panasonic TH-42PX80U or Samsung PN42A450

[PoopyPants]

thanks to the gentleman who posted the BB add starting 8-10 i went into bestbuy to look at tv's. and get a free 60gb 360 and free in home delivery/setup with a TV purchase of 1099 and up.

I have been eyeballing the $200 cheaper samsung for about a week now and Beach Camera has it for the same price w/ free delivery as BB does.

so i get into BB and i am not liking the panasonic one bit,, MASSIVE pixelation.
The samsung which sat 6 inches from it had ZERO pixelation and a much richer color and picture.

i confirmed with the hot BB girl that they are indeed simply running coax off splitters.
but that doesnt explain why the Sammy had such a better picture.

So i go into the panasonic menu and there are almost no color settings. just warm, cool and normal.
there are preset's which look like crap for Vivid, Normal, Game, Theater and 2 more i think.


so i am sitting here asking myself wtf!! do i need a 4th xbox360?? (yes i currently have 3)
yes i need delivery i dont have means to bring it home while its still in the box.


so... has anyone any first hand experience with these 2 Plasmas to help me decide if the Panasonic was just getting a crappy signal or is the Sammy a much better Plasma.

(btw the westinghouse 47" 1080p LCD was there too for the same price as the sammy (890) and,,, damn it,,, big 47" screen 1080p... but the picture as all washed out, like the contrast was too low!.. otherwise i would get that. it was up too high so i couldnt fiddle with the settings.

help me out here fellow Home Theater Geeks... is the sammy truly a better plasma ?
would i be best ot save the $200 and just get the sammy ?
or
was the panasonic just receiving a crappy signal and not setup properly?

 

[coldmeat]

I'm trying to decide between these 2 but I'm not buying until the end of the month. I'm in Canada btw and I don't think they have that free xbox deal at best buy here. I think I'm going to buy the Samsung because it is about $100 cheaper and has better colors. The Panasonic has supposedly better blacks, but I hear the Samsung's are pretty decent as well. I haven't had a chance to see them side by side yet because I live in a small town and the nearest futureshop or best buy is an hour away.

edit: can't you just go look at them at another store? or ask the people working there to play a dvd or blu-ray on it?

 

[LS21]

i dont care at all for tv setup in stores...

 

[PoopyPants]

Originally posted by: LS21
i dont care at all for tv setup in stores...

I 1000% agree.
BUT
given that the Sammy produced a MUCH better picture off the same video feed..... .....

but i just cant tell in store what the panasonics problem was...

there are plenty of good things about both TV's but a free 360 Pro brand new 60gb bundle and free delivery.

those boneheads charge $200 just for delivery. i dont need setup, i need it backed up into my driveway and taken off the truck. EVERYTHING else i will do.

 

[manimal]

All BBs set their sets on vivid out of the box settings so how they look there is all but useless unless you are looking at what available brightness the set has and how it displays the 720p content that they push. Hell I got a insignia 42 1080P set for a tad over 600 there recently and while its no samsung its not bad at all considering the price. I have it in a gaming room where the kids go crazy on the 360 and the ps3.

Having said that the 80u is better than the panny 85imo and getting the bazillion to 1 contrast from the panny isnt going to make it magically look like a pioneer elite. Panasonics in general dont look great till you tweak em and in the long run would be a better set but go with what ya like.

 

[PoopyPants]

Originally posted by: manimal
Having said that the 80u is better than the panny 85imo

huh ?
the 80U is a panisonic....
the 85,, err forgive my ignorance, is that a larger panasonic ?

 

[PoopyPants]

ahhh yes a quick google searched answered that questions.
720p vs 1080p (85U)


still seeing lots and lots of good things about the Panny ,,, anyone else have any opions ?
i will be running the BB this morning to do the deal and want to make sure i am doing it right.

worst case... i return the panny, get the sammy, and keep the xbox !!!! (that is, if i get the panny home and it looks the way it did in the store
will be testing with lots of HD-WMV VC1 movies i've converted to be played on my 360.

