Rich H
Second Unit
- Joined
- May 22, 2001
- Messages
- 283
Wes,
That's why I created that gallery. Most people haven't seen what a plasma can really look like when properly cared for (unlike the typical store set-up). The AV enthusiast's rap on plasmas has been that people just like them because they are "flat and look cool." That aspect of course is appealing but really, how long can you stand to the side of a plasma admiring how thin it is? 15 or 30 seconds at best? It's the images these things produce that glues people in front of them. I'd done a lot of auditioning of various displays, but what floored me when I saw the Panasonic plasma (now almost two years ago) was how my favorite films, ones that I'd grown up seeing on every display type, looked brand new. Previously, the best I'd seen from a home theater display was a pretty good imitation of film. But on the plasma it was like the movies came alive, feeling more like I was viewing live action through the movie camera lens itself, vs projected film. I just couldn't find this effect anywhere else so I took the plunge. I now find other new technologies are gaining this effect (like DLPs with well-lit images), but they don't yet have the deeper black levels Panasonic achieved on this plasma.
What the screen shots can't truly convey is how low in noise the image is from this plasma, because picture noise is a moving phenomena. I've had a year to fiddle with picture settings and associated components, and at this point the plasma is capable of producing the smoothest, most noise-free, most pristine DVD images I've ever seen - like the images are painted on the screen. I've been "out in the field" comparing the plasma image to RPTVs, DLPs and the best consumer direct-view sets with my reference DVDs, many of them hooked up to much more expensive source components and processors than I own, and I've yet to see as smooth a picture.
So, given that flat screens are the future and that performance can only get better, and as a film-fanatic and thrilled plasma owner, I feel duty-bound to let home theater lovers know we have a bright future!
That's why I created that gallery. Most people haven't seen what a plasma can really look like when properly cared for (unlike the typical store set-up). The AV enthusiast's rap on plasmas has been that people just like them because they are "flat and look cool." That aspect of course is appealing but really, how long can you stand to the side of a plasma admiring how thin it is? 15 or 30 seconds at best? It's the images these things produce that glues people in front of them. I'd done a lot of auditioning of various displays, but what floored me when I saw the Panasonic plasma (now almost two years ago) was how my favorite films, ones that I'd grown up seeing on every display type, looked brand new. Previously, the best I'd seen from a home theater display was a pretty good imitation of film. But on the plasma it was like the movies came alive, feeling more like I was viewing live action through the movie camera lens itself, vs projected film. I just couldn't find this effect anywhere else so I took the plunge. I now find other new technologies are gaining this effect (like DLPs with well-lit images), but they don't yet have the deeper black levels Panasonic achieved on this plasma.
What the screen shots can't truly convey is how low in noise the image is from this plasma, because picture noise is a moving phenomena. I've had a year to fiddle with picture settings and associated components, and at this point the plasma is capable of producing the smoothest, most noise-free, most pristine DVD images I've ever seen - like the images are painted on the screen. I've been "out in the field" comparing the plasma image to RPTVs, DLPs and the best consumer direct-view sets with my reference DVDs, many of them hooked up to much more expensive source components and processors than I own, and I've yet to see as smooth a picture.
So, given that flat screens are the future and that performance can only get better, and as a film-fanatic and thrilled plasma owner, I feel duty-bound to let home theater lovers know we have a bright future!
