[kriswlak]

Hey guys, I am in a bit of a dilemma with deciding on which set to purchase. There is a big price gap between these two sets from the deals that I can find out there and it's making it very difficult on which one to decide on. I've been reading up on this site and I have learned that the Kuro's are the all mighty and powerful, but they come with a hefty price tag. The new Samsung PN50A650 has a really nice picture for the price, yet still isn't as good as a Kuro... How much of a difference is there, though, between these two sets? Do they both display 24p? Does the Kuro display less noise than the Samsung? Is there that much of a difference with dithering? Is there any banding on either set? Especially when viewing the menu screens on a PS3 or Xbox 360. I had previously purchased a LN52A650 (returned it due to stutter and crappy 120hz) and never had any banding issues. Sorry for the rambling, but I could really use other peoples input who have either set. I think I've even seen some comments from users who had the PN50A650 set, but returned it for the Pioneer 5020. So hopefully I can find out why you guys swapped for the other. Thanks!

 

[MelloFellow13]

You can probably expect the 5020 to be better in almost every respect, except color accuracy which the Sammy does well. It comes down to what you'd like to spend. I was going to get the same Sammy, but decided I'd rather invest the extra money and have a TV which I'll be happy with for several years to come. I'm very much looking forward to the 5020 arriving in the next week.


I know it's a tough choice, so good luck with it.

 

[rwr1776]

Wow...my guess is that you will have a difficult time sorting out the feedback you get in this thread most everyone has pretty definite views and those views will, in many cases, contradict each other.


Is there anyway you can see several sets side by side with the same signal and choose that way?


If so, there are four Display's I'd suggest you examine yourself:


Samsung 50A650

Panasonic 800u/850u

LG 50PG60

Pioneer 5020


Personally, I found the Samsung the noisiest of the four which was disappointing for me because that was the model I planned to get when replacing my Samsung DLP.


In addition to seeing each set, it would also be great to sample how each handles 480i, 720p, 1080i, and 1080p content. While all the above sets displayed good 1080p pictures, I found some did much better than others with lower quality signals.


If you are buying from a B&M, my advice is always to inspect the display while at the store and then load it into your own truck, even a 19.95 uhaul.


I'm sure I'll get flamed for this, but I'll add that IMO this is particularly important with Kuros because there seems to be some quality control issues around pixels, blotchiness, and buzzing. However, if you are primarily interested in the best blacks AND can pre-inspect to perform your own QC, the Kuro has the darkest blacks.


Anyway, the most important thing is how these displays look to YOU. You don't have any agenda or decisions to validate, so take the feedback you get here and take it as things to consider when viewing them yourself.


my 2 cents,

rwr

 

[omeletpants]

Here is a thread with 170 comments comparing the two models

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...=5020+PN50A650

 

[giper]

I had the Samsung PN50A650 for a week and returned it to get a Pioneer 5020. I love the Pioneer, the Samsung was good. The Pioneer is better in every way, HD, SD, Blacks, colors, Upscale DVD and a lot less noise. Spend the extra $700 for the Pioneer, it is worth it and you will not regret it.

 

[kriswlak]

Thanks for all the feedback! The noise in the Samsung PN50A650 was a concern for me (I noticed it also on the Panny 85u). Recently, I have been through two LCD's because the motion was not up to par with my current CRT set and I really want to feel 100% happy with my first HDTV purchase. That's why I have no concerns with the price of the pio5020 as long as I'm not going to feel any remorse after the purchase. The Samsung LN52A650 had a pretty display and superior color, but the motion would at times have stutter (plus the scroll wheel remote was terrible). I also then tried a Samsung LED LNT4681f and really liked the blacks... but at times the color would look washed out and the blacks would look only average. That's about the time when I came across this board and heard all the raves about the Pioneers. I found out that burn-in is a thing of the past and that image retention is very good with the Pioneer sets. Is there any posterization with this Pioneer 5020 set? I didn't notice any posterization on the LN52A650 set, but I did notice some minor posterization on the LNT4681f. The Panny 85u would dither a lot in darker scenes like when watching Spiderman 3 during the church scene. It could have just been the store settings - so don't hold me on that last statement.

Quick question, has anyone ordered through Big River? Do they accept exchanges on their HDTVs if I were to run into any dead pixels or buzzing issues?


Appreciate all the help (and links). Thanks again!

 

[discopaul]

Which TV looked best overall to you? That's the one I would buy!

 

[kriswlak]



Quote:
Originally Posted by discopaul /forum/post/14228660


Which TV looked best overall to you? That's the one I would buy!

Pioneer 5020... and I just ordered it now!.

Ohhh, I can't wait!

 

[discopaul]

congrats.