 

[GarfieldtheCat]

Originally posted by: PoopyPants
ahhh yes a quick google searched answered that questions.
720p vs 1080p (85U)


still seeing lots and lots of good things about the Panny ,,, anyone else have any opions ?
i will be running the BB this morning to do the deal and want to make sure i am doing it right.

worst case... i return the panny, get the sammy, and keep the xbox !!!! (that is, if i get the panny home and it looks the way it did in the store
will be testing with lots of HD-WMV VC1 movies i've converted to be played on my 360.

I'm in roughly the same boat, looking at those two 42" plasma for our bedroom.

I went to BB this weekend (and fry's) to look, and I can't tell a difference. They both look pretty good. The real reason I was looking was to make sure I couldn't tell a difference between 720 and 1080 at my viewing distance (I can't).

At AVS forum, both models are liked, it's probably 50/50 on which is better.

 

[Tennoh]

Throw in the LG PG20 series. PG20 IMO is superior compared to the PX80 or A450 plasmas from Panny/Samsung.

 

[PoopyPants]

well i am sitting with the panny in the living room and it really shows flaws in the video. even with noise reduction and mpeg noise reduction on it is still showing pixelation.
now, again this is the feed, this isnt the TV. so as always the source needs to be top quality in order for the tV to reproduce it properly.


its not insane like bad cable signal, but it shows the compression used by directTV.

my HD-WMV VC-1 videos were way better

its only got 3 HDMI 1 of which is in the front of the TV which is stupid.

 

[PoopyPants]

well i fell asleep last night watching a movie on the 360 and when it was done it went back to the 360 dashboard.
it couldnt have been there more than an hour or 1 1/2 hours and it burnt the sreen.
sci-fi channel watermark also is burned into it.

so much for the fvcking pixel shifter.

wide screen movies with black bars also burn the screen.

its not perminant, its already fading but what a bunch of shit.

people who say that they have left images for hours upon hours without burnin are abviously telling the truth.

 

[BigJ]

Originally posted by: PoopyPants
well i fell asleep last night watching a movie on the 360 and when it was done it went back to the 360 dashboard.
it couldnt have been there more than an hour or 1 1/2 hours and it burnt the sreen.
sci-fi channel watermark also is burned into it.

so much for the fvcking pixel shifter.

wide screen movies with black bars also burn the screen.

its not perminant, its already fading but what a bunch of shit.

people who say that they have left images for hours upon hours without burnin are abviously telling the truth.

There is a difference between image retention and burn-in. IR is common, especially while the set is new. Burn-in is only common when the set is new. After putting some time on the set, you will almost never get burn-in after that.

Also, as for your OP, there are plenty of settings for tweaking the set and you are not just limited to the presets. Since you now own the TV, this should be obvious, but others looking at the model may not know.

 

[PoopyPants]

thanks for clarifying BigJ, i was getting pretty pi$$ed off that with less than 6 hours of ownership of this TV it was burning the screen. the image retention is quite long it will hold the image for atleast a day or more.
SciFi channel really beats the hell out of it though with their logo on the screen. they do not make it
so do widescreen movies with blackbars. you really see the image stuck on the screen.

i;ve messed with all the settings and this TV has very few settings to play with to improve color an clarity.
even sharpness,, you can barely tell the difference from 0 to 100%.
where as my Westinghouse LCD,, there is a massive difference in just a few setting steps of sharpness.

the mpeg noise limiter mostly hurt the image quality, it basically smooths and smears the entire picture.
the standard noise reduciton i can see no change form on to off. maybe its only used for OTA broadcasts...?

game mode to me produces the best image. all the others , especially their so called "standard" mode have the contrast set so low the image is quite horrible. there is a white haze over the screen. rediculously stupid if you ask me.

