Need advise on Pio vs. Panny. Buying this week (1 Viewer)

I have my choices narrowed to two at this point.
First is the Pioneer PDP-6070HD (60") and second is the Panasonic TH-58PX600U (58"). I have looked at these units in stores and like them both. What it actually boiled down to was I like the all black look of the Pio frame versus the silver and black look of the Panny although the 600U has much less silver on the frame compared to the 60U.

There is about a $1000.00 difference in price between the two sets and I don't see where there is a $1000.00 difference in picture quality and features. Am I missing something here because as of right now, I looking to get the Panny.

I know these are not 1080p sets but it will probably be a few years before the 60" plasmas get 1080p for a decent price and DLP is out of the question because I want a wall mount. Most of my viewing will be standard DVD's and HD digital cable. I'm replacing an old Mitsu 55" CRT HD unit that has a cracked screen.

I have searched and read posts where some have said the Elite Pio's and Pannys are on par with each other and the Pio pro series are not as good as the Panny consumer units. I could not tell the difference between Elite and Pro.

Thanks!

They're both outstanding sets, you can't wrong with either one. For the difference in price, it's hard not to choose the Panasonic. I own a Pioneer PDP-4270HD, but would happily take a Panasonic, too. The Pioneers may have some small things in their favor, but probably not enough to justify the bigger price tag.

And don't worry about them not being 1080p, since they still look far better than any LCD or DLP of any resolution or price.

Thanks for the reply Donald. What you said is how I feel too and don't want to spend $1000.00 just to have a black frame and just to say I own a Pioneer.

Um... as far as the black frames, well, it's kind of a dirty suggestion, but we do a lot of this where I work.

We have a general preference to not show:

1. big brand labels; discreet ones are okay.
2. distracting frames
3. buttons and lights.

Depending on the area and lighting, we fabricate frames out of black plexiglas or even metal, and adhere them with a good double-stick tape. Other places, we go in with black gaffer's tape (black canvas-like backing,) black vinyl electrical tape, or "black-tak" (anodized black aluminium tape.)

Done well, and no-one will ever see your 'aftermarket' modifications.

As for the other, most of the best plasmas I've seen recently were Panasonic, though they've all been in the Industrial/Commercial line.

Leo Kerr

I had chosen my Panasonic TH-42PX600U over the PX 60, for, among other connection features, the fact that there is less silver in this model and more black..dont know why Panny thought silver was going to be an upgrade and you can be sure the new models will go back to more black...

Overall I'm very happy with my panny and would be hard spressed in spending $1000 for any additional features another model offered...

Do you need a TV or will a monitor work? The Pany monitors are black. I went with the Pany 60X because I got a really good deal black Friday weekend. Otherwise, I would have gone with a Pany monitor.

The main advantage of the Pannys over the Pios (besides price) is reduced image latency ("gaming lag"). I ran some tests in-store and at a local gaming lounge, and determined that the Pio's image is delayed about 3 frames behind the source. This is enough to be noticable to the eye. Your TV's image will be 3 frames behind your audio, causing out-of-synch auido, and actions on screen will take place noticably after you push a button on your game controller.

The Panny 60/600Us are reputed to have the least latency of all current HDTVs. My neighbor has a 42" 60U and we have not noticed latency problems in actual usage.

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I think Leigh is referring to the 9UK series of Panasonic professional monitors. The main differences between the two are that the 9UKs have

• Independent input memories
• Simple black cabinet
• No integrated TV tuner
• 3 modular bays for customizable input cards
• A free warranty extension to 5 years
• No HD aspect scaling
• No speakers
• No stand

The main disadvantage of the 9UK series is that even with the customizalbe input bays, you're limited to fewer inputs than the 600U. For instance, the most diverse combination possible on the 9UK would include 1 VGA port, 1 component port, 1 HDMI port, and 1 S-Video/Composite port. Compare to the 600Us built-in 1 VGA, 3 component, 2 HDMI, a few (I forget) comosite, and 1 coaxial.

By the time you've bought the 9Uks cards, speakers, and a stand, you've exceeded the cost of the 600U.

If you plan to do professional image calibration, you have another quandry. The 600U only permits 3 image setting profiles (though they can be assigned to any input). While the 9UK has true independent input memories, you're limited to 3 high-def inputs. So it's kind of a wash setting-wise, though the 600U permits you to have more total input sources.