Torn between 4 HDTV's

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DBL

Platinum Member
Mar 23, 2001
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Originally posted by: JackBurton
Originally posted by: DBL
Originally posted by: zinfamous
FYI: my local BB (in Chicago) had the 5080 for $2k yesterday.

they had the 1080p (50" non-elite) version displayed next to it. ...$4k.

I'll give someone $4k if they can provide a legitimate reason for paying a $2k premium (and not say, buy another 5080) to go 1080p

That's a loaded question b/c it depends on what your definition of legitimate is. for someone who wants the absolute best and who sits close enough (<8 ft) to resolve 1080p on a 50", it may well be worth it for them.

Besides, Pioneer may have the best picture right now, but it's certainly not the best value. Personally, with 4k to spend, I'd easily opt for the 58" 1080p Panasonic for <$3200 over any 50" Pioneer. IMO, the extra 8" more than makes up for the black levels (which are still excellent) and should let just about anyone benefit from 1080p, provided they sit at the proper distance.
But for $4K, you could almost get a 60" Pioneer 6010. :)

Well, I'm not sure 2" for an extra 1.1K makes sense if value is a chief concern. But if you want the best, then by all means.
 
Dec 26, 2007
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I almost bit on the $2k BB sale on the 5080, but Amazon has it at that price almost all the time so IMO I had no need to buy it immediately. I went up to HH Gregg and talked with them for a bit (on a side note I would never buy from there, man did they act like used car salesmen), and since they don't sell Pioneer they tried to sell me the plasma Samsung or another brand (forget the name off hand). TBH though even without seeing the 5080 next to the others in their store, I could notice the black levels were not nearly as good as the 5080.

As for the Sony XBR4 at Crutchfield, even on sale it's about $1k more then the Kuro, and is 4 inches smaller. The XBR's are nice LCD's for sure, but the plasma is where its at for me I do believe. I think what I may do is maybe buy the Pioneer see what its like in my house for a week or so (burn in and then a few days to watch it), and then get the Samsung 71 and see which looks better in my house. Then depending on my thoughts on those two maybe even get the XBR just to see which looks best with my room characteristics. My only other question becomes do I wait for 1080p Kuro's in a decent price range or just get the 720p version (if I go with the Kuro which I think I will)?

Edit: The 5080HD vs 5010FD is about a $1300 difference. Being hooked up to a PC is it worth it, or just go with the cheaper one?
 

chucky2

Lifer
Dec 9, 1999
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IMHO, between 720p and 1080p, with respect to PC use, you're back to the question of how much you're going to use this for PC (not video via PC, regular PC use). If it's some significant number, then 1080p really shines here as your res. can be 1920x1080 instead of 1280x720. Worse, I don't think plasmas really actually have 1080 lines of resolution, they just take the 1080 signal and properly downscale it to the number of lines they do have. Maybe the Kuro (being as good as they are) does this differently and is really 1080 lines, but probably not.

Also, the Samsung 71 has been superceeded (however arguable or little or debatable that is) by the 81, just in case you didn't know that... I think the 81 is going to be > than the XBR4, to each their own though....

Chuck

P.S. Reading this thread makes me want to go drop some serious ching on a 46" Samsung 81 (I use mine for PC and TV so need the LCD)...might have to stop dropping in here... :)
 
Dec 26, 2007
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Originally posted by: chucky2
IMHO, between 720p and 1080p, with respect to PC use, you're back to the question of how much you're going to use this for PC (not video via PC, regular PC use). If it's some significant number, then 1080p really shines here as your res. can be 1920x1080 instead of 1280x720. Worse, I don't think plasmas really actually have 1080 lines of resolution, they just take the 1080 signal and properly downscale it to the number of lines they do have. Maybe the Kuro (being as good as they are) does this differently and is really 1080 lines, but probably not.

Also, the Samsung 71 has been superceeded (however arguable or little or debatable that is) by the 81, just in case you didn't know that... I think the 81 is going to be > than the XBR4, to each their own though....

Chuck

P.S. Reading this thread makes me want to go drop some serious ching on a 46" Samsung 81 (I use mine for PC and TV so need the LCD)...might have to stop dropping in here... :)

Yes I do know about the 81, however I do not think that the inprovement is worth the price increase. I can tell a difference, a noticeable one, however the 71 is an outstanding display as is. The 81 I really do not see that big of a difference between the two. That's what I am torn on with the Kuro as well. Is the price increase worth it? For me the answer is yes if I can actually tell the difference between 720p and 1080p at my normal sitting distance. Unfortunately that is a question I do not know the answer to, but if there would be a difference between the two resolutions, that I could notice at least, then I would go for 1080p.

