Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater What TV to Buy

I was wondering whats your take on which tv to buy. My choices are either
Sony KDSR50XBR1 LCD REAR Projection
Sony Bravia XBR 40inch LCD
Panisonic 500u 50inch Plasma

The tv will mainly be used for Movies and Video Games. The Two sony's to me look very good in the stores. Im not sure the bravia is big enough. 40inchs really isnt all that big when watching a movie or playing video games. The only problem I have with the Sony KDSR50XBR1 is its size. I kind of wanted a flat panel, but this tv was kicking ass at the store, and it has 2HDMI's and its 1080p. That seems pretty tempting to me. I have never seen the panny's 500u series in person but I hear they are really good. And i do love the look of the plasma alot. I think the 500u was cancelled and it will be replaced by something else in April. But anyway I was just wondering what tv's you guys would suggest. Thanks

i considered the same type of models, but ultimately went with sharp aquos 42" lcd flatscreen (in black). It is definately more stylish than the bravia (in my personal opinion) and it doesn't require you to change the lightblub every 2 or 3 years (as with the other sony model). panasonic plama are sort of outdated.

looking back, i wished i had paid more and gotten a projector and overhead screen (but that would have costed well over $10,000) for a quality setup plus installation.

hope that helps

Hmmmm. Actually, the Panasonics are not outdated; they are the industry leaders for plasma TV, followed closely by Pioneer and NEC. Panasonic will be offering 1080p in the just announced TVs for this model year.

The Bravia is a great set, but 40" will never look very big. Either the SXRD or the Pannny plasma are terrific choices - both at the top end of their particular offerings.

I am almost to the finish line on doing my basement and I have a 50" Sony LCD that is 2 1/2 years old. It will be too small for the room, so it will be sold. Based on (way too much) research, I will be getting the 60" SXRD or a 58" or 65" Panny plasma. My timing is such that I will get the next generation models.

Feel good about your selections, you can't make a mistake with any of them.

I looked seemingly forever (at least according to my wife!) at the Panny 500U and the bigger Sony KDSR. Picture wise -- a very tough decision, but I went with the Panny primarily for 2 reasons - 1) the physical depth of the Sony set was too much (20"), and 2) the picture on the plasma just seemed crisper. My wife also liked the higher tech, clean look of the plasma. The 500U is the latest model (last year's), and has the 8th generation glass. One concern with the plasma sets is burn-in that can occur with games, though there are some models that do a minor offset every 15 minutes to help alleviate the issues.

On the other hand, you can pick up the 60" Sony for about the same price as the 50" Panny plasma

Enjoy, the big screens are awesome!

- Rp

3805
M80s VP150 EP500

If you're looking at the Sony XBR rear projection have a look at the JVC line too as they're about the same size just 20-30% less expensive.

You're looking at three different technologies ya' know?

Do not read on - SPOILERS - if you still want to belive in the Easter Bunny stop reading!

The XBR1 is a liquid crystal on silicon (LCoS) which is the type I bought but from JVC. The LCoS is similar to LCD projection but it lacks the spinning color wheel of the LCD projector - one less moving part. It also has "softer" pixels meaning that the screen door effect (SDE) is very minimum. If you're too close to an LCD you'll see the small gaps between pixels. Some people don't like the softer film-like appearance of the LCoS - I do. All projectors can suffer from the Shimmering Screen Effect (SSE) where if you focus on the screen - like during a bright white scene - you'll see the screen glowing and shimmering with a light of its own.

Plasmas are much better today than they were even three years ago but they still do suffer image burn-in. This becomes a problem if you're game has a bright white score board or other stationary image. When you quit the game the ghost of the score board will carry over into your television and movie watching ... for how long depends. The sets at work it's forever. The plasmas also suffer from something called clay face - where the colors and tones that should be continous are all one tone like the person's face was made of one color bar of clay vice contionus skin tones.

Lots of issues seen on HDTV's are the results of watching standard definition programming at the higher resolution exposing all the flaws of the original source. MPEG compression also add tons of artifacts which I'll not expose here <g>.

PS: Another cause of burn-in is the CNN ticker-tape or station bug - the logo in the corner. If you're watching a channel with ticker-tape along the bottom all day Saturday and then switch over you've got potential problems. The 12 channels of programming that I broadcast have the bug in the exact same place and we're getting complaints from our well armed customers (US Military) that their sets are burning the bug in. We're putting in a new system which will cause the bug to move a bit in a circle every hour to reduce the burn-in complaints.

