Search results

That about sums it up for me too. The only thing I can add is that I also found it to be very predictable. My wife and I rented and watched this over the weekend. She really liked it, I will probably (her vote counts more than mine ;)) never watch it again. -Steve

There is a possibility that Pioneer may license some of their technology to Panasonic in exchange for Panasonic supplying the plasma panels. FYI, Panasonic also demo'ed some new plasma displays that had black levels as good as the Pioneer Kuros at this year's CES. These new panels will...

In my opnion, there are no LCDs that compete well in terms of overall PQ with the best plasmas. The chief advantage of LCDs is their higher light output and apparent contrast in bright environments. However, in the typical home viewing environment, plasma diplays provide better overall PQ...

While component is capable of carrying HD signals, I don't think that HD-DVD, Blu-Ray and upconverting DVD players output anything higher than 480p on the component outputs. For HD signals you have to use HDMI or DVI with HDCP. -Steve

Both are excellent displays. The Pioneer has the edge for overall picture quality, but the Panasonic is also very good. What is your typical viewing distance and what are your typical viewing conditions (i.e. brightly lit room, dimly lit room or dark room)? The farther you sit from the...

Burn-in has not been a serious problem for plasmas for the last several generations. Currently, burn-in for plasmas is no worse than for a regular CRT based direct view display. FYI, we have owned two Panasonic plasmas, one for 3½ years and another for about a year, and neither have any...

We have a 50" Panasonic 768p plasma, and for most HD content, I can't really see much difference in PQ between outputting 720p and 1080i from our Comcast HD cable box. One exception is sports programming that originates in 720p (ABC, ESPN, FOX), where 720p output definitely looks better. In...

Samsung's contrast ratio is achieved by having eyeball-searing brightness, not by having a lower black level. For all but the brightest viewing environments (e.g. large windows directly opposite the display) the Panasonic plasmas will be plenty bright, and their lower black levels will provide...

Both are major well establishe dbrands. A recently as last year, Panasonic was the overall leader in plasma performance, but several manufacturers including Samsung have recently made significant improvements. In fact, Pioneer now offers the best black levels for flat panel displays, something...

The latest generation of Pioneer plasmas started showing up in the retail chain last week and are supposedly superior in PQ to just about everything else that's currently available. I've been a big fan of Panasonic plasmas, but from what I've read, the new line from Poineer now offers the best...

One thing that has happened since that article was written is that flat panel display prices have eroded considerably. It could be that this technology is simply too expensive to be marketable. -Steve

Not sure why you listed "half-life" as a con for plasma and not for LCD. The current half-life of CCFL lamps used in LCD backlights is no better than the phosphor half-life in plasmas. In either case, it's around 60,000 hours, which is plenty (>20 years at 8 hours per day usage). -Steve

Actually, if you don't have young children or pets, you can remove the protective screen altogether. Many people remove this screen (or have an ISF tech do it) to get a better picture with fewer reflections. It is there to protect the lenticular screen, which can be easily damaged (scratched)...

I know several people who've had to have their color wheels replaced, although the symptoms were different; the color wheel started making noise. Not sure if that type of failure can cause the symptoms you're seeing, but it's worth asking Samsung about.

The TH-65PX600U is a complete HDTV with built-in HD tuners. The equivalent monitor only version is the TH-65PF9UK.

Video games shouldn't be a problem with any of sets listed. Mitsubishi's DLP TVs are currenly considered to be among the best. Only a small percentage of people see rainbows on the DLP TVs made within the past couple of years, but you should view one in person to be sure. Like Seth stated...

Actually, the anamorphic lenses that I've seen are mounted in front of the projector, not attached to it. There is some added expense to this type of setup; the projector has to have a scaler (or you can use an external scaler) that performs a vertical stretch to fully utilize the projector's...

A lot of people are now using a "2.35 constant height setup" that improves resolution and light output by using the projectors entire panel for 2.35:1, but this requires the use of an anamorphic lense in front of the projector. It also creates pillar bars for smaller aspects (1.85:1, etc.), but...

Actually, I agree with you. While I personally prefer plasma, I do recommend LCD to people when their usage and viewing environment are not favorable to plasma. We actually own both types of displays and each has its strengths and weaknesses. I was simply trying to respond to the "Plasma is...

I still haven't seen an LCD display that I think looks better than a quality plasma display. LCDs have their strong points, brightness, lower glare and higher resolution. But all of the large LCD displays that I've seen still suffer from backlight uniformity problems, limited viewing angles and...

Currently, you're going to pay a premium for any 50"+ plasma with 1080p resolution. What is your viewing distance? FYI, at about 9', a typical person cannot resolve the difference between 1080p and 720p on a 50" display. There are some excellent 50" 720p (actually 768p) plasmas, and they cost a...

Sony did not have their own panel manufacturing and therefore had to rely on other manufacturer's such as Samsung. Sony integrated the panels with their own electronics and then charged a premium price, but their performance was not any better (or, in some cases, not as good as) the other first...

Actually, plasma monitors ARE a popular choice. I've owned a Panasonic 42" plasma monitor for 3½ years and just upgraded to the 50" 9UK. The only downside is if you ever want to switch it for use as a secondary TV in a bedroom or den, where you may not want to have to use an external tuner and...

The dithering is normal and unavoidable. This is how plasmas generate intermediate levels at the dark end of the gray scale. The pixels in a plasma display only have two states, on or off. The apparent brightness is controlled by the ratio of on-time to off-time. Because there is a minimum...

FYI, the general consensus is that 8' is okay with the 37" ED because it has a smaller pixel structure. The consumer version of the 37" is sold by several of the big box retailers, so it might be worth while for you to confirm this before you buy. -Steve

BlaineG, What is your typical viewing distance? At 10 feet or greater, the Panasonic ED plasma looks terrific, but if you are going to be seated at 8 feet or less, then the pixel structure may become distracting. Between 8 and 10 feet, the sensitivity to this varies widely from person to...

It does appear from the manual that you can use it as an analog cable tuner. I would post this question in the Audio/Video Sources forum and see if someone who owns this tuner can confirm this. Regards, Steve

If you use a VCR (this works fine for analog cable channels) or a standard cable box as your tuner, you will likely find that that using the composite video output provides better picture quality than an svideo output. All standard NTSC video is composite and requires the color and B&W signals...

Michael, I respectfully disagree. Weight compared to what? LCD flat panels? A 42" plasma does not weigh much more than a comparably sized DLP or LCD RPTV and is certainly lighter in weight than most direct view and CRT based RPTVs. With respect to burn-in, it is virtually a non-issue for...

I'm not dis'n all CRT RPTV's, just the cheap ones. I personally haven't seen a sub $1K RPTV that produces really great PQ. However, I've seen several 30" direct view HDTV's in that price range that look great. Since John stated that he is looking for something in the 19" to 30" size, I think...