The 81 series are nice LCDs though :)
 

DBL

Platinum Member
Mar 23, 2001
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Originally posted by: chucky2
IMHO, between 720p and 1080p, with respect to PC use, you're back to the question of how much you're going to use this for PC (not video via PC, regular PC use). If it's some significant number, then 1080p really shines here as your res. can be 1920x1080 instead of 1280x720. Worse, I don't think plasmas really actually have 1080 lines of resolution, they just take the 1080 signal and properly downscale it to the number of lines they do have. Maybe the Kuro (being as good as they are) does this differently and is really 1080 lines, but probably not.
Incorrect.

Why not take a few seconds to research the subject before your disseminate blatantly incorrect information? Plasma come in 1080p models. Samsung, Panasonic and Pioneer all make 1080p models.

In fact, there was a recent study showing that it is 1080p LCD's which have trouble displaying more than 720p resolution during 1080i motion playback. 1080p Plasmas had a lot less trouble in this regard, easily displaying more resolution. Of course, it's debatable whether you can see this with your eyes but I tend to think it is one of the reasons (besides cost, motion blur, color and black levels) I prefer a Plasma picture.

 

chucky2

Lifer
Dec 9, 1999
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Originally posted by: DisgruntledVirus

Yes I do know about the 81, however I do not think that the inprovement is worth the price increase. I can tell a difference, a noticeable one, however the 71 is an outstanding display as is. The 81 I really do not see that big of a difference between the two. That's what I am torn on with the Kuro as well. Is the price increase worth it? For me the answer is yes if I can actually tell the difference between 720p and 1080p at my normal sitting distance. Unfortunately that is a question I do not know the answer to, but if there would be a difference between the two resolutions, that I could notice at least, then I would go for 1080p.

The 81 series are nice LCDs though :)

Oh Ok, I was just mentioning it in case you hadn't heard about it...and yeah, it's hard to take the price increase for incremental upgrades like that. I've used a 32" 720p LCD for a few years now, and I like it fine for 4.5-5' viewing, but that's at 720p resolutions. Any farther away and eye strain becomes an issue. At 1080p resolutions, I can only imagine the issues with having to scroll right and left or up and down would be solved, however on the lesser sized screens, now you're talking about having to sit even closer. If you have a laptop, you could take it to the local stores and hook it up to them via HDMI/DVI...then maybe you could test out which size of TV you really need at 1080p.

Chuck
 

chucky2

Lifer
Dec 9, 1999
10,018
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Originally posted by: DBL
Originally posted by: chucky2
IMHO, between 720p and 1080p, with respect to PC use, you're back to the question of how much you're going to use this for PC (not video via PC, regular PC use). If it's some significant number, then 1080p really shines here as your res. can be 1920x1080 instead of 1280x720. Worse, I don't think plasmas really actually have 1080 lines of resolution, they just take the 1080 signal and properly downscale it to the number of lines they do have. Maybe the Kuro (being as good as they are) does this differently and is really 1080 lines, but probably not.
Incorrect.

Why not take a few seconds to research the subject before your disseminate blatantly incorrect information? Plasma come in 1080p models. Samsung, Panasonic and Pioneer all make 1080p models.

In fact, there was a recent study showing that it is 1080p LCD's which have trouble displaying more than 720p resolution during 1080i motion playback. 1080p Plasmas had a lot less trouble in this regard, easily displaying more resolution. Of course, it's debatable whether you can see this with your eyes but I tend to think it is one of the reasons (besides cost, motion blur, color and black levels) I prefer a Plasma picture.

The point I was making wasn't that there aren't plasma's that can accept 1080p resolution (everyone knows there tons of TV's out there now that do this, including plasma's), but rather that with plasma's I don't think you actually get 1080 lines of resolution. With a 1080p LCD, you get 1920x1080. Yes I remember reading in the same thread over at avsforum that LCD's had even less available screen content capacity or some other such sh1t than plasma's.

To be clear, I wasn't knocking plasma's...I don't think anyone is going to argue that short of a Sony 34" 960 CRT, that much out to us consumers is going to top a Kuro (and the Kuro's obviously come in much larger sizes than 34").....just that when you start throwing hooking up a PC for PC use to a plasma - or having lots of direct lighting (like windows) shining on the screen - LCD's start coming into the picture.

Relax...precious plasma's are still tops for movie viewing....until you put in a projector system... :)

Chuck
 

DBL

Platinum Member
Mar 23, 2001
2,637
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Originally posted by: chucky2
The point I was making wasn't that there aren't plasma's that can accept 1080p resolution (everyone knows there tons of TV's out there now that do this, including plasma's), but rather that with plasma's I don't think you actually get 1080 lines of resolution. With a 1080p LCD, you get 1920x1080. Yes I remember reading in the same thread over at avsforum that LCD's had even less available screen content capacity or some other such sh1t than plasma's.

To be clear, I wasn't knocking plasma's...I don't think anyone is going to argue that short of a Sony 34" 960 CRT, that much out to us consumers is going to top a Kuro (and the Kuro's obviously come in much larger sizes than 34").....just that when you start throwing hooking up a PC for PC use to a plasma - or having lots of direct lighting (like windows) shining on the screen - LCD's start coming into the picture.

