Mits DLP is price is right.

So I know a little about TV's but I am looking for some advice or experience with the comparison of the above TV's. I like the Panasonic picture, but the price is several hundred cheaper for a very close picture quality with the Samsung. So, I am most likely to go with the Samsung if I go Plasma. I would like something bigger than 60" in the room, but I am trying to stay under $2000 if I can. I can get the Samsung for $1299.

I have always thought of DLP as low quality massive TV's but I was surprised to see the quality at The Big Screen Store. With what they were playing, its closer than I thought. Not only is the price MUCH better for the size, but this Mits model has the 16 speaker sound bar builtin, and I was VERY impressed with the sound.

So with the models considered, what kind of picture quality difference am I going to see when watching movies, sports, or gaming?
Edited by djtech2k - 1/23/13 at 8:29pm
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post #2 of 16
1/23/13 at 7:48pm
I would go with plasma. ST has better picture quality then that samsung model but they both have great pq for the money.
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post #3 of 16
1/23/13 at 8:31pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by hotskins View Post

I would go with plasma. ST has better picture quality then that samsung model but they both have great pq for the money.

So you think there is a significant difference? BTW, the Panasonic is actually a GT, not ST...my mistake.

The cost, sound, and size of the DLP is very attractive, but I want something nice.
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post #4 of 16
1/23/13 at 8:39pm
well the 60gt is 1699 on amazon. So thats 400 dollars more then what u can get the samsung for. In my opinion its worth the extra 400 bucks. im sure some people would chose the samsung though.
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post #5 of 16
1/24/13 at 8:02am
Thread Starter 
In the store, they have those TV's pretty close. I can definitely see more deep dark colors in the Panasonic and its very nice. The Samsung darks are close, but the Samsung does have some brightness that the Pan doesn't. The price on the Pan in the store is $1899 and the Samsung is $1299. I would love to have the Pan if I go plasma, but I am not sure if the cost diff is worth it.

One part of my decision making is the audio. With the Mits, the builtin 16 speaker soundbar and the sub sound very good. I wasnt expecting it, but I was impressed. If I go plasma, then I have to buy audio, which I am thinking about the Bose Cinemate soundbar/sub. I know I have heard some say bad things about the soundbars, but my room is not pre-wired for sound, so wiring will be a challenge. I listened to the Bose Cinemate in-store and it sounded very good. It is pricey at $1350, but it sounded good. Any opinions?

The thing I am not sure about is the picture quality. In my room, I don't want a 60" plasma to look too small, but more than that I do not want a bad picture. I am concerned about the picture quality difference between the DLP and the Plasma.
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post #6 of 16
1/24/13 at 8:25am
Quote:
Originally Posted by djtech2k View Post

In the store, they have those TV's pretty close. I can definitely see more deep dark colors in the Panasonic and its very nice. The Samsung darks are close, but the Samsung does have some brightness that the Pan doesn't. The price on the Pan in the store is $1899 and the Samsung is $1299. I would love to have the Pan if I go plasma, but I am not sure if the cost diff is worth it.

One part of my decision making is the audio. With the Mits, the builtin 16 speaker soundbar and the sub sound very good. I wasnt expecting it, but I was impressed. If I go plasma, then I have to buy audio, which I am thinking about the Bose Cinemate soundbar/sub. I know I have heard some say bad things about the soundbars, but my room is not pre-wired for sound, so wiring will be a challenge. I listened to the Bose Cinemate in-store and it sounded very good. It is pricey at $1350, but it sounded good. Any opinions?

The thing I am not sure about is the picture quality. In my room, I don't want a 60" plasma to look too small, but more than that I do not want a bad picture. I am concerned about the picture quality difference between the DLP and the Plasma.

