Sony -vs- Panasonic 34" Digital 16:9... (1 Viewer)

[aaron.r]

If anyone has any first-hand advise on the Sony 34XBR800 or the Panasonic 34WX52, I would greatly appreciate hearing it.

I think I've narrowed it down to these two... but at this point, it's difficult to sift through the manufacturer BS and figure out which set will really be the better buy.

The priority here is DVD movies and HDTV broadcast capability, but I don't want to sacrifice any more analog 4:3 picture quality than necessary. (I'm currently a Dish Network subscriber, but no HDTV receiver yet)

Also, I haven't heard much about the comparable Toshiba or Zenith sets, but I suppose they're not completely out of the question either...

Thanks,

- aaron

 

[Lew Crippen]

I spent several hours comparing these two (and a similar Toshiba). Both color and B&W in several aspect ratios. In the end, I chose the Sony, but it was so close that if I were making the choice today, it might be the other way.

The Sony does have a DVI port that the Panasonic lacks.

You will be happy, no matter which you choose.

 

[aaron.r]

Found out some more detail on +'s/-'s of these two great sets...
Basically, the Sony is superior when it comes to detail. You can clearly see finer details - particularly in the dark-to-black color areas - even with an analog signal on the Sony.
On the flip side, the Panasonic has a very warm picture and really nice looking blacks - but this is at the expense of the aforementioned fine detail.

Other than that, the Sony offers DVI inputs, which apparently are the future of HDTV... and the set is 34 lbs heavier (can't imagine why)

One final note: the Sony will apparently up-convert a 720p input to 1080i... not really sure what that translates to, as I'm still a little confused on the whole progressive scan -vs- interlaced video stuff. Anybody know this well enough to explain?

- aaron

 

[Bill Slack]

Upconverting 720p->1080i is most useful for the Xbox at this point, as it looks like more games will be 720p than 1080i, and it can't convert it. Other than that, not exactally a big feature, unless it does a really top-notch job compared to a STB.

Does the Sony DVI port support HDCP though? I've seen a few sets with DVI but w/o HDCP which doesn't make it much of a feature, in terms of future-proofing.

In terms of PQ, comparing uncalibrated sets is rather a crapshoot, imo.

 

[aaron.r]

True that the up-conversion is not a big deal since 1080i is best for DVD movies and most TV programs anyway. (correct me if I'm wrong b/c I'm still not clear here... for example, why are better DVD players Progressive Scan?)
But what about for viewing a windows PC on the TV?
From what I understand, the following resolution conversions apply:
- 640x480 = 480p (4:3)
- 960x540 = 1080i (16:9)
- 1280x720 = 720p (16:9)
It would be nice to have the finer resolution 720p offers... and if it's true that progressive scan is better for text (e.g. computer screen shots, news channels with text like Bloomberg, etc...) than it would seem that having a 720p input would be an advantage. But if it 'converts' the 720p signal to 1080i, will the advantage be nullified?

Do you really feel that calibrating is that important on a direct view set?

BTW, regarding the DVI port on the Sony, what's HDCP?

- Aaron

 

[jeff lam]

Sony DVI does support HDCP(high-bandwidth digital content protection).