I have had the Sony for about 5 months now and I don't think that you can find a better HDTV. I have been completely satisified with mine. The 1080P HDTV really has the WOW factor. I compared it side to side with the Mits and Sammy, the Sony won hands down. Not sure if the current crop of plasmas is 1080I or 1080P. IMO, you want the 1080P in whatever set you get.

Before you actually buy a set, compare it to others side to side. Look at the black levels, contrast, and edges. I couldn't find a one that could come close to the Sony.

Just one man's strong Sony opinion.

If I could buy a 1920 x 1080 50 inch plasma for a price anywhere close to the cost of the SXRD, I would do it. I think a plasma's picture is stunning. I still have a Sony 42 inch 1024 x 1024.

The 500U is 1366 x 768. Still a great picture. And high WAF for slim design.

We watch a lot of SD tv. The 4 x 3 looks better than the stretched (zoomed) picture in most cases. No worry about burn in with the SXRD. After three years letterbox lines were starting to show on the plasma from the number of non-16x9 movies we watch.

My son has the Samsung 56 1080 DLP. He would recommend it as well.

We looked hard at the Mitsubitsu as well.

For me. I love everything about the SXRD except the "ears".

Good luck!

Do you have a link to this JVC LCos TV? I have been looking at the 50" SXRD Sony, but haven't seen the JVC. The best I have seen the Sony for at a store is about $3300...more then I want to spend.

Maybe the JVC doesn't have dumbo ears either? One can hope.

The way in sounds is that I cant go wrong with any of my choices. Unless I need 1080p. So maybe I should wait for the next gen of sets to come out later this year. Panny's in april and the sony line in august. Thats not too far of a wait. I'll have to check out the JVC's and Sharp as well.

Is this the one you mean? LINK

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Plasmas are much better today than they were even three years ago but they still do suffer image burn-in. This becomes a problem if you're game has a bright white score board or other stationary image. When you quit the game the ghost of the score board will carry over into your television and movie watching ... for how long depends. The sets at work it's forever. The plasmas also suffer from something called clay face - where the colors and tones that should be continous are all one tone like the person's face was made of one color bar of clay vice contionus skin tones.

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Paul, its more like "but they still can suffer image burn-in." Like any other expensive electronic equipment, the manner that the person uses it factors in to the end result of the product. I know the 5th gen Panny plasma here at work has a continuous, non-fullscreen, Powerpoint rolling to update everyone to the plant's status, and the Tv's not burnt in to say the least. I suppose if we cranked the brightness up to a excessively high level, we could burn it in, but who's willingly going to f-up their screen.
Also, clayface (other than being a pretty interesting Batman rogue) is pretty much non-existent on the newer plasmas with the better video processing hardware(Panny and Pioneer). I haven't even heard of it much recently with the "cheaper" brands like Maxent and Vizio.

I'm going with that same 50" Sony and deal with the lamps. Lamps aren't cheap, but they are easy to put in yourself.

Worth it for me to pay $250-300 every 3 or 4 years and have no burn in. Not to mention how much more it cost for the plasma ... especially for a 50" 1080p like the Sony.

Yup...that 50" is the one I have been looking at. For $2400, it looks like it will end up being an online purchase when the time comes. That is almost at my $2000 target, and I am looking at buying in August, so I am sure prices will drop further.

Someone mentioned new Panny's in April and Sony's in August I believe. Where did you get those dates from? The new Sony showed at CES is really the one I prefer, because the HDMI does 1080P and at least on the demo at CES, there are no dumbo ears, which will help since it will be a little tight fitting it where I want it.

I really loved the Sony SXRD picture but it would not fit in the space I had, so I hunted for several months to find something I thought was just as good. I finally ended up going with the JVC FH series. It has a great picture, superb blacks and the cabinet design beats the Sony hands down.
Here is the 56" model. I would suggest taking a look at this one if you can find it locally, especially if you have space issues. The 56' JVC is the same width as the 50" sony.

Hi Paul350OZ,

"The XBR1 is a liquid crystal on silicon (LCoS) which is the type I bought but from JVC. The LCoS is similar to LCD projection but it lacks the spinning color wheel of the LCD projector - one less moving part."

Just a small correction. LCD front and rear projectors do NOT use a spinning color wheel. Only consumer-grade DLP front and rear projectors use color wheels. Pro DLP projectors (the ones use by some cinemas) use a separate micro-mirror array for each primary color, later combined by a prism, so they do not produce "rainbow effects".

