I am buying a 47" - 53" 16:9 RPTV - Which one should I buy ?

JohnKings · 04-06-2003, 02:22 PM

Hello:

I am finally upgrading my 36" 4:3 standard analog television to a widesceen HDTV. I am looking for something in the 47" to 53" inch range. I will be sitting ~ 7 feet from the screen. I have approximtaley $2500 to spend, but I am ofcourse, like many of you, a bargain shopper.

I am considering the Sony KP51WS500, Toshiba 50hdx82 and the Panasonic 47wx42 & 53wx42.

I understand Toshiba is putting out a new line in May. Should I wait to see what they have to offer above their current line.

Also, I really like the Panasonic sets for the price, but they do not offer DVI. Should I care about this?

I love the Sony's PQ, but I heard their have been significant QC issues. I have heard the same thing about the Toshiba set. Starngely, the bargain of the three (Panasonic), I have really heard very little to the negative.

Thoughts on these sets and any others you might recommend are greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

John

David S · 04-06-2003, 06:17 PM

John,

If you can stretch you budget about $600, you should consider the Pioneer Elite 530. Pioneer recently reduced the Elite lines price by $1000. MRSP on the 530 now $3499 - work a 10% to 11% discount, and your close to $3100.

Yesterday, I bought the 630 - Tweeter, for $4,050 MSRP $4499. Replacing a Mits 40" tube. Next Saturday.

Apologize, by the way, if cause you stated $2,500, that this suggestion does not help. Just I spent past 3 months looking, and really think with the new lower price, the Elites are definitely worth stretching a budget for. No doubt though, a lot of others (Mits, Hitachi, Toshiba) are $800 = cheaper, and are very solid as well. Good luck.

David S · 04-06-2003, 06:18 PM

By the way the 530 is a 53", the 630 is a 58".

Man-Fai Wong · 04-07-2003, 12:01 PM

Don't Pioneer also offer good non-Elite sets w/in his $2500 range? I believe a few posters have last year's models of such.

Anyway, if the Panny pricing is attractive to you, you should probably wait until the summer when their new models will have DVI/HDCP. General build quality isn't as good as most other major brands although no CRT gun problems like the Tosh, Sony (and maybe the Hitachi's also). Also, features/modes for regular 4x3 TV viewing is limited compared to the others (and no support for 720p at all). The Panny's are great bang-for-the-buck, particularly for 16x9 DVDs and 1080i/HD viewing. You should definitely make sure it offers enough features/modes for what you need/want, if you want the savings.

Also, the savings might be good for ISF calibration, especially if you're not the tweaking type.

_Man_

JohnKings · 04-08-2003, 09:22 PM

More help please? O am really thinking about waiting for the new lines to come out. The existing Toshiba and Sony lines have too many QC issues and the Pannys don't have DVI.

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ChrisTheg · 04-08-2003, 09:52 PM

David S. hit the nail right on the head. What you really need to do is consider the Pioneer Elites. They are much much better televisions, and if you were to buy one right away you would be purchasing their newest line. Just so you know, the QC issues witrh the KP51ws500 have been fixed and all the bad sets have been replaced. The TOSH is also a great set with AWESOME filtration. DONT BUY PAN!. My customers have had nothing but problems with them. Again I would still go with Pioneer Elite. And another thing. The Regular Pioneers are nothing like the Elites!

Dwight Amato · 04-09-2003, 10:19 AM

Well, I have the Panny 47" (previous model) that I have enjoyed for nearly 2 years now. I finally got it ISF'd 2 weeks ago, and I have to say I love the set. For the money, it is the best set out there in my opinion. It does not have as good a line doubler (doesn't matter to me, watch everything in 480p or 1080i), and I really don't like the stretch modes as much as the other brands (especially the Sony).

Out of the box the Panny does not look as good as the others, but with a couple hours of tweaking (less with the new ones) it looks excellent. I am glad I bought my set and would have done it again if given the option. At the time, I could not get another sized set unless I spent $1000 more (I only paid $1200 at the time). If I were buying now, I would wait and buy a set with DVI. You've waited this long, why not wait a little longer to make sure you are future proofed.

If you don't mind spending money then you have lots of options. But if you are a bargain hunter such as myself, and want a great picture at a great price, the Panny is hard to beat.

Jan Strnad · 04-09-2003, 10:54 AM

I think that waiting until the new line comes out is a great idea, if you're interested in Toshiba. If you can buy on a moment's notice, you can hit the "sweet spot" when the old line is still available but discounted because the new line is available. Then you can either get a bargain or get the latest-and-greatest (if the feature set or PQ are worth the money to you).

I'd be wary of the HDX line from Tosh, since they sport different electron guns that have been problematic. I don't mean you shouldn't consider the HDX (as opposed to the regular H) line, but be aware that you may have service issues and act accordingly...make sure you can exchange the set, get on-site service, buy the extended warranty, etc.

Good pricing, good color fidelity, great stretch modes, and a shallower form factor make Tosh the choice for many people, but other sets have sharper pictures and there are many happy owners of sets from nearly every manufacturer.

Jan