Pioneer Elite Kuro PRO-151FD VS Sharp AQUOS LC-65E77UM (1 Viewer)

[HDNutts2010]

So I’m ready to upgrade again… I have a Sharp 65" LC65SE94U in my Home Theater now and love it. I am looking to add a new TV to my family room but thought it might be time to upgrade my home theater TV instead and just move my existing 65" to the family room. My current Sharp was purchased last October so it’s about a year old. I will typically watch Blu-Ray DVD’s via Sony BDP-CX960 or HD TV via Time Warner (both rooms will be the same except my HT has the surround sound/receiver equipment etc.)

I'm still leaning toward LCD vs Plasma. I’ve read a lot of reviews regarding Plasma that say it’s the better way to go. But I also don’t get caught up in “commercial reviews” too much and rely mostly on end user opinions and in-person visual evaluation. So being that I am looking at these sets: Pioneer Elite Kuro PRO-151FD and the Sharp AQUOS LC-65E77UM. So what would be the best overall visual experience? (My budget is wide open but I will stay in the 65” size range)

Room is 25’ deep and 17’ wide with the viewing distance about 10’ to 15’ (I can make it what ever I need). Both rooms have very little outside light and can be dark or light constantly throughout the day or night. I’m not considering LED at this time since they are fairly new and from my personal inspection so far I’m not overly impressed with them compared to my existing Sharp 65”.

Thanks for any input!

 

[Michael TLV]

Greetings

If it is picture quality that you are after, then the pioneer is the way to go. Better black levels ... and by extension, superior contrast ratios.

More accurate color, and much wider viewing angles. Coming from the 94 series sharp, you would understand the limits of viewing angles on that one. Colors shift if 3 people try to sit down to view the same image.

You want visual experience, then the pioneer is it. If you are looking for something else ... like TVs that look watchable in vast sunlight, then you can't be one that really cares about image quality.

regards

 

[HDNutts2010]

I'm all about visual quality and could care less about seeing the TV in bright light. Matter of fact, when I sit down to watch a DVD in my Home Theater, my MX-3000 remote automatically turns my light down to 73% from full lighting and when I hit watch HDTV it automatically turns to them 89% of full. So again it's all about the visual experience for me.

I have a local retailer here that is a raw core Home Theater store and not a Best Buy or an HH Greg type store. They are willing to hook up the same Blu-Ray play and the same Time Warner HD box I have to both of these sets and they said I could stay as long as I needed. So that is what I'm doing tomorrow. I'll test drive them both tomorrow in person and see what I think. I'll report back my personal opinion later tomorrow.

Is there any reason at all to look at LED? (I don't think so but I have to ask right?)

 

[Michael TLV]

Greetings

LED is just LCD with LED bulbs.

In that sense ... LCD sets should be called CCF bulb TVs then and nothing would be called LCD at all.

Same viewing angle issues and depending on the TV .. cloudy blacks or blue blacks. The LED ones have glossy surfaces like plasma sets. Looks upscale.

Plasma still handles motion better if performance is top priority.

 

[HDNutts2010]

Now the question I should of asked with my original post (and before I head up to the HD Store) is this: Is there a big difference between the Kuro Pro vs the regular non PRO model?

 

[Michael TLV]

Greetings

Yes and no ...

Normal ones are less tweakable and less accurate. the color palette is not adjustable on the normal ones so all colors are over saturated and there is nothing much you can do about it.

Black levels are the same ...

The elites have more tweaking capability and the ISF C3 modes that can be unlocked for even more flexibility. (needs a separate program you buy and test gear or hire a person for)

Regards

 

[HDNutts2010]

Thanks Michael for all the info... I'm headed there now. I'll be back in a few hours and will post my first hand opinions.

 

[HDNutts2010]

Well I’m back from my “evaluation” of the two sets and here is my honest opinion and what I’ve concluded.

First off to set the environment for you: The two TVs were side by side in the same room, same lighting etc for the comparison, same blue-ray players and same HDTV tuners.

My first impressions just by looking at them, they both looked good as far as their design. What I didn’t care for was the trim around the Sharp, but easy to overlook. Very noticeable was the 60” vs 65” screen size.

My selection for blu-ray viewing was: Transformers 2 Revenge of the Fallen and Planet Earth. Watching the blu-ray’s I was impressed with both TV’s overall almost equally. Each had unique bells and whistles so I really focused on the picture quality and over all viewing experience. Also to note, I have no issue of viewing angle where I will located the set in my theater room. So that isn’t a factor that will sway me toward one set or the other.

The sales associate I was working with told me both TVs were adjusted and setup (color, contrast, brightness etc.) by the same tech. So it was the same set of eye’s that did the adjusting of both.

To start, Transformers 2 totally jump off the screen at me on both sets. I personally could not tell much difference between either picture. The black were outstanding on both sets, and the way the sets were adjusted I actually liked the blue better on the Sharp a bit better. I noticed absolutely no motion blur on the Sharp and both were crisp and vibrant. I finally got tired of trying to notice any major differences between the 2 pictures watching the blu-rays (both of my selections) that would cause me to buy one verses the other. So I set the TV’s to some factory default settings for picture, color, sharpness etc.

At that point I could tell differences between the pictures and how they looked. But that could very well be due to the factor deciding what setting to use for their particular modes vs the other. The Sharp defaults seemed a bit more “over” adjusted and the Pioneer seemed more natural ( a little soft even). But when I went back to the custom settings the tech has set, it was right back to almost no noticeable differences. I did think overall the Pioneer seemed a bit “softer” then the Sharp, and I personally prefer a more crisp edge, sharp image and not a soft one. I sure with a bit of adjusting to my taste that could be correct to my preference on the Pioneer and vise versa if you like softer the Sharp could more then likely be adjusted as well.

I then switch to HDTV (DirectTV) and again not much difference between the two sets when comparing the same channel at the same time. So I decided to flip between two different channels and alternate each channel on both sets. I could then tell the Sharp had what I would refer to as a bit better blues, but overall the Pioneer was a little more consistent with keeping to the picture quality the same on HDTV as I saw when watching the Blu-ray. But I’m not sure if that just means the DirectTV input on the Sharp was not adjusted the same as it’s Blu-Ray input either (if that makes any sense)

Overall comparing the two and not really seeing much visual picture difference or anything that would make me purchase one over the other. I looked at price. The Pioneer being $2,000 more then the Sharp I will probably go with the Sharp. I’m not saying anything regarding the specs of either TV on paper and which one weighs in better as far as technical ratings etc. I’m talking about the couch test and simply sitting in front of each set and watching them with my own eye’s and what I prefer.

I’ll make the purchase after the holiday and hope prices either stay the same or drop a little.

 

[HDNutts2010]

[COLOR= black]Well I went back one last time already this morning (you have to love early holiday hours)! A few other observations that I wanted to add. When the Pioneer Elite was in "optimal" mode, which I understand makes auto adjustments to the settings every 8 seconds by using the room brightness sensor and the room color sensor. It looked to me as if the yellows had a bit of a green tint to them and the blacks seemed to “all black” and not much grey levels to discern detail. The tech went back to his custom settings and that seemed to fix both the yellows and black. Also they had an open box that was always in the store for only $3,899.00. That price is very tempting.[/COLOR]