Help choosing a plasma

[trevellion]

I've been looking at various plasma screens in shops and reading this forum for quite a while now to help me decide which screen is best for me. I was more or less settled on the Panny PWD6 as it's in my price range and I liked the black level. What I have noticed however on most screens that I've viewed to date, including the Panny, was a lack of smoothe motion. No doubt there are ways to improve this. I've just seen the Sony PFM 42V1 which has impressed me as I thought it gave a good picture (with LOTR playing - watched the dark scenes in Moria and once the party had escaped the mountain) and appeared smoother with pans than most other screens that I've seen. My Sony 905 dvd player doesn't have component out for progressive scan so I wouldn't be able to make the most of the Panny anyway without upgrading the DVD (and I don't really want this additional expense). I intend to use the plasma for DVD viewing and XBOX/Gamecube so don't need a tuner. I am a Sony fan but not at the expense of picture quality.

I haven't seen any feedback from customers who have bought this Sony screen and was hoping that someone on this forum good give me an appraisal with reference to some other screens for comparison.

Thanks in advance.

KL

 

[rnjones]

KL. I think the lack of comment on the forum about Sony screens probably means they are not highly rated.

Some of the motion blur you mention is probably caused by picture processing being turned up too high.

I did notice in HCC that Sony have just announced some new LCD and Plasma screens. Maybe these will be an improvement.

Rog

 

[trevellion]

Thanks for the response. I'm very much a noob when it comes to plasmas, which is why I've invited comments from this forum. I had another look at the Sony today for about an hour and tried it with film and animation. I did notice some colour banding (only when viewing closer than I would if set up at home) but have seen this on every plasma that I've looked at to date. I've got to give credit to the sales assistant who let me adjust picture settings. Dark scenes seemed to be presented very well but the brighter areas were a tad washed out. Checked the contrast and this was set very high. After lowering contrast the picture really looked outstanding considering the resolution; no doubt more time spent adjusting settings would reap further rewards. I imagine that the truth of the matter is very few of the screens I have been looking at have been that well set up, as I haven't been to a specialist outlet. For me the most impressive aspect of this screen is the fluidity of motion. It was set up beside some CRTs and it compared very favourably.

I don't want this to sound like I have my mind made up already. I am impressed with the Sony but would like to hear other peoples views so that my final decision is better informed. I'll check out HCC to see their views on the new Sony line-up.

Cheers

KL