Tau vs Wega (1 Viewer)

[Butch Searle-Spratt]

This question has probably been asked before, but does anyone have any input on how the new Wega XBR 450's stack up against the Panasonic Tau HX41? They both have 3:2 pulldown and line doublers so it would seem they are comparable. The Tau retails for about $300 less, so this is an obvious advantage.

 

[Mark Ruszat]

I bought the Panasonic CT32HX41 set and replaced it about a week later with the Sony FV-32XBR450. The Panasonic had a large number of serious geometry problems that I wasn't convinced could be fixed. In addition the color temperature and white level was set so high, and the black level so low that I was unable to properly adjust the picture quality. This resulted in a picture that had very black blacks and blindingly white whites. Much of the detail was washed out of the lighter scenes and buried in the darker scenes.
The Sony also had some geometry problems, but they were much more manageable and I was able to correct them myself by going into the TV's service mode. In addition the Sony also had some color purity problems that caused the whites to be lightly tinted red or green. All of the Sonys direct view TVs that I've seen have this problem to some degree. It seems to me though that the XBRs and High Scan models have less of a problem with this than the other Wega sets.
You mention that the Panasonic retails for about $300 less than the XBR, but if you go with the Sony KV-32HS20 the price difference is a bit less and the picture is the same as XBR. It doesn't have the 3:2 pulldown feature though.