I was in CC last Monday and was finally able to see six panels, three across and two down, as close as they could be together. The Panasonic 42PA20U was on the bottom in the middle, with a Pio HD version directly above and the Hitachi HD immediately to the right. The rest were Samsung ED and etceteras. All were playing the same feed...CC loop...and I was able to stand as close or as far back as I wanted. To my eye the Panny and the Hitachi were clearly standouts...the comparison of brands quickly boiled down to those two.
I had been trying to decide between the Panny PWD or the PHD
and really wanted to see what the difference is between the HD and the ED as far as PQ. Unfortunately the Panasonic HD was on the endcap which made it difficult if not impossible to compare them directly. I DID confirm everything that I have read here in the Forum and elsewhere, that the ED has some advantages over the HD in PQ depending on source, but that the real deciding factor should be how far you are going to be sitting from the panel. I looked at the Panny ED right next to the Hitachi HD for at least 15 minutes and truthfully I thought at a distance of 7-8' or closer from the screen that the HD picture was noticably better. The Panasonic had better blacks, better contrast and more natural color than the Hitachi to my eye. Beyond that distance I really thought that the ED had a brighter picture and just as much clarity and definition. I clearly preferred the color pallette and the deeper blacks of the Panasonic. The Hitachi had an orange or yellow cast that made the flesh tones unreal. I'm sure that both sets could be better calibrated, but they were close enough so that one could make a subjective judgement. I am now (almost) convinced that because I will be viewing the screen from a distance of 12-16' accross the bedroom, the ED version will actually do a better job for me. This goes against my preconcieved notion that the only way to go is the HD, and that I will be sorry in a few years when all of the programming is HD that I didn't "buy for the future". The "almost" is the hardest thing in the world to get rid of. HD content on the ED screen is so very close to the true HD that it's hard to justify the price difference...it goes back to distance from the screen. Brvheart...in the comparison between Panasonic and Hitachi, the Panasonic picture is a good bit closer to direct view CRT because of the better black levels, and to my eye it has the best picture of any plasma. The Hitachi is close, but side by side the Panasonic is superior. I hope that you get the chance to see them yourself before you order.
