It came today...

From reading AVS forum I was ready to pull the trigger on a Panasonic G10. Then went to Best Buy to see them in person and this thing was just so much nicer in every way. I'm sorry Panny fanboys but the picture on the current models just looks dingy. The older ones were much nicer. Maybe they made too many compromises for the "eco" thing. And WAY reflective. Anyway the Samsung came today no more calibration that setting it to "movie" mode (will wait til after break-in for that). Watching a show about quasars & pulsars on DirecTV HD Channel (720p) and we are saying "whoo" and "wow" just like watching fireworks. The colors are vivid but not harsh (like LCD's can be). No banding jaggies. Incredibly detailed but smooooth. It's just amazing. Flesh tones so natural it's like you're looking at a real person. This replaced a calibrated Samsung 56" DLP which I preferred to anything I'd ever seen before (had it's caveats but LCD RPTVs were positively hazy at that time so I went with DLP since the rainbow thing was rare and didn't bother me - kind of pretty actually.) But this just blows it away. It's like the fog has lifted. Hot? Yes it's putting off some heat; but I live in a cold climate (SF) so no big deal. Buzzing? If you put your ear right next to it (the hard drive in my DVR is way louder) but then I'm essentially at sea level supposedly higher altitudes worsen that. Reflections? Yes but nowhere as bad as CRT or (ahem) the current generation of MacBooks. It's glossy but subdued. For the first time I have an in-home viewing experience superior to a movie theatre. Just can't emphasize how natural the picture is. I hope Samsung & Panasonic will continue this technology. I love LCD TV for the kitchen it's fine for watching the news and great on the computer for static images but this is a true videophile experience. Like MP3's (which sound great) vs full uncompressed quality digital sound. I can see how (especially sports oriented viewers) might prefer LCD - it's bright sharp vivid (especially if you're looking straight on - not so great off center). But if you want to see subtlety in light shadow cinematography - this new tech plasma is the way to go. Maybe the key is you need a technology where the pixels are producing their own light. The last time a picture was so smooth natural detailed to my eye were the last generation of Sony CRT Trinitron Wega sets. Perhaps OLED will be the next step up but I'm very happy with this. And Amazon's price white-glove delivery return policy can't be beat.The guys from Pilot unboxed it and made sure it was working before they left. Hauled it up 2 flights of stairs. I can't believe this marvel of technology was cheaper than a decent laptop.More detail ...
0 comments:
Post a Comment