 

[BigJ]

Poopy, I would suggest that you head over to AVS Forums and check to see what settings that users are using over there. I have the older model of your TV (75 model) and there is a huge difference between my custom setting and any of the presets. Changing a single setting won't have that big of a difference, but when you combine everything and go back and for between a preset and custom, there is a huge difference.

 

[PurdueRy]

Originally posted by: PoopyPants
thanks for clarifying BigJ, i was getting pretty pi$$ed off that with less than 6 hours of ownership of this TV it was burning the screen. the image retention is quite long it will hold the image for atleast a day or more.
SciFi channel really beats the hell out of it though with their logo on the screen. they do not make it
so do widescreen movies with blackbars. you really see the image stuck on the screen.

i;ve messed with all the settings and this TV has very few settings to play with to improve color an clarity.
even sharpness,, you can barely tell the difference from 0 to 100%.
where as my Westinghouse LCD,, there is a massive difference in just a few setting steps of sharpness.

the mpeg noise limiter mostly hurt the image quality, it basically smooths and smears the entire picture.
the standard noise reduciton i can see no change form on to off. maybe its only used for OTA broadcasts...?

game mode to me produces the best image. all the others , especially their so called "standard" mode have the contrast set so low the image is quite horrible. there is a white haze over the screen. rediculously stupid if you ask me.

Be careful what you "think" is a good picture. There is a difference between a visually appealing picture and a accurate one. I recommend you either borrow someone elses settings or get a calibration DVD. I generally have found that "Game" mode is one of the farthest off. Standard should actually be the best. I find the best thing to do is ask what you would expect to see in real life, not what is the most impressive color wise.

 

[coldmeat]

Originally posted by: PurdueRy

Originally posted by: PoopyPants
thanks for clarifying BigJ, i was getting pretty pi$$ed off that with less than 6 hours of ownership of this TV it was burning the screen. the image retention is quite long it will hold the image for atleast a day or more.
SciFi channel really beats the hell out of it though with their logo on the screen. they do not make it
so do widescreen movies with blackbars. you really see the image stuck on the screen.

i;ve messed with all the settings and this TV has very few settings to play with to improve color an clarity.
even sharpness,, you can barely tell the difference from 0 to 100%.
where as my Westinghouse LCD,, there is a massive difference in just a few setting steps of sharpness.

the mpeg noise limiter mostly hurt the image quality, it basically smooths and smears the entire picture.
the standard noise reduciton i can see no change form on to off. maybe its only used for OTA broadcasts...?

game mode to me produces the best image. all the others , especially their so called "standard" mode have the contrast set so low the image is quite horrible. there is a white haze over the screen. rediculously stupid if you ask me.

Be careful what you "think" is a good picture. There is a difference between a visually appealing picture and a accurate one. I recommend you either borrow someone elses settings or get a calibration DVD. I generally have found that "Game" mode is one of the farthest off. Standard should actually be the best. I find the best thing to do is ask what you would expect to see in real life, not what is the most impressive color wise.

Well if it looks good to him then what's the difference? If the picture he wants is not accurate then what does it matter?

 

[olds]

I wouldn't buy an HD TV till I hooked it up directly to a different sourse like a DVD player. If they want to sell it, it shouldn't be a problem. It wasn't at Magnolia

 

[PurdueRy]

Originally posted by: coldmeat

Originally posted by: PurdueRy

Originally posted by: PoopyPants
thanks for clarifying BigJ, i was getting pretty pi$$ed off that with less than 6 hours of ownership of this TV it was burning the screen. the image retention is quite long it will hold the image for atleast a day or more.
SciFi channel really beats the hell out of it though with their logo on the screen. they do not make it
so do widescreen movies with blackbars. you really see the image stuck on the screen.

i;ve messed with all the settings and this TV has very few settings to play with to improve color an clarity.
even sharpness,, you can barely tell the difference from 0 to 100%.
where as my Westinghouse LCD,, there is a massive difference in just a few setting steps of sharpness.

the mpeg noise limiter mostly hurt the image quality, it basically smooths and smears the entire picture.
the standard noise reduciton i can see no change form on to off. maybe its only used for OTA broadcasts...?

game mode to me produces the best image. all the others , especially their so called "standard" mode have the contrast set so low the image is quite horrible. there is a white haze over the screen. rediculously stupid if you ask me.