Relax...precious plasma's are still tops for movie viewing....until you put in a projector system... :)

Chuck

I see you did not take my advice. 1080p Plasmas display a 1920x1080 picture just like an LCD. There is no difference in this regard.

 

FP

Diamond Member
Feb 24, 2005
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My 5010 is 1080p and gives me the full 1920x1080.

Best TV I have ever owned or even seen for that matter.
 

chucky2

Lifer
Dec 9, 1999
10,018
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Originally posted by: DBL
Originally posted by: chucky2
The point I was making wasn't that there aren't plasma's that can accept 1080p resolution (everyone knows there tons of TV's out there now that do this, including plasma's), but rather that with plasma's I don't think you actually get 1080 lines of resolution. With a 1080p LCD, you get 1920x1080. Yes I remember reading in the same thread over at avsforum that LCD's had even less available screen content capacity or some other such sh1t than plasma's.

To be clear, I wasn't knocking plasma's...I don't think anyone is going to argue that short of a Sony 34" 960 CRT, that much out to us consumers is going to top a Kuro (and the Kuro's obviously come in much larger sizes than 34").....just that when you start throwing hooking up a PC for PC use to a plasma - or having lots of direct lighting (like windows) shining on the screen - LCD's start coming into the picture.

Relax...precious plasma's are still tops for movie viewing....until you put in a projector system... :)

Chuck

I see you did not take my advice. 1080p Plasmas display a 1920x1080 picture just like an LCD. There is no difference in this regard.

I'm not taking your advice because you're not getting what I'm saying - stop thinking I'm talking bad about your fan boi precious plasma: I'm not.

All I'm saying is that while some plasma's (you know, like the many that are 136x by 768 native resolution) may accept a 1080p input from a source (you know, like one's PC when they don't want to send either 720p ((1280x720)) or - if available from the video card - 136x by 768), and then take that 1080p and scale it to their native res (which, again, is 136x by 768, not 1920x1080), they don't actually have 1080 lines of resolution. Contrast this with a 1080p LCD that is native 1080p, and when doing sustained PC use - like text, web pages, sh1t like that - and being able to actually produce true 1:1 pixel mapping is important (and just to save myself a flame down the road, I'm dead tired, so if 1:1 pixel mapping is something else I'm thinking about, sue me...you know what I'm saying here).

Now, Yes, the 1080p Kuro's do have a native 1920x1080 resolution - so none of that applies to them, which makes the comparison to a 1080p LCD moot because nothing out right now in the LCD world is going to touch a 1080p Kuro, much less an Elite 1080p Kuro. But the OP is not talking about 1080p Kuro's (much less Elite Kuro's), he's talking about the 720p 5080, which has a native resolution (right from Pioneer's site) of 1365x768. Do you want me to give you a link to that?

Is that detailed enough to get my point across?

Chuck
 

chucky2

Lifer
Dec 9, 1999
10,018
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Originally posted by: binister
My 5010 is 1080p and gives me the full 1920x1080.

Best TV I have ever owned or even seen for that matter.

Yes, True. That's because your 1080p plasma not only accepts 1080p input, but actually has a native resolution of 1920x1080.

The OP isn't talking about getting that TV though, he's looking at a 5080, which is 1365x768 native resolution.

Chuck

P.S. Nice TV btw...I'd kill for one of those right now...

Chuck
 

chucky2

Lifer
Dec 9, 1999
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DisgruntledVirus- Check out the following thread over on AVSForum:

Pioneer PDP-5080HD and PS3

Pay attention to sharpjunkie's posts in that thread...I think he was in the same situation as you, even got the Samsung 71, and now loves his 5080.

About the only thing I think you should be weighing now it to either wait for the 1080p Kuro's to come down in price or splurge now, with either outcome future proofing you for a long while to come.

I'd say go 720p Kuro now, and bank the $$$. When the 1080p 8G Kuro comes down in price to a more sane level, or you can't hold back on buying the 10g Kuro whenever it comes out, you can sell off your 5080, take the $$$ you saved, and not take that much of a hit. Best of all worlds....

Chuck
 
Dec 26, 2007
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Originally posted by: chucky2
DisgruntledVirus- Check out the following thread over on AVSForum:

Pioneer PDP-5080HD and PS3

Pay attention to sharpjunkie's posts in that thread...I think he was in the same situation as you, even got the Samsung 71, and now loves his 5080.

About the only thing I think you should be weighing now it to either wait for the 1080p Kuro's to come down in price or splurge now, with either outcome future proofing you for a long while to come.

I'd say go 720p Kuro now, and bank the $$$. When the 1080p 8G Kuro comes down in price to a more sane level, or you can't hold back on buying the 10g Kuro whenever it comes out, you can sell off your 5080, take the $$$ you saved, and not take that much of a hit. Best of all worlds....