Before I bought my Panasonic GT50 I thoroughly checked out the Samsungs, in particular the PN60E550. There was something about the picture that just didn't look right but still I actually ordered it. Afterwards I did more research and saw that it had the "RealBlack" filter as opposed to the "RealBlack (PRO)" filter on the Samsung E6500 and that made a major difference. The filter on the Samsung 550 series doesn't handle brightly lit rooms well at all. It's definitely made to be used only in dark rooms. The Sammy E6500 and the Panny GT50 both have filters that handle brightly lit rooms very well. I decided to go with the Panasonic due to the better blacks and cancelled the E550 order. Yes my GT50 is a 55" vs. the Samsung 60" but I would rather put the money towards a better TV than a bigger screen.
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post #7 of 16
1/24/13 at 8:39am
Thread Starter 
Thanks.

My media room is 11'4" wide and about 25' deep. I will have it pretty dark most of the time because its a basement. I too want a quality picture. I am just worried that a 60" TV on or in front of a wall that is 11'6" x 7'9" tall will look too small. That plus the good builtin sound of the DLP make me consider it.

I just dont want a nice picture thats too small, or a big picture that has low quality. I am also concerned about hot to mount or where to put my electronics boxes. I hate the look of TV stands with boxes in them. I would like to have a TV on the wall and all the boxes in the closet, but not sure if I can pull that install off.

Does anyone have any nice mounting/storage advice/options?
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post #8 of 16
1/24/13 at 9:34am
Quote:
Originally Posted by djtech2k View Post

Thanks.

My media room is 11'4" wide and about 25' deep. I will have it pretty dark most of the time because its a basement......

That is a pretty large room, 25' deep. If someone is going to be sitting back that far from the screen, then I would say a 60" screen is not enough. Have you thought about a projector?
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post #9 of 16
1/24/13 at 9:58am
Bang-for-the-buck, a Mits DLP is very hard to beat. Does the Mits model you're looking at happen to have a sub output available? If you're on a budget, a sound-bar/sub setup my work.
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post #10 of 16
1/24/13 at 10:24am
Thread Starter 
I agree about the room size. My room is a weird shape, like a backwards "L". I will not be using the whole 25' though. My seating will start around 13' away from the TV screen. I do not plan to have anything behind the seating, other than maybe surround or the subwoofer.

I was considering a projector, but it is going to be a lot more labor to get it setup properly in my room and a lot more time. The ongoing expenses of the bulbs was a drawback too. My room presents challenges for a projector because my throw would be like 10-10.5ft away, which is short.

The Mitsubishi has the builtin 16 speaker soundbar and a subwoofer. It sounds nice. The Bose is basically the same, but its a separate $1350.

As I said, I am trying to gauge the dropoff in picture quality between the plasma and the DLP. The cost is definitely better with DLP, but I dont want to regret buying it. I know I like the plasma, but it is smaller and will end up more expensive. I just have no experience with DLP's or plasma's. I have had a 52" Samsung 850 LCD for years and love it in my living room. This tv is meant for a new media room for gaming, movies, and sports.
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post #11 of 16
1/24/13 at 10:37am
If seating starts at 13 feet back, I'd say 73" is where I'D start looking.
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post #12 of 16
1/24/13 at 11:24am
The issue with going DLP, IMO (as I recently was going back-and-forth with the same decision; 60-65" Panny Plasma vs 75" Mitsubishi DLP/Laservue), is that Mitsubishi has officially killed all of their DLP-lines. There's also the issue of needing to replace the bulbs every-so-often (and with the tech being dead after the 2012 models, how much longer will you be able to easily find them? If you're one of those people who like/plan to replace the set in 4-5 years maximum, then this may be a non-issue for you). I ultimately decided on getting a 65" VT50 as I got it for $2,499.99 with a price-match from Best Buy. Amazon currently has the 60" GT50 for about $1,700 and the 65" GT50 for about $2,300 with free-shipping I believe.
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post #13 of 16
1/24/13 at 11:44am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Spork3245 View Post

The issue with going DLP, IMO (as I recently was going back-and-forth with the same decision; 60-65" Panny Plasma vs 75" Mitsubishi DLP/Laservue), is that Mitsubishi has officially killed all of their DLP-lines. There's also the issue of needing to replace the bulbs every-so-often (and with the tech being dead after the 2012 models, how much longer will you be able to easily find them? If you're one of those people who like/plan to replace the set in 4-5 years maximum, then this may be a non-issue for you). I ultimately decided on getting a 65" VT50 as I got it for $2,499.99 with a price-match from Best Buy. Amazon currently has the 60" GT50 for about $1,700 and the 65" GT50 for about $2,300 with free-shipping I believe.

