Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater sxrd vs plasma

Axxis returned my e-mail and quoted me better prices than I could find at any of the reputable dealers online. I've got to get out this weekend and have a look at some of the sets I want since I'm basing what I want on reviews. On my shortlist are the Pioneer 5010FD and 6010FD. Hopefully by Monday I'll be able to call Axxis and place my order.

Sorry, but you read incorrectly. 1080P is even worth the money on a 42" set, if you were sitting around 6 ft away. Take a look at the attached link and you will see that optimal seating distance for a 50" @720P is 10 ft, so at 8 ft you would benefit from a 1080P set.

http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/hitech/1137/maxing-out-resolution.html

Also, you say that most stores only show 720P on their sets. I really dont know how true that is. Most broadcast standards are 1080i, so if a store is displaying a satellite feed, then its most likely 1080i unless they change the STB to show 720p. You could ask them to show 1080i to see what it looks like.

50" on a 720P set at your distance of 8 ft will likely make the picture look softer and you may even be able to see the pixel structure of 768x1024 pixels.

I'd reconsider either getting a smaller TV, changing your seating distance or looking at a 1080P set.

Nick, remember that a 1080P set shows 1080x1920 pixels, so over 2 million pixels. A 768x1024 set shows 786,432 pixels...so less than half of the 1080p set. So the pixels would have to be twice as large on the 720 set than the 1080 set and that is why you have to sit farther away.

If you buy a 720 set and the input is 1080i broadcast standard, the videoprocessor will convert the 1080i down and show it at 720p.

If you buy a 1080p set and the input is 1080i, the videoprocessor will hold half of that interlaced signal(540P lines) for a split second and show them all at the same time as 1080 progressive.

The processing of merely holding 540 lines for a split second is very easy, which is why I never listen to the pimply faced salespeople at BM stores that say "1080p is a waste because there is no 1080P signal being broadcast".

The fact is that you can sit closer to a larger TV that is 1080P than you can with the same size TV that is 720P.

Not quite accurate... A true 720p set would have a resolution of 1280x720=921,600 pixels. (They're usually 1366x768=1,049,088, for some bizarre reason) A 1080p set at 1920x1080 would be 2,073,600.

Exactly!!

But one site I looked up said the Panasonic set that the OP is looking at has specs of 720x1024, so the math I did was accurate for that specific set. I see another site says its 768x1366.

The fact remains that the 1080P set will have more than twice the # of smaller pixels and allow you to sit closer without seeing them.

Well, I'll let you guys know when my 60" Pioneer 1080p Plasma shows up next week

Congrats on upselling yourself Homedad!!!! Let us know your impressions when you get it.

I'm jealous of your choice.

Don't forget to check out these etailers (they may not show up in a search): Visual Apex, Cleveland Plasma, New Egg. They all have good/great prices and excellent customer service/relability.

HomeDad, did you end up buying the Pioneer 6010FD? I've had mine since August when it was first released, and it is fantastic. Hi-def DVD and cable look amazing. We have it mounted in our family room, and it always draws oohs and aahs.

As to the original question, I also own the Sony KDS-55A3000 SXRD set which we have in our basement. This is also an excellent TV, but I do frankly prefer the Pioneer plasma, which I should considering the price difference (about $3,200 in my case).

The Pioneer has a beautiful picture, very rich 3-dimensional image, deep black levels, amazing viewing angles both horizontal and vertical, and can obviously be mounted (which we did and it looks great--and keeps it out of reach of the kids).

The Sony has a beautiful picture also, but suffers a bit from silk screen effect, obviously loses out to the plasma as far as viewing angles are concerned, obviously can't be mounted, etc. But for our purposes in the basement, getting a 55" 1080p HDTV for about $1,400 was too good to pass up.

In the end, the Sony SXRDs really provide a big bang for the buck, but the Pioneer plasmas are in another league imho.

Just called it in a couple hours ago, I should have it before the Superbowl. Glad you are enjoying yours, can't wait to get mine. The reviews were so good I couldn't pass it up