Chuck

Thanks for that link, I missed that thread somehow (now I have something to do at work :)).

This is going to be my tax return money so now that I have my W2's and such I figured out about what I want to spend. What it boils down to is two options:

A) Buy the 5080 and spend the $1400 difference into a new couch, decent sound system, etc to make it a much more enjoyable experience.
B) Buy the 5010 and switch over my Logitech 5.1 speakers from my computer to do surround for the HDTV and video (games I have a good headset, or can just game from the HDTV until I get a dedicated one for the TV)

I could buy either TV, but I honestly don't think that 1080p is worth $1400. I would love the 1080p Kuro, but for a 33% increase in price? That is a massive increase for something that at 50 inches and 9 ft away or so 95% of people could never tell the difference. This TV is one that I plan on keeping for a while, and so either TV would work for that (as I could put it in say the bedroom and get a newer TV for the living room, which if it went in the bedroom it would be 10+ ft away easy).
 
Dec 26, 2007
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From that AVS thread Jet757f:
Yes this is why I am planning on buying the 5010. I know for a fact that if I bought the 5080 that I would be having the same remorse that you are having. Even if I got the 5080 home and was watching it I still would feel like I was missing something and would want the 5010. I also have the PS3 that I use for my Blu-Ray Player. If I have a 1080 Blu-Ray player then it would stand to reason that I want a 1080 Plasma TV.

That is what I am worried about doing, as I would rather pay more for something now then think "if only I had bought the better one instead". I did the same thing with my PC when looking at the 8800GTS vs 8800GTX, sure the GTX was $200+ (was Jan of 07) but I have not regretted that choice ever in buying the GTX. With a HDTV thats even more evident as it will be a purchase that will last me for a long time and a bigger difference in prices (although that was about a 33% increase as well now that im thinking about it).
 

DBL

Platinum Member
Mar 23, 2001
2,637
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Originally posted by: chucky2
I'm not taking your advice because you're not getting what I'm saying - stop thinking I'm talking bad about your fan boi precious plasma: I'm not.

All I'm saying is that while some plasma's (you know, like the many that are 136x by 768 native resolution) may accept a 1080p input from a source (you know, like one's PC when they don't want to send either 720p ((1280x720)) or - if available from the video card - 136x by 768), and then take that 1080p and scale it to their native res (which, again, is 136x by 768, not 1920x1080), they don't actually have 1080 lines of resolution. Contrast this with a 1080p LCD that is native 1080p, and when doing sustained PC use - like text, web pages, sh1t like that - and being able to actually produce true 1:1 pixel mapping is important (and just to save myself a flame down the road, I'm dead tired, so if 1:1 pixel mapping is something else I'm thinking about, sue me...you know what I'm saying here).

Now, Yes, the 1080p Kuro's do have a native 1920x1080 resolution - so none of that applies to them, which makes the comparison to a 1080p LCD moot because nothing out right now in the LCD world is going to touch a 1080p Kuro, much less an Elite 1080p Kuro. But the OP is not talking about 1080p Kuro's (much less Elite Kuro's), he's talking about the 720p 5080, which has a native resolution (right from Pioneer's site) of 1365x768. Do you want me to give you a link to that?

Is that detailed enough to get my point across?

Chuck

I hard to believe you really are this obtuse. Of course there are 720p plasmas just as there are 720p LCDs. However, 1080p Plasmas and 1080p LCD's both display 1920x1080 resolution. It's a non-issue.

You've also modified your response and it's clear you know you were originally mistaken. I'll quote you again.

Worse, I don't think plasmas really actually have 1080 lines of resolution, they just take the 1080 signal and properly downscale it to the number of lines they do have.

That statement is plain wrong.

You may think I'm pitching Plasma but in reality I happen to own a 62u series Aquos and a 700u Panasonic. I see the difference in the technologies every day and Plasma is clearly superior from an image quality perspective. I understand that LCD is improving but so is Plasma.

I also have to continually dispel perpetuated myths regarding plamsa (like the one you put forth in this thread) that never seem to go away. I find it frustrating and that could be why you think I'm a "fanboi" but in reality I'm just trying to even the playing field.

 

chucky2

Lifer
Dec 9, 1999
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Originally posted by: DBL

I hard to believe you really are this obtuse. Of course there are 720p plasmas just as there are 720p LCDs. However, 1080p Plasmas and 1080p LCD's both display 1920x1080 resolution. It's a non-issue.

No sh1t! The OP is talking about a 5080 though, so in that context, he's not going to get 1080 lines of resolution, period. That's all I was trying to point out to him. My bad if I didn't qualify it with 720p plasmas but honestly that's what we're talking about here, which is why I didn't qualify my statement.

You've also modified your response and it's clear you know you were originally mistaken. I'll quote you again.

