50 inch plasma what one would to buy?

[iwillwalk]

so mu info out there

brain on overload

need your help

what set would you buy

thanx

s

[Bill H.]

Panasonic...............JMHO.

[flatgrass]

This is the one I am saving my change for...

Link

Many other sets reviewed also.

[DU73]

yep - Panasonic Viera. IMO

[Arky]

Panny.

[Bill H.]

• 

  Samsung LN46A550

  $1,238.18

  - $1,799.99

  • CNET Editor rating:

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    3.5 stars

    Very good

    Overall score: 7.7 (3.5 stars)

• Average user rating:

  3.5 stars

  out of 27

  reviews

Panasonic Viera TH-50PZ800U

$1,665.00

- $2,499.99

• CNET Editor rating:

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  4.0 stars

  Excellent

  Overall score: 8.7 (4.0 stars)

Average user rating:

4.0 stars

out of 54

reviews

Samsung LN46A650

$1,488.00

- $2,499.99

• CNET Editor rating:

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  Not yet rated

• Average user rating:

  4.0 stars

  out of 33

  reviews

Samsung LN46A950

$2,528.18

- $3,499.00

• CNET Editor rating:

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  4.0 stars

  Excellent

  Overall score: 8.3 (4.0 stars)

Average user rating:

4.0 stars

out of 15

reviews

Sony Bravia KDL-52XBR6

$2,267.50

- $3,499.99

• CNET Editor rating:

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  4.0 stars

  Excellent

  Overall score: 8.0 (4.0 stars)

Average user rating:

5.0 stars

out of 4

reviews

Bottom line, what's your budget, room size and is a dealer near by for service? Shop Globally, buy locally

[Rich_Guy]

I own a Panasonic professional model plasma and I would not trade mine for any other brand or model at any price. I have the 50 inch TH-50PH9UK it is 2 years old now and is still like new in every way and has an amazing picture quality, it even still has 3 years left of the free 5 year warranty Panasonic gave me (a special offer at that time).

The Panasonic professional models are definitely my favorite displays for many reasons and I could not recommend them more.

Here is a link to Panasonics professional displays web site.

http://www.panasonic.com/business/plasma/plasmas.asp

[sunburnwilly]

I would go Pioneer if you can swing it . The Panny's would be my second choice . Hint , you won't hear a Pioneer owner wondering out loud if they should have bought a Panny or anything else . Best bet , go and take a look at what's available and see for yourself .

[colterphoto1]

get the BIG one.

[picky]

Regarding Plasmas, which have a superior picture (IMHO):

Pioneer: Best picture/highest cost

Samsung: Deeper blacks than Panasonic, but not as good as Pioneer/Medium-level pricing

Panasonic: Excellent picture/best bang for the buck/Lowest return rate (2%) in the industry/Best pricing.

Don't forget to check sales on all brands of displays at Sears whose prices tend to be among the lowest, in my opinion.

I recommend you only consider an LCD if you are an avid gamer.

[CECAA850]

I would go Pioneer if you can swing it . The Panny's would be my second choice . Hint , you won't hear a Pioneer owner wondering out loud if they should have bought a Panny or anything else . Best bet , go and take a look at what's available and see for yourself .

Ditto. The Pioneer Elite KURO's are outstanding. They are a bit pricey however. Find any Home Theater or Sound and Vision type magazine and you'll see that they're always the editors pick. Most other plasmas try to compare themselves to the "benchmark" Pioneers when making claims of picture quality. If money's an issue, the Panasonics are a VERY good alternative.

[colterphoto1]

I'm very happy with my Samsung. The blacks and color saturation are astounding.

[Joe Shmoe]

what ever happened to DLP?

[picky]

DLP is great for front projectors, I love mine. If you want to go with a gigantic picture at an affordable price, front projection (DLP & LCD) rules.

But for self-contained screens, (rear projection DLPs and LCDs) from about 65" or smaller, and in the case of this thread which is in consideration of a 50" screen, rear projection screens are pretty much on their way out in the stores for at least three reasons:

- Rear projection LCD & DLPs typically require a much deeper footprint (about 17" or more) as compared with flat screen LCD and Plasmas (about 3" or more) and because of this they usually are not hung on the wall which is what many consumers prefer.

- Direct view flatscreen LCDs & Plasmas have a better picture (IMHO) with lower distortion than rear projection sets. Rear projection sets use mirrors inside that do cause distortion, even if only slight.

- Rear projection sets require expensive bulb replacements, typically every 2,000 hours or so. Typical flatscreen LCD and Plasma sets have a brightness half-life of approximately 24,000 hours on average and are still very watchable well beyond that level for many years with no bulbs to replace. Many of today's LCD and Plasma sets will outlast their owners.

The basic advantage of a rear projection LCD or DLP set over the thin flatscreens is price. But with the Plasma and LCD flatscreens coming down more and more each month, that is less and less of a reason to buy rear projection sets.

[sunburnwilly]

what ever happened to DLP?

DLP's are great values but are bulky and off angle viewing is poor .

[picky]

Sunburn: Agreed! I might add that off-angle viewing is not so good on many flat screen LCDs either. The 22" Samsung LCD we have in our bedroom has a fairly wide horizontal viewing angle but the vertical viewing angle is quite narrow and we had to make sure we ordered an articulating wall mount for it that had at least a 15 degree tilt angle capability to enable us to watch it lying down in bed properly.

Plasmas seem to rule the roost in viewing angle ability. Most front projection (DLP & LCD) screens also have wide viewing angles. My Sharp DLP front projector/Stewart Grayhawk screen combination boasts a 160 degree viewing angle. Our 50" Panasonic plasma is viewable from virtually any angle or anywhere in our living room.

[SpinDoctor15]

The pictures don't do it justice (taken on a small point-and-shoot digital camera in sub-optimal conditions), but you can get a feel for my setup:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=919825

I love my Pioneer Kuro plasma, the PDP-5080HD (it is the 2007 model, newer equivalent version is the 5020). I do a lot of gaming, and haven't had even a hint of image-retention (permanent version is called "burn-in"). I recommend plasmas to all of my friends who are in the market, in my opinion they provide the best and most realistic picture quality. LCDs have their advantages, and certainly outsell plasmas in the market, but I'm still not sold: refresh rates do not eliminate some ghosting issues, and they always look 2D to me. I think plasmas are more true-to-life. However, for the sake of argument:

For Plasmas, my recommendation for a 50-60", in this order, and I wouldn't buy from any other manufacturer:
1. Pioneer
2. Panasonic
3. Samsung

For LCDs (or even LEDs), based on my reading and research (on AVSForum.com and CNet.com in addition to other rando 'Net sites), in order:
1. Sony (the clear leader, although the most expensive!)
2. Samsung
3. LG or Vizio, they are getting better... in-fact, Vizio put out a very respectable, high picture-quality panel, but their user interface and connectivity options have been known to suffer

Pioneer is going to be releasing a line of LCDs soon, so watch for that, they will be made with Sharp panels, but have Pioneer Kuro processing, yummy combo since I think most current Sharp LCDs are not good on their own. Ultimately, I would recommend looking for a Pioneer 5020 from a reputable dealer. I bought my Pio 5080 from InvisionDisplays.com in July 2007, the month it hit the market: I paid a full $1000 less than Best Buy price, paid no tax and no shipping, I picked it up at their local SoCal warehouse (company is in Seattle). I would recommend talking to the folks over on AVSForum.com, it's an excellent resource. Good luck with your choice!