I'm just about to buy a new plasma. I have a high end HTPC with triple tuners, and a high end sound system - so I don't need a "TV", I just need a display.
I've looked at the Pioneer and the Panny TVs and I like the looks of the Pioneer better, but not the price tag.
I've noticed that on-line you can get a Pioneer "display" for about what a Panny "TV" costs. Since I don't need all the extra's I had pretty much decided to go that way. However, when I tried to order one at the local shop, the guy at the electronics shop said I'd have to get a display on-line.
He went on to say that the displays are "seconds" which don't have the same quality as the displays that are used in the TV lines by the two manufacturers. According to him, consumers are more demanding because they spend so much time looking at the screen. In an airport or a bar or a lobby where a "display" gets hung, nobody complains if a pixel is out.
So what do you think? Is this a load of horse pucky from someone trying to sell me a $5,000 TV with a bunch of cr*p I don't need - or are the consumer TVs really better quality than the display units?
It is a bunch of cr*p. In fact the commercial displays are actually mor expensive even though they don't have a tuner. Did he explain to you why that is? It's better components that will last even though the darn thing is on 24/7.
In fact if it wasn't for the government regulations regarding HDTV's requiring consumer TV's to have tuner's, even though most people don't need them, I am much more inclined to buy a tunerless monitor than these consumer tv's they sell with the cr*ppy speakers on the side. Unfortunately my experience has been that if you need a monitor you have to go the commercial route and those are much more expensive.
The info regarding the gov't regulations on HDTV is from Jan. I have not seen or heard it anywhere else, but I have no reason to doubt it since I can't find any TV's that don't have tuners.
The difference in industrial vs consumer displays is at the FCC rating level. The Industrial Standard is FCC Class A and the consuner is FCC class B. These refer to emissions characrteristcis. My panny, an industrial, has a silver coating on the inside of the glass. The consumer has a different coating that meets FCC Class B requirements. For my generation Panny Plasma, no longer made, the industrial specs out as a better picture quality than the consumer. There are other differences as well. The industrial has native BNC connections which are true 75 OHM for professional video, while the consumer has RCA plugs which are technically made for audio and are less desirable for video.
The differences are very minor in the overall result however. Industrial plasmas usually dont come with speakers and tuners, neither of which I would ever use anyway. The online cost now for a industrial Panny 42 ED is less than 1500, and the online cost for a 50 inch Panny Industrial is under 3000.
1. Are you in the United States or the UK? The countries broadcast in different resolutions so thats why I ask. 2. What material do you view and in what percentage? Are DVDs 50% or more? How bout HD television? Are SD television ( non-HD signal.) Lots of psorts on ABC and ESPN? 3. Viewing room dark or light? 4. Does money matter?