Worse, I don't think plasmas really actually have 1080 lines of resolution, they just take the 1080 signal and properly downscale it to the number of lines they do have.

That statement is plain wrong.

For F's sakes, OK, yes, that statement is wrong, Happy? Does it apply to a 5080? Yeppers!

You may think I'm pitching Plasma but in reality I happen to own a 62u series Aquos and a 700u Panasonic. I see the difference in the technologies every day and Plasma is clearly superior from an image quality perspective. I understand that LCD is improving but so is Plasma.

I also have to continually dispel perpetuated myths regarding plamsa (like the one you put forth in this thread) that never seem to go away. I find it frustrating and that could be why you think I'm a "fanboi" but in reality I'm just trying to even the playing field.

If you wanted to dispel something, you should have told him that the 5080 he's considering doesn't put out 1080 lines of resolution, so he'd know that. Instead you went on a bender...

My god, it's like talking about midsize trucks and saying Well I'm going to get a midsize truck, and I think after looking at the options, I'm leaning towards a regular cab Ranger...but the 4 door options on the others which the Ranger really doesn't have are giving me pause, since I wonder if I'll ever need the space?. Then someone says, Hey, you can get a SuperCab Ranger but it doesn't have 4 doors, it's got half doors instead. Then someone else comes along and says, ZOMG!!! Full size Ford truck's have 4 door options, you are wrong!!!!

5080 != 1080p plasma

I just wasted 2 minutes of my life...

Chuck
 

DBL

Platinum Member
Mar 23, 2001
2,637
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Originally posted by: chucky2
I just wasted 2 minutes of my life...
Chuck

I'm sorry you feel that way. But you clearly should have wasted 4 minutes, using the other 2 minutes for research.

 
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I have seen the PS3 thread, and it mentioned that the 5080 gives a better picture from a 1080 source and scaling it then a native 720 signal. To me this just seems plain wrong, because any scaling and processing will degrade the signal. Now the 5080 may display a very nice scaled image however I find it hard to believe an image @ 720 looks worse then a scaled 1080 image.

If it is true (for some odd unique reason), then from a PC would it still look good at 1080? Because it can ONLY show resolution of 720, so it would have to look worse if I throw a 1080 signal at it from my pc. Maybe I am wrong, and if I am wrong about it why would the 1080 signal look better then the native 720?
 

chucky2

Lifer
Dec 9, 1999
10,018
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Well, my guess (is that specific enough everyone???) is that because the TV's native 1365x758 resolution matches most closely to 1280x720, that what happens is that the TV's scalers downscale the 1920x1080 signal to native, which is 1365x768, and not 1280x720, but the mode pops up as 1280x720 (I don't have one, so I don't know if the TV displays that or it's native res...but I'd bet it's that instead of native).

So it would sort of make sense if you shot the same say Excep spreadsheet to the TV in 1920x1080 that it'd look better than if you shot it to the TV in 1280x720...because if you send it at 1280x720, then that's all the detail information the TV has to work with. But if you send it 1920x1080, it has that much more, and just has to downscale it.

Another nice thing about nice plasmas vs. cheap LCD's...better internals...

I think what you need to ask yourself is whether the limited about of PC use is going to look bad on the 5080...and the best way to test that is take a laptop with a HDMI or DVI cable (monoprice.com ftw) and go to WorstBuy, hook it up to a 5080, and see just how bad the text looks when you step 5'+ back. If it looks acceptable to you....hard to beat a cheap 5080...

Chuck
 

blackrain

Golden Member
Feb 15, 2005
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I am sort of in the same boat as the OP. I am not sure between Sony and Pioneer 720.

I can't afford the Pioneer 1080P.

My main concern is that I use a pc for gaming and movies on my tv. I am worried about how clear directory names and text will be shown on the screen. I don't plan to do excel, but maybe plan on slight Internet use as well games and movies. I want everything to be clearly visible.

Will 720p make a huge difference in this?

For money reasons, I am also thinking about non-XBR Sony's given the motion problems. What's the point in dropping that kind of money if the technology is not fully developed yet.

Can anyone comment on XBR vs non-XBR.

On Amazon, one of the review for the V2500 said:

"The V2500 series uses the same exact LCD panel as the XBR series. Justifying the price hike between the V 2500 and the XBR units is a matter of personal preference aesthetically. Performance-wise, the units are nearly identical."

I have no clue what that means but it seems that XBR is overpriced.
 

Captante

Lifer
Oct 20, 2003
30,353
10,876
136
Originally posted by: blackrain
I am sort of in the same boat as the OP. I am not sure between Sony and Pioneer 720.

I can't afford the Pioneer 1080P.

My main concern is that I use a pc for gaming and movies on my tv. I am worried about how clear directory names and text will be shown on the screen. I don't plan to do excel, but maybe plan on slight Internet use as well games and movies. I want everything to be clearly visible.

Will 720p make a huge difference in this?

