I am in the market for a 50" plasma. HAving done some internet research, listened to a salesman or two, and on the advise of friends I am down to these:
I would like to have built in speakers. Card readers are OK. HDTV tuner built in is better than not. But none of these are deal brekers. I am looking for high quality for the dollar.
I am confused over contrast ratios vs brightness, resolution of 1366x768 vs ??x??.
Any comparisons and advice is most welcome.
Also suggestion on the best place to purchase these would be nice.
J W
Perrey Z.
Unregistered guest
Posted on
The LG 50PX4D-H is a plasma TV and is only exclusive to Best Buy.
The Panasonic Pro TH-50PHD7UY is better in terms of quality and features than it's consumer counterparts the TH-50PX50U and TH-50PX500U. However it's only a monitor., not bad if you're planning to get a home theater setup and use a satellite or digital cable receiver as the tuner. You can also purchase separate input cards and customized it.
The Pioneer PDP-5050HD is one of the best 50" consumer units out there and the last Pioneer to have a separate media receiver. The PDP-504CMX is the commercial unit using the company's 4th generation panel. The electronics and panel are the same one use on the Elite series. This, like the Panasonic Pro is also a Monitor., You'll need to buy an Aurora tuner card that comes with a DVI-HDCP input to make it a TV.
The ViewSonic VPW5500 is another plasma monitor custom made by and based on Hitachi's CMP-55HDM71., The only difference between both is that ViewSonic added proprietary enhancement technologies that improves and process the PQ in a different way than Hitachi's own technologies.
None of these plasma monitors come with stands or side speakers, or have built-in tuners muchless CableCARD slots or 9-in-1 media card readers., you'll need to purchase these extras separately.
One good thing the Panasonic TH-50PHD7UY., both Pioneers, the LG and the ViewSonic have is that ALL have screen saver features, so you don't have to worry about burn-in with any of these.
Thanks for the quick response. I am learning as I go here so I have come up with a few more questions.
Based on my use it seems that a monitor is fine. I have a Sony AV receiver and a Polk surround sound 5.1 speaker system in place. I intend to use a HD-DVR from my local cable company. So a monitor works in my instance, correct?
My Sony only has 2 sets of speakers selections, A/B. The B setting is run to a pair of outdoor speakers. Do the monitors have a set of audio outs so that I could run a set of regular speakers when I did not want to run the surround sound setup - there is a bedroom above the TV room?
Lastly [at least until I think of more questions], when comparing the Pioneer PDP503CMX to the Panasonic TH50PHD7UY to the Viewsonic VPW5500, which is superior in terms of panel, componets used in manufacturing and overall picture quality?
I'm not sure to keep it or return. Does anyone has any experience with this kind of TV.
I would appreciate any sugestion
thanks, johan
Perrey Z.
Unregistered guest
Posted on
JW,
All of them deliver very realistic colors., only the Panasonic has much deeper Blacks.
As manufacturers, Pioneer and Hitachi are much better than Panasonic., that's why both of these companies produce more OEMs than any other manufacturer {with the exception of NEC.}, Hitachi use to produce Plasmas for RCA, BUSlink, Dukane, Yamaha, Sony, Sanyo, Philips and ViewSonic. And Pioneer for RCA {50"}, Sony {50"}, Dukane and Runco. Most of these aren't plasmas you will find at Circuit City or Best Buy but only at CEDIA member showrooms. Thouse video showrooms won't sell mass-produce units that are widely available, they will only deal with the very best.
The Pioneer PDP-504CMX {the 503CMX was the 2003 model.} is an Elite Series.
The ViewSonic VPW5500 is a Hitachi Director's Series.
And the Panasonic TH-50PHD7UY is a blend between the Onyx XVS30U series and the TH-50PX25UP and a few extra features none of them had, like several screen saver modes, which the consumer versions lack and the ability to exchange the input cards.
Only the Pioneer and the ViewSonic are classified by the FCC as Class B video products for home use., the Panasonic has a Class A for commercial use only but you can still use it in the home.
OK...I'm at the same point as JW....Except I am also looking at the Panny TH-50PHD8uk. Seems to almost exactly like the 7UY. I would like to have a couple of HDMI inputs on the moniter as well. Any suggestions ? best place to purchase or what is everyone feelings on the value of the HDMI inputs.
Well, after a long and agonizing journey I purchased the Pioneer PHD5050HD. I ended up with a unit that had an outboard tuner and speakers. I ended up wanting speakers even though I have a surround sound system as I can watch/listen without using the surround system, as there is a bedroom on the floor above. After setting up the unit, I like the outboard media center concept -- only two cables to run to the unit, power and HDMI. I also like the polished black surrounding frame of the unit. As for pricing, ebay is the cheapest, however Pioneer clearly states on their website that none of their resellers is authorized to sell their product on ebay. They list a number of authorized online retailers. I called every single one of them, compared price and delivery costs, eliminated the locals ones as they had to add sales tax and found that they were all within a few dollars of each other. After watching for a few days, I can only say one thing -- HD is awesome and we need more HD stations.