Good point. The Big Screen store guy did tell me that the Mits Diamond DLP was being discontinued, although they believe it will be back in the future. I did not know that you have to replace DLP bulbs.

I am getting concerned that the 60" Plasma will look too small if the front of my seats are around 13 feet away. The room is only 11.5 ft wide, so putting 4 Palliser chairs together pretty much takes up the whole width. Thats why I was planning to move it back to where my room opens up a bit.
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post #14 of 16
1/24/13 at 12:31pm
djtech2k - as someone who has owned a 50" DLP, a 106" front projection setup (Panny and Epson projectors), and is now buying a 65" plasma for the bedroom (had to give up the theater temporarily when I moved)... I'd STRONGLY suggest front projection. You can get a very decent projector for less than $2k. Heck, the Epson 6500 that I have and love is only $800 on ebay. If you are sitting 13' back from the screen, you simply aren't going to get an immersive feeling from a 60" or even 75" screen at that distance. If you have a dark room, you can use FP (front projection) even in the day time. A screen isn't that expensive (I used a cheap $300 Da-lite Model C retracting screen, but fixed screens aren't too much more), and a projector isn't hard to set up. For your room, the 25' throw is probably too far for the zoom lens (even on the Panasonic or Epson models, which typically have a very long range zoom), so you would have to consider tabletop or ceiling mounting. Plus, projectors are brighter close up (using the long zoom reduces light output). I think ProjectorCentral.com has a calculator that lets you check out the zoom options, so you could confirm you wouldn't have an issue. From my quick look, I think you could do a 106" screen with a 10.5' throw.

Believe me, it is WORTH IT for a basement HT to go FP. Gaming on the Xbox 360 is amazing. Movies are amazing. Sports are amazing. Bigger is better in this situation! Go boldly! Depending on the projector you get, you might even save some money you can put towards your surround setup. Real 5.1 speakers (compared to a sound bar) are far more capable, and the Bose stuff is very overpriced in my experience.

Just my two cents, good luck!
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post #15 of 16
1/26/13 at 9:32am
Thread Starter 
Thanks.

So as of right now, I am leaning towards a Panasonic Plasma. I am still very curious about a projector, but the install and ongoing bulb costs are scaring me off right now. So right now, I am leaning towards the Pan Plasma.

I talked to some HT people and they really stressed the audio. So I am trying to dig a little deeper into audio now. My room is not pre-wired, so hiding wires and anywhere to put surround is a concern. Because of that, I started looking at soundbar's. I know many warn about them, but I have heard some that sound quite good. I specifically was looking at the Bose CineMate SR1. It is pricey at $1350. I spoke to a HT person and they frankly hated the Bose, even though they sold Bose in their store. They recommended MartinLogan or Bowers & Wilkins. The B&W was too expensive for me, but there is a MartinLogan sound bar for $1500. I would still need a wireless sub, so that would push me to $2000.

So my question is: With @$1500-$2000 budget and no pre-wiring, whats the best option?
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post #16 of 16
2/1/13 at 11:56am
Ok guys B&W are awesome but of course I'd expect nothing less for the price. Personally for the money I like the Klipsch Reference line. You should be able to get near your price range. I've owned Klipsch for years (since 95) and love it. I'm a newbie here so feel free to beat up on me but that's my opinion. And Plasma is the way to go. Panasonic #1 and Samsung #2. I wouldn't really consider another brand at this time. I'm about to buy a 60" Samsung, price is right. GL
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