For money reasons, I am also thinking about non-XBR Sony's given the motion problems. What's the point in dropping that kind of money if the technology is not fully developed yet.

Can anyone comment on XBR vs non-XBR.

On Amazon, one of the review for the V2500 said:

"The V2500 series uses the same exact LCD panel as the XBR series. Justifying the price hike between the V 2500 and the XBR units is a matter of personal preference aesthetically. Performance-wise, the units are nearly identical."

I have no clue what that means but it seems to XBR is way overpriced.



(1) PC usage is about the only thing 1080p makes a huge difference for ... text is far sharper at 1920x1080 then at 1366x768. (native res of most 720p TV's)

(2) Save your money & get the V2500 seris ... the only differences with the XBR are cosmetic.

 

Wuzup101

Platinum Member
Feb 20, 2002
2,334
37
91
Originally posted by: Captante
Originally posted by: blackrain
I am sort of in the same boat as the OP. I am not sure between Sony and Pioneer 720.

I can't afford the Pioneer 1080P.

My main concern is that I use a pc for gaming and movies on my tv. I am worried about how clear directory names and text will be shown on the screen. I don't plan to do excel, but maybe plan on slight Internet use as well games and movies. I want everything to be clearly visible.

Will 720p make a huge difference in this?

For money reasons, I am also thinking about non-XBR Sony's given the motion problems. What's the point in dropping that kind of money if the technology is not fully developed yet.

Can anyone comment on XBR vs non-XBR.

On Amazon, one of the review for the V2500 said:

"The V2500 series uses the same exact LCD panel as the XBR series. Justifying the price hike between the V 2500 and the XBR units is a matter of personal preference aesthetically. Performance-wise, the units are nearly identical."

I have no clue what that means but it seems to XBR is way overpriced.



(1) PC usage is about the only thing 1080p makes a huge difference for ... text is far sharper at 1920x1080 then at 1366x768. (native res of most 720p TV's)

(2) Save your money & get the V2500 seris ... the only differences with the XBR are cosmetic.

1) That's not totally true. What is true is that the 1080p vs 720p argument greatly depends on both the size of the set and the seating distance. Your eye has the ability to resolve a limited amount of detail. If you are sitting "too far" away from a 1080p set to gain anything extra from the added detail, then it's a waste and you are better off buying a 720p set for your movies and TV shows. Same goes for text. 1080p lets you sit closer to the set and still get clear/sharp text. However, if you find that you are sitting too far away to see the text at normal size (and thus have to use some sort of magnification feature) on a 1080p set... you would likely be better off using a 720p set.

Case in point: I can use my 40" Samsung 4065F (a 1080p LCD) from about 2-3 feet away as a computer monitor. Optimal distance seems to be about 3.5-4 feet away for text. If I sit on my sofa @ about 7.5' away, the text is too small to read comfortably (and yes I have ~20/20 vision with corrective lenses). If I'm using say the PS3 browser, I have to zoom to comfortably read the text... this is effectively "similar" to lowering the native resolution. I generally watch movies from my sofa; however, I do the majority of gaming from my desk chair at about 4'. You definitely can/will notice the extra resolution when you are seated closer. A 50" set @ 10' will be fine in either 1080p or 720p flavors. You shouldn't see much of a difference if all other things are equal. If you moved in slightly (to say 7', the lack of resolution would become more noticeable). There is a chart of floating around the net that you could probably get. It gives approximate distances for 720p vs 1080p based on what set you have. I know it's commonly posted at AVS... but I never took the time to bookmark it.

2) The V2500 is a great TV (IMHO). It is not equivalent to the current XBR. The review you read on Amazon is likely pretty old, as the V2500 is currently one of the oldest TVs in Sony's active line up (IE: things they still sell at the sonystyle store). The V2500 series uses an 8 bit panel/processing with a 60Hz backlight. The current XBR4 and 5 use a 10 bit panel/processing with a 120hz backlight. The XBR 4/5 are the only sony TVs with 120Hz tech... they are not functionally identical to any of their other TVs. The XBR5 is pretty much the same as the XBR4 except for some cosmetic stuff. The review may have been talking about the older XBR 2... it's not talking about the XBR 4. The V2500 is similar to the Samsung 4061F in performance/specs.

Note: I do personally think that the XBR4 is overpriced (oddly I do like the way it looks). I would be hard pressed to buy an XBR4 over a Samsung xx71F based on price. I would be hard pressed to buy it over the kuro listed by the OP based on performance.