LCD projectors use three separate LCD panels, one for each primary color. The colors are combined by a prism for projection and they do not produce "rainbow effects" as DLP projectors do. Only a small minority of viewers are bothered by rainbow effects buy anyone considering DLP should certainly view one to make sure they are not susceptible.

Most people never see them.

Regards,

Also DLP projectors are getting better and better. They now have colors combinations repeated on the color wheel to diminish the rainbow effect and as far as I've heard it has considerably diminished. Even if you've tried a DLP before and could see the effect you might want to try some newer models since it now might not display the effect for you.

The JVC LCoS I bought was the JVC HD61FH96 which doesn't have the speaker "ears" like the Sony does. I've always been a Sony man and have XBR sets going back 20 years but the looks of those speakers killed my opinion of the current sets. There's new models always coming around and I hope that the designers at Sony trim those things off.

Here's that JVC 1080p set for $3175 (+70 delivery)

http://tapeworkstexas.com/jvc_hd61fh96_61_inch_1080p_61_d_ila_rear_projection_hdtv_w_tuner_hd_61fh96_.html

Yes, Alan you're right ... my mind thought DLP ... fingers typed LCD!

We're using Barco 67" DLP projectors and they're just wonderful. At +$20,000 they're outside most home use <g> and have replaced the $24,000 plasmas that we went though like crazy. We bought into the first few generations of plasma and had too many issues with them to count. Current sets are way better that before and are actually at the quality we thought we were paying for three to five years ago.

I also don't care for the speakers in the Sony, but I'm hoping when I'm ready to by they'll be removable. I might go for the 60" if they get rid of the ears.

I recently bought a Hitachi 42HDT52. No complaints at all, 2 HDMI ports, etc. Might be worth checking out at a Video Only store.

I was doing some more searching, and what do you guys think about the pioneer Elite series of 43 and 50 plasma sets? I know they are more expensive but all the reviews I read said these were the sets to get.

Filly, the Pioneer plasmas are excellent, but from both personal observation and test reports, the Panasonics appear to be just as good for a considerably lower price.

Holy crap...is that a reputable online dealer? Those look like excellent prices/shipping for 1080P technology. Especially compared to JVC's MSRP. I realize MSRP is crap these days, but those prices look real good...

Anyone bought from this dealer?

Nick

If you're asking about www.tapeworkstexas.com , thats where I bought mine. Excellent price and low shipping cost. This is one of the few internet vendors that I can say was a pleasure to deal with.

Fillyv, a few more things to consider.

First, I’ve done a significant amount of research on plasmas for my upcoming purchase. Panasonic, Pioneer and NEC are generally regarded as the current front runners in PQ. The Pannys get the edge because their blacks and details in dark scenes are better.

There are two choices with each of the manufacturers. The Consumer version (what you will normally find at Circuit City or Best Buy) come with speakers and tuners. The Commercial version does not include speakers and tuners. There is a noticeable price advantage for the Commercial models. If you are hooking the set to a receiver for your sound system, you don’t need to spend the money for speakers. If you will be hooked up to a cable or satellite tuner, you don’t need to spend the money for a built-in tuner.

Having said that, here are representative prices for the Pioneer plasmas from a quick visit to Reseller Ratings ,:

PDP-5060HD (Consumer) = $3900
PRO-1130 (Consumer) = $5500
PDP-505CMX (Commercial) = $3400

Generally, Visual Apex and New Egg have the best pricing and customer service.

If I was buying a 50” plasma today, this Panasonic TH-50PHD8UK is the unit I would get. It is very well regarded by its users.

Hope the information is useful.

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If I was buying a 50” plasma today, this Panasonic TH-50PHD8UK is the unit I would get. It is very well regarded by its users.

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I will whole heartedly agree with that statement. Mine has been up on the wall for about a week and I'm more immpressed with it everyday. SD programming isn't exactly earth-shattering but watching Sky Captain and Bullitt in HD is freakin' sweet!!

What I didn't mention is that I am NOT buying one today, but willl in the fall. That's when their new 58" will be available. Can't EVEN wait.

probably just as well you're not trying to get it. they're backordered for about two months. apparently the factory makes a batch of 65s, a batch of 50s , and then a run of 42s. which might explain why it took 4 months for mine to show up! Maybe tomorrow i'll get some pics up of the new idiot box (or idiot panel now, i guess). Things have been busy at work so i haven't had much time for taking pics for y'all here.

Panasonic TH50PHD8UK

So does anyone know of a commercial Sony SXRD line without the ears? Sounds like that could be perfect.