Panasonic 60 series Vs. New Samsung Plasmas

[RoyBatty]

Well I stopped at two well known Electronic Department Stores with the only intention to compare the different PQ between the two previosly mentioned brands. I don't know if they have people only calibrating the Samsungs, but they looked the best by far. They made the Panasonics look smudgy in comparison. The new Samsung Plasmas PQ is astonishing and jaw dropping to say the least. Color is very rich, great overall picture definition and the black levels looked spot on.

With all the glowing reviews and comments posted here about the new Pannies, I was expecting much better PQ. Like I said maybe they only setup the Sammys to look their best, because they beat out every other maker on both showfloors. Now that I think of it even Sammies other product lines like the new DLP 1080P and LCDS looked incredible as well.

Is it that I prefer the PQ of the Sammies, or do you think they were professional setup to look their best? I mean seriously the Panasonic was trailing far behind the Samsung when it comes to overall PQ.

[soncomet]

The new pannys have an awful set of standard modes, especially vivid. I think that most here would suggest switching the set into standard mode and lowering the sharpness setting into the negative 10-15 range (probably closer to negative 15) and then reducing tint and maybe color a few notches until it looks better. Also, turn off the extra processing, keep the black level on "light", and use the warm color preset. And maybe play with the brightness and contrast settings a little if you have to. Doing that I was able to produce a pretty good image on a 42PX60u at my local Frys. I didn't play with the sammies at magnolia, but they looked horribly bad next to the 50PX600u that was next to it. Ofcourse I adjusted the panny, but didn't touch the samsung.

Also, you may want to check out the link in RicheyPoor's signature. He has a really good comparison of how a few adjustments can change picture quality.

[davyo]

I have seen more than a few of the new Sammys and Pannys, if your talkin the 50 inch plasmas, yea, the Sammys look better in my opinion than the 50 inch Pannys, but if your talkin the 63 inch Sammy vs the 58 inch Panny get the 58 inch Panny and run as fast as you can away from the Sammy 63 incher, that has got to be one of the worst looking pictures I have ever seen, I really wanted to like that 63 inch Sammy, but no way.

Just my thoughts.

Davyo

[RoyBatty]

Thanks for info. :)

[madshi]

Can you guys please say which model you see as "new Samsung"? I think there are just some new models coming out with improved "AntiBright" filtering etc. How old (model year wise) was that 63", Davyo? What I've seen on Cebit, the big Samsungs looked good, too. But that were probably models which are not in store yet.

[RoyBatty]

[QUOTE=madshi]Can you guys please say which model you see as "new Samsung"? I think there are just some new models coming out with improved "AntiBright" filtering etc. How old (model year wise) was that 63", Davyo? What I've seen on Cebit, the big Samsungs looked good, too. But that were probably models which are not in store yet.[/QUOTE]


I was referring to Samsung's HP-S5073 and HP-S4273 PDS.

[madshi]

[QUOTE=RoyBatty]I was referring to Samsung's HP-S5073 and HP-S4273 PDS.[/QUOTE]
I think these are the very very latest models which have just come out.

Davyo, was it the 6373 you've seen? Or was it an older model? It would be interesting to know whether the 6373 is better than the older 63" models.

[davyo]

[QUOTE=madshi]I think these are the very very latest models which have just come out.

Davyo, was it the 6373 you've seen? Or was it an older model? It would be interesting to know whether the 6373 is better than the older 63" models.[/QUOTE]

"Madshi", you are right, I had forgotten there is a newer Sammy 63 incher comming out or just released. The model that sucks is the current plasma that is on display right now at my local Best Buys and Ultimate stores, next time I am in those stores (very soon) I will check the model number to see if its the newer or older Sammy 63 incher I dislike so much.

Another turn off to me about the Sammy 63 incher though is the weight, as I recall its around 175 LBS, same as the commercial Panny 65 incher, while my Pio 6071 is only 112 LBS, that is a really big weight difference for only 3 to 5 extra inches.

Davyo

[optivity]

I hate to say this but it seems like every time I visit a B&M and look at their PDPs, most if not all of the displays there render a nice HD picture; with the exception of Samsung FPs whose colors seem a bit off to me.

[jmj12]

[QUOTE=RoyBatty]I was referring to Samsung's HP-S5073 and HP-S4273 PDS.[/QUOTE]
As far as I know the 4273 is not out yet, or I should say where I live. I am interested in this one, but the store here said they would not get them until later this week. I have been impressed with the PQ of the Samsungs that I have seen. I was goint to purchase a panasonic, but if the 4273 is as good as it is suppose to be I am going that way.

Jim

[madshi]

[QUOTE=davyo]"Madshi", you are right, I had forgotten there is a newer Sammy 63 incher comming out or just released. The model that sucks is the current plasma that is on display right now at my local Best Buys and Ultimate stores, next time I am in those stores (very soon) I will check the model number to see if its the newer or older Sammy 63 incher I dislike so much.

Another turn off to me about the Sammy 63 incher though is the weight, as I recall its around 175 LBS, same as the commercial Panny 65 incher, while my Pio 6071 is only 112 LBS, that is a really big weight difference for only 3 to 5 extra inches.

Davyo[/QUOTE]
Just read that the 6373 is supposed to be released in September. Weight is 154 LBS.

[RoyBatty]

I think I might have been mistaken, I bet they were the 53 series and not the 73 like I previously stated. I get so confused and sometimes can't keep track of what the model number is and so on. Sorry for any confusion, but I still stick to my previous statments regarding the Samsung 53 series PDS.

[giggle]

I do like the Sammy's at first glance they seem to have a nice "pop" with their colors, but after a while that wears off as I prefer a more "real' look that the Panny offers. I think they are two different displays and both can look quite good but I definitely prefer the Panny PDP's. With that being said I am not refering to the default modes as the Panny definitely needs to be tinkered with.

[RoyBatty]

Well I did some research on here and found out that the Pansonics stock settings are among the worse out there. So I'm guessing the Sammies have better stock settings and the reason why I prefer it for now. I will try to mess with the Pannies video controls and switch to some suggested settings like standard mode and lowering the sharpness. Maybe it will change my opinion depending on how positive they effect the pq.

[Frost147]

PQ was the deciding factor in my purchasing my Samsung over the other makes on the floor. That, and the research I had done over the past several months. The magazine articles, thses forums, etc. Eventually I had it down to 2 manufacturers.

Armed with all the info I had culled, a trip to some stores for $$ comparison shopping was in order. Once I had whittled it down to one place, the PQ on the Sammy sealed the deal.

For me, anyway. And I've never looked back or second-guessed my decision. Let your eyes be the final judge and jury on this one. after all, you'll be looking at that screen for a long time afterwards.

[tterral]

I agree that the Sammy has a very good picture. I was comparing the HP-S5053 to the Pioneer 5071 at BB (the Panny was unfortunately around the corner, so comparison was not very good). The Sammy seemed to have a sharper picture than the 5070. People have commented on the "soft" picture the 5070 has. There are ways to sharpen up the 5070, which we did. The Sammy would have been the my favorite, but their shadow detail just was not as good as the Pioneer. Bottom line both panels have great pictures, so it is subjective, as always.

Tim Terral