@ OP: I would go with the KURO based on your needs. For gaming and such, movies, etc... the kuro is a very strong choice despite the lack of 720p support as long as your seating distance is where you say it is. You shouldn't be missing out on anything by not going 1080p. You certainly will gain great black levels and color reproduction. I am a fan of samsung LCDs, and I do use mine for general computer usage. However, the KURO seems like it would best serve your needs. I will say that the samsung glossy screen is a lot less distracting than many review sites make it out to be. I personally love the glossy screen and would never want to change it. However, samsung does make the 69F series which is functionally identical to the 71F series except that it uses a matte screen (note: reported contrast ratios are higher with the glossy screen... which is why you'll see that disparity between the two sets if you look at specs). I really think you will like either set... it really just comes down to what you want to do. If you want to do a lot of text editing and browsing and are going to be sitting a little closer... than 1080p might be worth it to you. However, if you are only going to be at the windows desktop long enough to load a game... then you generally wont have to worry about it all that much.

One thing you may want to check out is your ideal gaming distance. Many people can sit a bit farther back from a TV when they watch movies; however, they have problems gaming from that distance. I sit close so I can see everything, and I'm a bit of a FPS nut. If you really are going to be doing heavy gaming and sitting closer... that may throw your decision towards the 1080p LCD.
 

blackrain

Golden Member
Feb 15, 2005
1,226
0
71
To clarify a few things:

Our sofa is L-shaped and sits within a 90 degree corner (between two adjoining walls). The opposite side of the room however, only has a diagonal wall interrupted by a large opening (open floor plan) into the next room. The TV will go either on the diagonal wall or against it on a TV stand.

The longer side of the "L" is about 10-13 feet away from where the TV will be (depending on whether the TV is wall mounted or on a stand) from any point on that side. Anyone sitting anywhere on the longer "L" portion will be at least 10 feet away.

The shorter side (or leg portion) of the "L" projects or sticks out toward the TV. The end of that smaller "L" side of the sofa comes as close as 3-5 feet away from the TV. I would sit at the close end to play games for example. There is no sofa arm at the close end to prevent me from turning directly toward the tv.

Thus, the benefit of 720p versus 1080p will depend on where a person is sitting (the small portion of the "L" or the large portion of the "L"). I guess that for watching movies, most of the time will be spent watching movies from the large portion of the "L" (i.e., 10-13 feet away), since the smaller portion of "L" is awkward to watch from (viewed by guests only). As I understand, 720p would be better for this.

Any computer use (Games, Internet) would be up close (3-5 feet away). 1080p would be better for this. One question that I still have is whether the 720p (without even comparing to the 1080p) would allow for the text to be easily readable. I stress the word "easily".

I guess that I have a real dilemma between game use up close (3-5 feet away) and movie watching from far away 10-13 ft away) and which is more important to me.

If I go with a 1080p, can I scale it down to 720p for movie watching? I guess that would be the only way to address the dilemma.
 
Dec 26, 2007
11,782
2
76
Originally posted by: Wuzup101
Originally posted by: Captante
Originally posted by: blackrain
I am sort of in the same boat as the OP. I am not sure between Sony and Pioneer 720.

I can't afford the Pioneer 1080P.

My main concern is that I use a pc for gaming and movies on my tv. I am worried about how clear directory names and text will be shown on the screen. I don't plan to do excel, but maybe plan on slight Internet use as well games and movies. I want everything to be clearly visible.

Will 720p make a huge difference in this?

For money reasons, I am also thinking about non-XBR Sony's given the motion problems. What's the point in dropping that kind of money if the technology is not fully developed yet.

Can anyone comment on XBR vs non-XBR.

On Amazon, one of the review for the V2500 said:

"The V2500 series uses the same exact LCD panel as the XBR series. Justifying the price hike between the V 2500 and the XBR units is a matter of personal preference aesthetically. Performance-wise, the units are nearly identical."

I have no clue what that means but it seems to XBR is way overpriced.



(1) PC usage is about the only thing 1080p makes a huge difference for ... text is far sharper at 1920x1080 then at 1366x768. (native res of most 720p TV's)

(2) Save your money & get the V2500 seris ... the only differences with the XBR are cosmetic.

1) That's not totally true. What is true is that the 1080p vs 720p argument greatly depends on both the size of the set and the seating distance. Your eye has the ability to resolve a limited amount of detail. If you are sitting "too far" away from a 1080p set to gain anything extra from the added detail, then it's a waste and you are better off buying a 720p set for your movies and TV shows. Same goes for text. 1080p lets you sit closer to the set and still get clear/sharp text. However, if you find that you are sitting too far away to see the text at normal size (and thus have to use some sort of magnification feature) on a 1080p set... you would likely be better off using a 720p set.

Case in point: I can use my 40" Samsung 4065F (a 1080p LCD) from about 2-3 feet away as a computer monitor. Optimal distance seems to be about 3.5-4 feet away for text. If I sit on my sofa @ about 7.5' away, the text is too small to read comfortably (and yes I have ~20/20 vision with corrective lenses). If I'm using say the PS3 browser, I have to zoom to comfortably read the text... this is effectively "similar" to lowering the native resolution. I generally watch movies from my sofa; however, I do the majority of gaming from my desk chair at about 4'. You definitely can/will notice the extra resolution when you are seated closer. A 50" set @ 10' will be fine in either 1080p or 720p flavors. You shouldn't see much of a difference if all other things are equal. If you moved in slightly (to say 7', the lack of resolution would become more noticeable). There is a chart of floating around the net that you could probably get. It gives approximate distances for 720p vs 1080p based on what set you have. I know it's commonly posted at AVS... but I never took the time to bookmark it.

