Did I make a bad purchase? (PN63B590 vs. TC-P65V10)

Since you’re new to this forum, I will warn you up-front that this kind of question always garners strong opinions on both sides. There are some very passionate Panasonic fans and an equal number of Samsung haters and some of the reverse of these. So just know you’ll get people telling you one has better PQ or better “black levels” or that the others customer service sucks or posting links to other topics here to try and prove that one brand or the other is plagued with problems.


Take it all with a grain of salt. The vast majority of the reviews of the 2009 Panasonic and Samsungs put them neck-and-neck, declaring neither a winner over the other. They each have strengths. Most reviews and measurements give Panasonics an edge on black levels but Samsung the advantage on color. For a vast majority of users, once properly calibrated, you would be completely satisfied with either of these sets. I wouldn’t worry about losing out to the better set on PQ either way and anyone who tries to tell you otherwise just isn’t being objective…


So it should come down to other factors:


1) Your personal preference. You should go to the store and spend some quality time with the 54” V10 that is already out. Or if you really are having buyers response, cancel your purchase, wait for the 65” V10 and compare it to the 590 side-by-side.


2) What features matter to you? The V10 has the THX mode that matters to some. The 590 has a swivel stand that is a great feature for some, and generally better styling (though this is highly subjective of course).


3) How price sensitive are you? It is likely the 65” Panasonic will sell for more than the 590 for a while (but this is just an educated guess). And note you can get the 590 for at least $800 off the list price from Best Buy or others.


4) How much of a hurry are you in? The 58” and 65” V10’s have already been delayed once by Panasonic this year. They are currently estimating August on their site but that’s not a sure thing. It could be August, September or October, and they may or may not be in limited supply once they do arrive. And if they are in limited supply, it will make the price gap versus the Samsung larger since places won’t deal as well. Eventually this will all settle down and they’ll be close in price, but it may take a while.


5) How much do you care about the (gimmicky, in my opinion) Internet features? The 590 does not have them (only the Series 6 and 8 models that only go up to 58” do); the V10 will.


6) Are you easily scared away by known issues – or put another way how unlucky do you tend to be? Some 2009 Samsung plasmas have been having a problem with a louder than usual buzz sound. All plasma panels buzz a little but some people have reported it is loud enough to hear over programming volume. Most don’t have this level of buzz. Similarly, there is a bug (probably fixable in a future firmware update) in the Cinema Smooth feature that causes some brightening (caused by tiny pixel noise) of the image in this mode – it doesn’t prevent 1080p/24Hz playback, only impacting playback with that feature engaged versus the default 60Hz playback mode. Many have reported not noticing the issue, that’s how subtle it is. My advice is buy from a place that has a return policy, like Best Buy. You will know quickly if your set has these issues and if not, it is a non-issue for you. Most do not have problems. Or, just get the Panny and avoid the potential for this hassle – if you don’t care about any of the above issues.


For the record, I was in exactly the same boat as you a few weeks ago, only I was aware of the V10 going in. I already owned a Panasonic plasma and was happy with it and went in expecting to get either a 2008 Panny or to wait for the V10. I ended up getting the 590. We have been very happy with it. We love the swivel stand and the picture quality is outstanding. I’m sure I would have been happy with the V10 too (but we would have seriously missed the swivel), but there was no compelling reason to wait and pay the premium for us. I bought expecting to scrutinize for the known issues and return it and wait for the V10 (or spring for the Pioneer) if I had problems but it won’t be necessary. In fact I polled my family last night and they thought I was crazy to even ask whether we should return it – they love it and don’t feel like they’re missing anything. I said the PQ would be better if we got the Pioneer or 2” bigger if we got the Panasonic and they all felt losing the swivel wasn’t worth it since they already love the PQ and don’t notice any buzzing or Cinema Smooth issues.



Quote:
Originally Posted by MechaDragon /forum/post/16901399


The main difference that I can see touted is the increased color space? I don't know if this is just marketing stuff, as Samsung's pages on their TV's are pretty subdued compared with Panasonic. The internet functionality doesn't seem all that needed (I want to hook up a PC at some point anyway) so I don't know if that's needed at all.

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The color space is a marketing gimmick for all practical purposes. It can actually hurt perceived image quality with video-based content as it tends to look less accurate. It is more relevant to use on a PC (which you say you may do down the road). The Internet feature is mildly more convenient for firmware updates (versus downloading them to a USB flash drive) and if you like gimmicky, slow content widgets like the weather or painfully slowly navigating through You Tube on your TV, etc. The only truly useful feature for some is the ability to have it link with your home network for content streaming. If you have a PS3, XBox 360, TiVo, DirecTV DVR, many AV Receivers or any number of other settop devices, this feature becomes totally redundant to what they already do in terms of home network streaming.



Quote:
Originally Posted by Rick46 /forum/post/16903238


Your p.s. should have been a private message if it really bugged you. I think its a little anal to even bring it up.

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Where did I claim that it bugged me? I used to say "would've went" myself, until I was corrected years ago. I was thankful for the correction; now I speak better. (but far from perfect). I was just trying to help out, since it seems every few days someone here uses "would've went," rather than the proper "would've gone".


If I had sent a private message, others may not have been able to benefit.


P.S. The one that really bugs me is the word "lose". Why people almost always insert an extra "o" is beyond me, changing the word into "loose," which is the opposite of "bound" or the opposite of "tight". One does not "loose" their wallet or their car keys--they "lose" them.


Quiet is the opposite of loud or noisy. Why people incorrectly spell it "quite" is quite inexplicable to me. Perhaps it started as typo, where a couple letters were accidently transposed, and it happened often enough that people genuinely began to believe it should be spelled that way.

N itpicking

E pitome of a

R oyal

D ickhead


And I thought this was an HDTV forum!



P.S.

FWIW, I did win my elementary school spelling bee back in the day.



Quote:
Originally Posted by GregLee /forum/post/16903595


"far from perfectly"

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Would you be so kind as to direct me to where I can confirm that it should be said "far from perfectly"? I will gladly stand corrected if need be, but I would like to see some proof.


968,000 results on Google for "far from perfect"
http://www.google.com/#hl=en&q=%22fa...fp=5TZlSg8c0wI


12,300 results on Google for "far from perfectly"
http://www.google.com/#hl=en&q=%22fa...fp=5TZlSg8c0wI