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Panasonic, Samsung or Hitachi

post #1 of 11
11/20/06 at 4:10pm
Thread Starter 
Hey guys,

I'm definitely suffering from brain overload but want to get this straight before black friday. I'm trying to decide between three 42" plasmas (I can only buy one ):

Hitachi 42HDS69
Panasonic 42PX60U
Samsung S4253

I was at Best Buy and saw all three and here are my thoughts:

Panasonic $1299 - This TV seems to be getting the best reviews online (cnet.com, etc); although when I saw it at BB, it wasn't that bright or clear compared to the Samsung.

Samsung $1619 - I went to one Best Buy and they were playing the movie "Cars." I fell in love with the TV because it looked EXTREMELY clear, but then I went to another store and was watching football and it looked staticy and grainy. I mean...I loved the fact that I could see the individual blades of grass (was not able to see that on any other 42" TV) and the colors were super bright and beautiful, but I was very scared by the graininess.

Hitachi $1499 - This was next to the Samsung and although it wasn't quite as vibrant, it didn't have any graininess and was the 2nd best picture clarity out of all the TV's I saw. It seemed like a solid consistent TV.

I'm happy spending $1600 or less so all of these fit in my budget. I also see people talking about "DNIE" but I haven't be able to figure out what that is.

Any help would be great. You guys are home theater geniuses!

Thanks.
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post #2 of 11
11/20/06 at 4:24pm

Re: Panasonic, Samsung or Hitachi

Get the Panasonic and spend the money saved on a good calibration disk....or for the amount you'll save, you can almost have it professionally ISF calibrated. As you've discovered, store setups are notoriously inaccurateand varied from store to store. I often think that they sent up one to look better than the other depending on which unit they're trying to push that week (cynical? you betcha)

Mort
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post #3 of 11
11/20/06 at 5:55pm

Re: Panasonic, Samsung or Hitachi

X
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post #4 of 11
11/21/06 at 8:22am

Re: Panasonic, Samsung or Hitachi

I'm up in the air about Panasonic (A Best Buy guy recommended this, and I saw it in store, and it looked good, but I am wary with store displays) or Samsung (2 friends recommended this). These posts are very helpful. Even more could be too! I want to get one today to celebrate the completion of my Master's thesis and the PM on Black Friday. I'm thinking Best Buy too, so I can get the Reward Zone membership and the financing special.
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post #5 of 11
11/21/06 at 10:58am

Re: Panasonic, Samsung or Hitachi

I've personally had less than stellar results with Samsung products from a quality control standpoint.....tube TV's, LCD monitors, CRT monitors and phones. It just left a bad taste in my mouth so I haven't purchased any of their products in the last couple of years.....perhaps they're better now but I just don't care to find out.

From a repair standpoint (gotta be prepared) Panasonic has a lot more factory certified facilities than most any other PDP manufacturer and a pretty good reputation of standing behind their product.

Mort
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post #6 of 11
11/21/06 at 1:51pm
Thread Starter 

Re: Panasonic, Samsung or Hitachi

Any votes for the Hitachi? I've spoken with enough people who have told me the Samsung's break down frequently so I'm not going with the Samsung. I did like the Hitachi and was wondering what you guys thought about that?

One more thing to add...the Hitachi displays 1080i while the Panny displays 720p. Should this affect my decision?

Thanks.
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post #7 of 11
11/21/06 at 4:52pm

Re: Panasonic, Samsung or Hitachi

Quote:
Originally Posted by eshoukry93
One more thing to add...the Hitachi displays 1080i while the Panny displays 720p. Should this affect my decision?

Thanks.

You have to get a Panasonic model higher, for $500 more for 1080, btw.
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post #8 of 11
11/25/06 at 4:19am

Re: Panasonic, Samsung or Hitachi

Also, the HP is the exact same display as a Panasonic. Just different case and color.
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post #9 of 11
11/25/06 at 10:53pm

Re: Panasonic, Samsung or Hitachi

Any votes for the Hitachi?
I was also in the same boat as you, I went to pick up the Panasonic but bought the Hitachi once I saw them side by side. When I first got the tv home, the greens were too bright almost neon.
Called up Hatachi they sent out new software, once it downloaded it and got my display adjusted the picture is awsome. Best move Ive made in years
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post #10 of 11
11/27/06 at 1:45pm

Re: Panasonic, Samsung or Hitachi

Hitachi knows thier stuff when it comes to televisions. A while back when I was helping a family member get a TV, I was looking at Hitachi's web site describing how their rear projection TV's worked, and it was impressive.

Hitachi is not a bad TV by any means.
The Pioneer Elite 50" for $8000 is beautiful.... lol
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post #11 of 11
11/27/06 at 3:13pm

Re: Panasonic, Samsung or Hitachi

could someone explain the 1080i aspect of the Hitachi plasma to me? I work at BestBuy and its hard to explain to customers that plasma's aren't interlaced displays...

does it mean it has 1080i processing and then converts to 720p for final display? I can't get a good explanation anywhere.

oh, and in my store, we definately don't change what the TV's are hooked up to depending on what we're pushing that week. We're definately not that slick lol.
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