2) The V2500 is a great TV (IMHO). It is not equivalent to the current XBR. The review you read on Amazon is likely pretty old, as the V2500 is currently one of the oldest TVs in Sony's active line up (IE: things they still sell at the sonystyle store). The V2500 series uses an 8 bit panel/processing with a 60Hz backlight. The current XBR4 and 5 use a 10 bit panel/processing with a 120hz backlight. The XBR 4/5 are the only sony TVs with 120Hz tech... they are not functionally identical to any of their other TVs. The XBR5 is pretty much the same as the XBR4 except for some cosmetic stuff. The review may have been talking about the older XBR 2... it's not talking about the XBR 4. The V2500 is similar to the Samsung 4061F in performance/specs.

Note: I do personally think that the XBR4 is overpriced (oddly I do like the way it looks). I would be hard pressed to buy an XBR4 over a Samsung xx71F based on price. I would be hard pressed to buy it over the kuro listed by the OP based on performance.

@ OP: I would go with the KURO based on your needs. For gaming and such, movies, etc... the kuro is a very strong choice despite the lack of 720p support as long as your seating distance is where you say it is. You shouldn't be missing out on anything by not going 1080p. You certainly will gain great black levels and color reproduction. I am a fan of samsung LCDs, and I do use mine for general computer usage. However, the KURO seems like it would best serve your needs. I will say that the samsung glossy screen is a lot less distracting than many review sites make it out to be. I personally love the glossy screen and would never want to change it. However, samsung does make the 69F series which is functionally identical to the 71F series except that it uses a matte screen (note: reported contrast ratios are higher with the glossy screen... which is why you'll see that disparity between the two sets if you look at specs). I really think you will like either set... it really just comes down to what you want to do. If you want to do a lot of text editing and browsing and are going to be sitting a little closer... than 1080p might be worth it to you. However, if you are only going to be at the windows desktop long enough to load a game... then you generally wont have to worry about it all that much.

One thing you may want to check out is your ideal gaming distance. Many people can sit a bit farther back from a TV when they watch movies; however, they have problems gaming from that distance. I sit close so I can see everything, and I'm a bit of a FPS nut. If you really are going to be doing heavy gaming and sitting closer... that may throw your decision towards the 1080p LCD.

Well for actual computer gaming I have a Dell 2407 at my desk. I don't usually like to game from a couch or anything other then a sitting upright position. So game use would be pretty limited. I don't need a general computer use monitor, just something for movies/tv shows. I would like the option of gaming on it but doubt I will other then every so often just because I could :).

I have looked at the 69F series and wasn't as impressed with the picture as the 71F, and the plasma just dominates both in PQ (when you block out the "torch" mode LCD's nearby)
 

Wuzup101

Platinum Member
Feb 20, 2002
2,334
37
91
@ Blackrain. Just so you understand correctly, it's not that 720p is better for movie watching and such. It's that it's not as important to have 1080p resolution when compared to other factors (black levels, color reproduction, etc...). If all other things are equal, 1080p will always be a better choice than 720p unless your viewing distance exceeds the distance that your eye can physically resolve the added detail. At these "FAR" distances, 720p is equal to 1080p... however it's not better (again all else equal).

The kuro is widely known as one of the best, if not the best, display ever made to date. The 720p kuro sets are often recommended over other 1080p sets because the picture quality of that set itself is just flat out better (in many situations) than a 1080p LCD. The lack of 1080p only really becomes a problem when you move in closer... and still many may prefer the 720p kuro over a 1080p LCD even when the resolution difference is noticeable. However, in a perfect world, we would all own 1080p kuros and sit close enough to them to get the full benefit of 1080p.

Bottom line: you don't ever have to worry about "scaling down" movie content from a HD-DVD or BR disc (or whatever is giving you a 1080p feed). If you have a 1080p set... you use 1080p... or up-convert to get to that level. If you manually told your BR player to output 720p to a 1080p set... the player would scale it to 720p and then the set would push it back up to it's native resolution of 1080p.

Again, all other things equal... 1080p is always better or equal (at far distances) to 720p. However, things aren't often equal, and people (like yourself - and me!) have budgets to consider. This is a BIG purchase... you should feel free to bring a game console or laptop (or both) to your local worst buy, CC, sams club, costco, etc... and ask them if you can hook it up. If they don't let you, they don't deserve your business (I've yet to hear about a BB or CC that won't... I've personally seen quite a few people doing this over the years). They probably don't deserve your business anyway... but just saying :)