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"Best" 50 inch plasma screen type trauma

Posted by Peter Earnshaw (A) on November 21, 2003 at 13:33:47

I am looking for a good plasma screen to hang on the wall between my stereo speakers - can't fit a CRT where I want to watch TV and DVD, far too deep and blocks the fireplace, so has to be flat, and chose plasma over projector because I want a straightforward TV/DVD setup and the room has huge windows and thin curtains which would mean only watching late at night with a projector. Plus I go to sleep early.

Anyway, I've been trying to decide what to get and becoming increasingly frustrated. Two things stymie me: (1) the fact that very few shops in the UK actually stock demo models of 50" plasmas, so I have to look at the 42" model and assume the 50" one is just as good (salespeople insist even better, of course), and (2) that very few shops set them up properly.

It's also just confusing to read the reviews in the specialist UK press that, say, eulogise over the latest Panasonic 42" for its' "astonishing levels of contrast and black levels" - or whatever - and urge you to go buy that one, only for me to wander into a so-called specialist shop with one on demo and be astonished at the amount of video noise and speckles, the lack of detail in the blacks, the sheer not-very-goodness of the damn thing.

Then I wander into another specialist shop where they've obviously spent some time extracting the very best from their plasmas becuase the quality of the picture on the Fujitsu I'm looking at is miles better than the Panasonic, even on TV broadcasts let alone progressive scan DVDs. Yet the press I've seen merely rates the Fujtisu as "quite good" and is positively drooling over the Panasonic in a total contradiction of the evidence before my eyes and I start to doubt myself as well as wonder if the shop is just trying to shift Fujitsu plasmas becuase they have too much stock so they've wound down the contrast on the others to "help" me make a choice.....

Who do I trust - the reviewers or the salespeople and the evidence of my own eyes?

One chance I might of had of really checking out the Plasmas on offer is in Selfridges in Oxford Street, where they have Sony, Pioneer, Panasonic, Fujitsu, Sharp, LG, Toshiba, you name it, in 42" and 43" and 50" models all stuck up on the walls next to each other.... and would you know it, the Sony plasmas look nicer than the Panasonics, but that's not saying much because they all look fairly awful, with the exception of the 50" Pioneer which is simply streets ahead of the rest. Even the Fujitsu which worked so well in a specialist local shop is a poor relation, with obvious lumpy colours destroying subtle flesh tones and no detail in the rocks in "Lord of the Rings".

But, then, this is a brightly lit, noisy environment and the screens aren't being shown at their best and, with a good setup, maybe that Pioneer - not even the latest just-released-to-rave-reviews model, but the 503 (I think) - would be outclassed by the Fujitsu. I have to be sure becuase these things don't cost peanuts!

Even more confusing, the new rave-review Pioneer 434 in a black surround is on the wall over the 50" 503 and... it looks worse. Just nothing special.

So, a plea: Help!

I am told my by specialist might-be-trying-to-shift-stock salesperson that the reason why the Fujitsu is better is becuase it has multiple options for adjustment - not just the contrast and brightness and colour temp of the more run of the mill Pioneer/Panasonic jobbies, but extra features to change the individual strength of red, green and blue, I dunno, other mystery options I don't understand..... and consequently can be set up much better than the others. And that reviewers just don't take the time to set them up properly. Which I sort of half believe..... but we're talking five to seven thousand pounds expenditure, so I have to check!

What can any videophiles tell me?

1. Is it true - the Fuji is the best in the business, but needs careful setup to really shine?
2. Why is the Pioneer 503 so good with minimal setup as viewed in Selfridges where they just take them out of the box and sling them on the walls with factory settings? Better factory settings I suppose..?
3. Should I wait (there's a shipment delay as they're so new) for a proper demo of the new Pioneer plasmas that are heavily advertised, the 43" model well reviewed but fairly bland on a Selfridges wall, or just accept that the Fuji is the mutts nuts and go for it?
4. Any other advice?

Thanks...!!

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