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Samsung 5085 DLP does not look as good as EDTV Panasonic Plasma...am I crazy?

764 Views 7 Replies 6 Participants Last post by rogo, Feb 24, 2005

pigcorn

Discussion Starter · Feb 21, 2005

Wanted some advice I want to spend around 3k.

Requirements:

Has to have a floor stand (either comes with or purchase separatly)

Has to have a great picture and support an HDTV Cablebox

My thoughts:

I looked at the Samsung 5085. Great price, floor stand is nice, big screen, BUT the color was not as bright\\crisp as my Panasonic 6UY EDTV IMHO

saw it at both the Samsung store in New York and various Best Buys. However with the current discounts I can pick it up for around 2600 before shipping\ ax online.

I know that new Samsung DLPs are coming out to replace the 5085 but I am not sure if the picture will be that much better since my guess is that the price will be around 3200 (guess) or so since it is new and there would be no discounts.

OR

I can go with a 42" EDTV plasma with a floor stand. That puts my a little closer to 3k (maybe even a little over with a model with speakers) but the plasma picture seems to look alot better to me.

How can an EDTV plasma look better to me than an HDTV DLP? Is it that the contrast ratio is so much better on the Panasonic? 4000:1 vs 2500:1 ?

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RaveD

· #2 · Feb 21, 2005

Why are you trying to quantify your perception? In the end, it's all about what looks good to you.

However, you left out a critical piece of information: what content are you viewing? DVD may well look better on EDTV because there is no up-scaling required. But if you look at a HDTV signal you should clearly see the difference: the 5085 should be more detailed.

I also wonder if the 5085 you saw was properly set up. This DLP has the crispest, brightest picture I have seen.

Nevertheless many prefer the look of Plasma; despite the advances in other technologies it probably provides the most CRT-like picture (with the exception of black levels).

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pigcorn

Discussion Starter · #3 · Feb 21, 2005

Thank you. It was DVD in the Samsung store, and in Best Buy I am not sure what it was, it was whatever they use to broadcast HD to all their TVs at the same time so I guess HD cable of some sort.

Thanks, I think I am going to go with the DLP after all since it is the biggest picture for the buck and I do not need a flat tv in this case.

So now I guess the question is do I wait for the new Samsung or take advantage on the discounts of the old one.....hmmm

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DLP-Dave

· #4 · Feb 21, 2005

I could never buy one of those EDTV's....the screen door effect is so bad, you could almost call it the grate effect.

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lostcause

· #5 · Feb 22, 2005

I'm pretty sure it had to do with the signal they were feeding it. Realize, edtv is only capable of 480p. HD on a dlp will give you 720p. It's not a massive difference, but it is definitely a difference that most people can see. If you feed each one of those a true HD signal, the difference will be obvious.

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rogo

· #6 · Feb 23, 2005

" It's not a massive difference, but it is definitely a difference that most people can see."

Agreed, so long as they are close enough to the screen. Many times people are not.

And also, the Samsung bobs 1080i, reducing the vertical resolution to 540 effective lines. Vertical resolution is more important to our perception than horizontal resolution, so this further mitigates the advantage of the pixels.

All that said, the Samsung is higher resolution. And inside of 10 feet that might matter.

So I'm asking this: How far away will the TV be?

Once we know that, you can get better guidance. What's useful is guidance for you, not for some other wizard who wants to bash the display you have now, by the way.

There are a lot of reasons why you might prefer the plasma picture: CR, emissive vs. reflective display, color fidelity / purity, unlimited viewing angle, whatever. Let's help you make a good chance -- whichever it might be.

Feel free to post here, but don't hesitate to PM if I forget to check back in to respond.

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BillP

· #7 · Feb 23, 2005

I think RaveD hit the nail on the head. If the signal was a 480i DVD, then no surprise that the EDTV would look every bit as good, or even better, compared wtih the DLP. With an HD feed, however, the DLP should definitely look better than the EDTV (assuming both are properly calibrated).

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rogo

· #8 · Feb 24, 2005

" With an HD feed, however, the DLP should definitely look better than the EDTV (assuming both are properly calibrated)."

With an HD feed, the DLP should appear to have higher resolution. But "look better" is not a given because resolution is not everything.

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