Be careful what you "think" is a good picture. There is a difference between a visually appealing picture and a accurate one. I recommend you either borrow someone elses settings or get a calibration DVD. I generally have found that "Game" mode is one of the farthest off. Standard should actually be the best. I find the best thing to do is ask what you would expect to see in real life, not what is the most impressive color wise.

Well if it looks good to him then what's the difference? If the picture he wants is not accurate then what does it matter?

Because the goal of an expensive HDTV is to mimic reality? People use to come into the store I worked at and spend countless hours debating which had the best "picture" when all they were doing is telling me which was brighter.

 

[PoopyPants]

i have a pretty good set of peepers and have always been able to tune TV's the issue has been the limiting factor of both TV's.

frnakly my good man if you think "standard" reproduces the best or average picture then you have never seen average on this TV, or you have caterac's and your eyes are seriously fubar'd

"standard" creates a massive milky haze and makes the picture look horrible. i would litterally slap someone if i walked into their house and say they had "standard" as their normal setting.

i would love to find a calibration dvd but honeslty, they are either far far to expensive, or hard to find a decent one..

if anyone has this TV i am more than happy to try your settings if you post them.
if anyone can show me a good priced calibration DVD i am happy to look into it.

i have an OPPO DV-981HD dvd player so, to me at least, quality isn't going to be an issue in regards to playing the dvd.
its upconversion is some of the best i have seen, thus the reason its rated as one of the if not the best sub $500-$1000 upconverting player.

 

[coldmeat]

Originally posted by: PurdueRy

Originally posted by: coldmeat

Originally posted by: PurdueRy

Originally posted by: PoopyPants
thanks for clarifying BigJ, i was getting pretty pi$$ed off that with less than 6 hours of ownership of this TV it was burning the screen. the image retention is quite long it will hold the image for atleast a day or more.
SciFi channel really beats the hell out of it though with their logo on the screen. they do not make it
so do widescreen movies with blackbars. you really see the image stuck on the screen.

i;ve messed with all the settings and this TV has very few settings to play with to improve color an clarity.
even sharpness,, you can barely tell the difference from 0 to 100%.
where as my Westinghouse LCD,, there is a massive difference in just a few setting steps of sharpness.

the mpeg noise limiter mostly hurt the image quality, it basically smooths and smears the entire picture.
the standard noise reduciton i can see no change form on to off. maybe its only used for OTA broadcasts...?

game mode to me produces the best image. all the others , especially their so called "standard" mode have the contrast set so low the image is quite horrible. there is a white haze over the screen. rediculously stupid if you ask me.

Be careful what you "think" is a good picture. There is a difference between a visually appealing picture and a accurate one. I recommend you either borrow someone elses settings or get a calibration DVD. I generally have found that "Game" mode is one of the farthest off. Standard should actually be the best. I find the best thing to do is ask what you would expect to see in real life, not what is the most impressive color wise.

Well if it looks good to him then what's the difference? If the picture he wants is not accurate then what does it matter?

Because the goal of an expensive HDTV is to mimic reality? People use to come into the store I worked at and spend countless hours debating which had the best "picture" when all they were doing is telling me which was brighter.

I thought the goal was just to create a nice picture that a user would enjoy. For most, it's accurate colors, but I'm sure it's not that for some. If a person is happy with their tv because it was the brightest, then I'm not going to tell them that it is either configured wrong or it's a bad tv.

