[jpniner]

I'm looking at the 50" Panny Plasmas, the PX80 and PZ80. In the stores I can see a slight difference with the 1080p set(brighter), however I know the setups are not ideal and the signal is split all up. However, last night I was in a bestbuy and they had the PX80 setup more ideally and the pictuer was excellent.



My question is this, once I get one of these Panny home and is calibrated, will I notice much if any difference for the better with the more expensive 1080p set?


my uses will be primarily HDTV and Wii(do blu-ray in my Theater room). My setup will not have any outside light issues, few windows and the windo I do have has a deck above it which provides shade.


So far I can't justify $500 extra dollars for the 1080p from what I've seen of them, but figure there will be some good deals on these in the next month or so, right now the 46" version is a decent price. After viewing these sets in multiple stores however, and seeing the 720p look better in some than others, I've about concluded whatever I buy willl look different once its home no matter what. I guess I'm wondering if once a better signal is there and its calibrated and in my living room, if I'd be able to tell a difference between the two that is noticeable. Sitting at 12' also.


I'm also considering the new Vizio 50" that Costco has and got good reviews. Figure they'll have a sale that get it down to $1k at some point.

 

[PrimeTime]

I've seen the two side by side with a BluRay demo. The PX80 looked better to me.


Seems like a lot of people came to a similar conclusion. Which means the bigger problem will be to actually locate a PX80 that's on the shelves right now.


Sears will at least take your order. They're still running that doorbuster sale on PX80s. Buy another $101 worth of stuff and they'll give you 10% cashback on a Sears card -- they have a decent glass-door credenza for $299 that matches this set well.

 

[jpniner]

Thanks, what made me post this was the set I saw last night at a different Best Buy(it looked great). It also made me realize its completely dependent on the setup in the store and the signal source.


THey should really have some sort of mobile Blu-Ray Demo they can take to any TV and hookup via HDMI to see what it can really do. Would be simple.


I may try the Sears deal, problem is I don't need the set yet and thinking it could get even cheaper down the road(superbowl maybe), if you can find it of course.

 

[jpniner]

btw, can anyone explain how a Blu-Ray could look better(atleast debatably) on the 720p set over the 1080p? I know there is disagreement there, but the fact its up for debate says alot for the 720p set. What other factors go into end Picture Quality?


I'm not even planning on using blu-ray on this set anytime soon if ever, so its not much of an issue. Its really how HDTV will look on it.

 

[PrimeTime]

Possibly more potential brightness out of the 768p panel (and the settings to exploit it), what with the larger pixel cells.


That, and personal viewing tastes. Maybe even less-than-perfect vision. Hard to say...


As for the Holy Grail of the Kuro crowd -- "black levels" -- didn't see a significant difference. What difference there is, it's probably more of a unit-to-unit variance than anything else.


The only real nitpick with picture quality on this set is that the primary green color is "greener" than green -- which leads some people to crank down the Color controls, which can make the overall colors seem a little pastel. That steers some to the Samsung A400s.


But then, if you watch a lot of 4:3 (wife?), you're less likely to be plagued with lingering images with the Panny.

 

[jpniner]

yeah, I guess now we are into the cream of the crop 720p/768p models, while 1080p is still a newer technology also.


Some Projector experts claim some of the high end 720p Projectors are better than the newer and expensive 1080p projectors. with those it has alot to do with the Lens apparently

 

[Slabshaft]

I really wouldn't pay the extra money for the PZ. On a 50" set, my personal value (for what it's worth anyway) of 1080p over the 720p is maybe $150 becuase the difference is so minute. If I did more gaming than I do, I'd care that the small text in my Xbox 360 games would look a bit better/clearer. For this price range, I'm very content with "good enough". I looked at the PX at Sears as well and the salesman DID hook up a BR player for me. The picture was fantastic. He also had the 50" a450 Samsung next to it that looked just as good or better to me. I found the sammy on Amazon for $50 less than the 50" PX80 sale they had at Sears with free shipping, but not everyone is so keen on buying online and the price fluctiates by $150 up or down on Amazon depending on the current seller.

 

[jpniner]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Slabshaft /forum/post/15473527


I really wouldn't pay the extra money for the PZ. On a 50" set, my personal value (for what it's worth anyway) of 1080p over the 720p is maybe $150 becuase the difference is so minute. If I did more gaming than I do, I'd care that the small text in my Xbox 360 games would look a bit better/clearer. For this price range, I'm very content with "good enough". I looked at the PX at Sears as well and the salesman DID hook up a BR player for me. The picture was fantastic. He also had the 50" a450 Samsung next to it that looked just as good or better to me. I found the sammy on Amazon for $50 less than the 50" PX80 sale they had at Sears with free shipping, but not everyone is so keen on buying online and the price fluctiates by $150 up or down on Amazon depending on the current seller.

So you got the Sammy for $850 with Free s/h and no tax?


I had a chance to get the Sammy a460(which I think is the same) at a local place for $1050(probably negotiable also), I'd take either one. I kinda want the Panny over the Sammy, but really its mostly about the money for my needs.


in agreement on the 'maybe $150 bucks for the 1080p' set, however I think I read on slickdeals that in early Dec. a guy got the PZ set with a 'free BR player) for around 1200, which is getting the TV unders $1k itself.

 

[StinDaWg]

No way Jose. I've had both sets in my house and the 1080p is by far sharper! I can understand some people not being able to see the difference between the two sets if they are far enough away, but to say the 720p model looks better I can't comprehend. The pz series obviously is 1080p, has a better processor, and slightly lower black level.

 

[Slabshaft]



Quote:
Originally Posted by jpniner /forum/post/15473632


So you got the Sammy for $850 with Free s/h and no tax?


I had a chance to get the Sammy a460(which I think is the same) at a local place for $1050(probably negotiable also), I'd take either one. I kinda want the Panny over the Sammy, but really its mostly about the money for my needs.


in agreement on the 'maybe $150 bucks for the 1080p' set, however I think I read on slickdeals that in early Dec. a guy got the PZ set with a 'free BR player) for around 1200, which is getting the TV unders $1k itself.

That would be a sweet deal! But yeah the Sammy was $857. The quality was close enough for me to just go for the cheaper one and I personally like the colors on the Samsung a bit better and the styling of the bezel (stupid reason, I know). I'm not trying to push one or the other since it was pretty much a toss up for me anyway.

 

[Slabshaft]

Afterthought: If you're willing to wait a bit, I would suggest the possibility of holding out for the Vizio 505XVT since it's supposed to be quite good for the price, currently $1200. I'd be suprised if it wasn't close to $1k in a few month or that cheap while on sale. I've never seen it, but it would be worth borrowing a friend with a membership to check it out.