Large Panasonic vs Samsung Plasma (1 Viewer)

[N.C.]

I've been visiting this site for a couple of years. I have found the advise and reviews very helpful when I was deciding on my first plasma display. I found the info very helpful and have been very happy with my fujitsu since then. I'm now putting together a new media center and would like to obtain some feedback from the forum members...

I'm looking for a larger size plasma display. I've been contemplating the 58inch 1080p from Panasonic and the 63inch 1080p from Samsung. I would like to hear other's opinions regarding these displays. I'm as much interested in hearing of any longterm quality issues from these companies as I am in hearing about real world display quality (outside of the showroom).

I'm going with plasma over rear projection technologies due to the brightness of the room and the wide viewing angle I need to take into consideration.

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Steve_L_B]

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 that Panasonic previously dominated for the past several years. I've had two Panasonic plasmas, a 42" for four years and a 50" for seven months, and been very happy with boh of them. Over the past couple of years, Samsung displays have had some PQ issues related to their DNI processing, but their most recent models are getting very good reviews.

What is your typical viewing environment? If you generally watch TV/movies in the evening in a dimly lit room, then the Panasonic's lower black level will likely provide better overall picture quality. If you watch with moderate room lighting, then the black level is less important and you can make your choice based upon your preference of features/size/asthetics.

-Steve

 

[N.C.]

I appreciate the input.

The viewing environment is actually a very bright room during the day and the plasma will be used by the family throughout the day. I, personally, will get viewing time in the evenings and I prefer to watch HD content as much as possible via cable or HD-DVD.

I am leaning towards the Panasonic due to their historical edge in technology (black level / glass quality) but it is hard to resist adding a few more inches of viewing real estate with the Samsung. I am trying to stay away from the Pioneer and Fujitsu plasmas at this size due to the significantly higher cost... though I do agree that they have very nice picture quality. I've been extremely happy with my 50 inch Fujitsu which is now 3 years old and still looks as good as (if not better than) any new plasma at friends' homes.

The two biggest concerns I have primarily with Samsung is the longterm quality of their products and any quirky behavior that may occur with their image processing.

 

[Leo Kerr]

The oldish Samsung plasma I've worked with (one of the first ~72" screens) had kind of wonky image processing, and horrible image retention (not burn.)

But that's a 2004 vintage screen, at least two hardware generations ago.

If you're willing to cough up the bucks, the Panasonic TH-65PF9UK is a very nice looking screen.

I've had a number of Panasonic plasmas at work; we run them ~9 hours/day/year on average, and have had excellent life-time reliability with them.

Actually, of the Panasonic, JVC, Samsung, Pioneer, and Fujitsu screens we've abused over the past eight or nine years, the big issues we've had with any of them are (a) dust and (b) power. We're still not sure if it was a power spike or a failed power supply that blew up an old Pioneer ~50" screen, but the JVC was very inclined to dust-up and overheat.

If cost were no object and I needed to go plasma, I'd go Panasonic Industrial/Broadcast.

Leo

 

[N.C.]

What I'm hearing so far continues to push me towards the Panasonics which was my initial inclination. I am curious about this 65inch Panasonic. The price point is not that far off from the 63inch Samsung. I will have to consider it. I'm not sure if I'll be able to find some place that carries the 65inch Panasonic locally, but I did look at the specs at their site and it has a 5000:1 contrast/black level compared to the 15000:1 on the Samsung. In your experience, is this a terribly noticeable difference? If not, I may have to venture out and find one of these screens to look at for myself.

Thanks for all the helpful feedback...

 

[Steve_L_B]

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 better PQ in dim lighting.

Regards,
Steve

 

[lanceanne2]

Hey fellas! I just wanted to say thanks for the information. I too have been looking at purchasing a large flat screen plasma TV. For a long time I have had my mind set on the Panasonic. All the reviews are always positive. However, I did find one guy who's TV broke down on the 31st day and panasonic gave him the run around when attempting to help him fix his issue. Another owner of the Samsung claimed his issues with the TV were handled quickly and with minimal trouble. Although the panasonic gets great reviews, so does the Samsung and to be honest everytime I go into the store- the picture on the samsung plasma always seems to look better to me when side by side with the panasonic. Any thoughts? I have a hard time pulling the trigger and don't want to make a bad decision. I'll be watching sports most of the time.

 

[tv-tech]

This is a very old post, so many of the specifics will be out of date. I would still probably lean towards the Panasonic personally, no real reason other than I still have my 2005 plasma as my back up to my newer sets. On a service note, Samsung "in that past" has pushed for the "cheaper" service centers to provide service, while Panasonic tries to use service centers with a higher "service" rating. But then, my local area is completely opposite from this. Each area has its own Service centers, and they will have a bigger impact on service satisfaction than the manufacturer itself,,,usually. I know I'm being vague, hopefully someone better qualified to talk about specifics of these sets will come along. I'm just a repair tech, and my views are a little skewed from the norm. Hope this helps, Jim