 

[PurdueRy]

Originally posted by: PoopyPants
i have a pretty good set of peepers and have always been able to tune TV's the issue has been the limiting factor of both TV's.

frnakly my good man if you think "standard" reproduces the best or average picture then you have never seen average on this TV, or you have caterac's and your eyes are seriously fubar'd

"standard" creates a massive milky haze and makes the picture look horrible. i would litterally slap someone if i walked into their house and say they had "standard" as their normal setting.

i would love to find a calibration dvd but honeslty, they are either far far to expensive, or hard to find a decent one..

if anyone has this TV i am more than happy to try your settings if you post them.
if anyone can show me a good priced calibration DVD i am happy to look into it.

i have an OPPO DV-981HD dvd player so, to me at least, quality isn't going to be an issue in regards to playing the dvd.
its upconversion is some of the best i have seen, thus the reason its rated as one of the if not the best sub $500-$1000 upconverting player.

Avia II should work fine enough for basic calibration...if you have blu-ray DVE should do a good job...neither of which is expensive.

 

[PurdueRy]

Originally posted by: coldmeat

Originally posted by: PurdueRy

Originally posted by: coldmeat

Originally posted by: PurdueRy

Originally posted by: PoopyPants
thanks for clarifying BigJ, i was getting pretty pi$$ed off that with less than 6 hours of ownership of this TV it was burning the screen. the image retention is quite long it will hold the image for atleast a day or more.
SciFi channel really beats the hell out of it though with their logo on the screen. they do not make it
so do widescreen movies with blackbars. you really see the image stuck on the screen.

i;ve messed with all the settings and this TV has very few settings to play with to improve color an clarity.
even sharpness,, you can barely tell the difference from 0 to 100%.
where as my Westinghouse LCD,, there is a massive difference in just a few setting steps of sharpness.

the mpeg noise limiter mostly hurt the image quality, it basically smooths and smears the entire picture.
the standard noise reduciton i can see no change form on to off. maybe its only used for OTA broadcasts...?

game mode to me produces the best image. all the others , especially their so called "standard" mode have the contrast set so low the image is quite horrible. there is a white haze over the screen. rediculously stupid if you ask me.

Be careful what you "think" is a good picture. There is a difference between a visually appealing picture and a accurate one. I recommend you either borrow someone elses settings or get a calibration DVD. I generally have found that "Game" mode is one of the farthest off. Standard should actually be the best. I find the best thing to do is ask what you would expect to see in real life, not what is the most impressive color wise.

Well if it looks good to him then what's the difference? If the picture he wants is not accurate then what does it matter?

Because the goal of an expensive HDTV is to mimic reality? People use to come into the store I worked at and spend countless hours debating which had the best "picture" when all they were doing is telling me which was brighter.

I thought the goal was just to create a nice picture that a user would enjoy. For most, it's accurate colors, but I'm sure it's not that for some. If a person is happy with their tv because it was the brightest, then I'm not going to tell them that it is either configured wrong or it's a bad tv.

Different strokes...

I think if a TV is not producing a picture that is true to life, I would consider it incorrect. Or if I TV has subpar blacks due to the brightness being too high I would call it incorrect.

I have no problem telling someone that their TV is not setup correctly. If they want to ignore my advice they can go right ahead.

 

[PoopyPants]

and yes i agree 100% its a long thought out process of properly tweaking a TV,

BB refuses to hook up an independant source

i am reading ALOT over at the AVS forums, so i will continue there and if i cant get myself satisfied with it, or if i am seeing continued massive image retension, which is a sign of a bad panel, then i will simply return it.

its a great TV with a nice picture but there is some massive pixelation and gradience between dark shadows and laight shadows that i never saw on my westy LCD.
so i'll keep playing around.

 

[olds]

Originally posted by: PoopyPants
...

BB refuses to hook up an independant source
...

The only reason it could be is that they have something to hide. Or they are lazy.

 

[PoopyPants]

they are VERY VERY VERY lazy and they wont do it.
i asked repeatedly and told them if youw ant to sell this then let's get it hooked up to an independant signal.

they mumble and shuffle their feet and don't do it.