Panny 50PX600U vs Pioneer PDP5016HD

50PX600u.

From everything I have read here, the 5016 is not the same panel as the 5070. A better comparison would be between the 50PX600u and the 5070 - not the 5016.

Price difference between Panny u600 and Pioneer 5070 is around (varies) $800. At this difference, no contest. Panny all the way. Now, if the pricing was same on these 2 top displays???????????????

Not if the 800 bucks is worth the extras.

More connections, a much better exterior design, more accurate colors, and an all around more pimpin' TV.

It's from case to case. PQ wise I think the consensus is that they are both very close. I personally think the Pioneer is a much better showcase TV in a living room. I think as Home Theater in the dark performers they're really too close to call.

Watching sports especially, I've never seen a TV as cool to watch then a big Pioneer. Gimme my BBQ wings!

Does anyone know why the PDP5016HD is only available at Tweeter's? The only reference to it on Pioneers web site is an instruction manual. Is it a stripped down version of the PDP-5070HD?

I just came back from Tweeter where I was able to evaluate the Pioneer PDP5016HD and the Panasonic 50PX600U side by side. To be honest, going in I was already pre-biased towards the Pioneer unit. On first appearances, the Pioneer is a very impressive unit with its sleek all black casing. I always thought of the Pioneer brand to cater more the high end user. Thus, I really thought I would prefer their Plasma screen to the Panasonic 600U model. However, the Panasonic, simply put, looked better.

Most noticeable to me was lack of sharpness in Pioneer (when compared side by side with the Panasonic); at times, especially brighter scenes, the image had a somewhat washed out effect. Even after spending considerable time in the show room adjusting all the display settings (contrast, brightness, sharpness), I just couldn't make it look as good as the 600U.

Maybe this was just a subpar unit in need of more adjustment? Maybe the connections in the showroom were faulty, maybe for some other reason I was not aware? However when it came down to it the Panasonic clearly stood out as the superior unit.

Do you all share a similar opinion? Perhaps the Pioneer is more comprable to the lower end Panasonic 60U? What have been your impressions?

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I had the same experience as golegup. Went to Tweeter, looked at them side by side, and I also initially felt the Panasonic picture was superior. Spent ten minutes tweaking the settings on the Pioneer, and it did seem to get better.

The guys at Tweeter seem to think the Pioneer set is much better than the Panasonic, but I'm not convinced. They make a big deal about how the lens on the Panasonic is set so far forward from the panel that you can see "double images" from the side, or from the front in the dark. Has anyone else seen a problem with that?

They also say the image processing and colors are better on the Pioneer. I dunno...

Right now they have a sale on, and they're selling the Pioneer for about $500 less than the Panasonic.

The 5016 is a sub-par panel in comparison to the 50PX600U series Panasonic Plasma. We (to the best of my knowledge) bought almost all of the PDP5016 sets from Pioneer as a holiday buy. We are currently selling the PDP5016HD at about a $400 difference from the Panasonic. But as you can find on the Pioneer web site we just began a great deal; buy a PROFDH1 @ $7999 and get a free PDP5016HD. Only avalible at Tweeter (no internet sites)

I just returned Pioneer 4216 back to Tweeter because the TV does not keep Gamma value updated through service menu, thus calibration of this set is not possible. I just ordered Panasonic 50PX60U, awaiting delivery on tomorrow.

Read more on my experiences with Pioneer 4216 in my Epinions review.

Check what Pioneer customer support told me on calibration.