Should I buy a KURO PDP-5010FD 50-inch Plasma HDTV

[dennis]

It originally listed between 4-5000 and i can now get a new one for 1800 plus shipping. honestly I was hoping for a smaller screen (40-42) and thinking about a newer and cheaper Panasonic 42 g10 plasma but the Kuro (2 years old or not) seems to be such a coveted TV. Thanks. d

[rbinck]

Originally Posted by dennis

It originally listed between 4-5000 and i can now get a new one for 1800 plus shipping. honestly I was hoping for a smaller screen (40-42) and thinking about a newer and cheaper Panasonic 42 g10 plasma but the Kuro (2 years old or not) seems to be such a coveted TV. Thanks. d

Sounds like a good deal to me. Bear in mind that Pioneer is getting out of the plasma business, so I don't know how that figures into your decision.

[rlpiii]

I'd say no. After seeing the Samsung LED TVs. I would definitely NOT get a plasma.

[oscar_in_fw]

Take a hard look at it for yourself. I just did a recent comparison with a buddy of mine comparing the latest Samsung LED-lit LCD with the Kuro. We were in complete disagreement over which was the better picture.

If you like vivid (oversaturated?) picture with sharp contrast/edges (cartoonish?), than a 240Hz Samsung LED is for you. If you want a movie film to actually look like film in your home, check out the Plasmas.

[rlpiii]

Originally Posted by oscar_in_fw

Take a hard look at it for yourself. I just did a recent comparison with a buddy of mine comparing the latest Samsung LED-lit LCD with the Kuro. We were in complete disagreement over which was the better picture.

If you like vivid (oversaturated?) picture with sharp contrast/edges (cartoonish?), than a 240Hz Samsung LED is for you. If you want a movie film to actually look like film in your home, check out the Plasmas.

Sorry, your eyes are busted.

BTW, things look like cartoons when you watch movies with cheesy cartoon style "special effects."

[kloneman]

Originally Posted by oscar_in_fw

Take a hard look at it for yourself. I just did a recent comparison with a buddy of mine comparing the latest Samsung LED-lit LCD with the Kuro. We were in complete disagreement over which was the better picture.

If you like vivid (oversaturated?) picture with sharp contrast/edges (cartoonish?), than a 240Hz Samsung LED is for you. If you want a movie film to actually look like film in your home, check out the Plasmas.

I am the buddy Oscar referred to in the above statement, and the only portions of Oscar's statement I DO agree with are: (1) that we saw them together and (2) that we were (and still are) in complete disagreement.

The Kuro was dim and its color was faded. The Kuro's reds looked orange to me, and when ANY amount of ambient light is added the grayness of the Kuro plasma tube eliminates any edge it has over the Samsung in the black portion of the brightness range, to the point where the Samsung is blacker!!! There is no comparison at the other extreme - the Samsung was much brighter than than Kuro.

I observed that the Samsung looked better at abouyt 45 degrees off axis than the Kuro, from a viewing point where we could observe both at about equal distance. This is in spite of the fact that LCD's contrast and color visibly degrade off axis. When looking at each, dead on, the Samsung was much more enjoyable to watch.

I believe Oscar confuses the color he saw on computer generated graphics and the extended color range these set provide, particularly in the red and green areas with defective color. I totally disagree - On actual non-CGI content - the picture looks almost real.

There is also some color switching weirdness I consistently see in the Kuro, that is similar to what I see when I look at single chip DLPs. It is not as bad, but it is there. I'm not the only one to see this:

FROM:
http://www.avforums.com/forums/plasm...ow-effect.html

Both were being fed from a Sony Bluray player with a Pioneer demo disc.

I was chatting to a mate, turned to look at him an BANG - picked up rainbow effect exactly the same as on a single chip DLP - this was on a black and white scene.

Both the 42" and 50" screens did it and I've never noticed it before (we both saw it on several different scenes).

If that's 'normal' then i definitely couldn't live with it and it'll have to be LCD. Anyone else see rainbow on a Plasma screen??

Walk up within a foot of a plasma and you can feel the heat. Heat is the enemy of ALL electronics, and this thing puts out too much for me to feel comfortable with buying it as a long term purchase.


I counter Oscar's statement directly with this one.

If you want an overpriced, dead ended, and power inefficient technology, that is black ONLY if the room in which it is located is pitch black. AND you can't see the rainbow effect then buy a Kuro.

Otherwise, look closely at the newly introduced LED illuminated LCDs. The model that I purchased was the 240 Hz "*8000" series. There is a 9000 series on the way that will improve on this one, by adding "Local dimming" of the LEDs to reduce the effects of modulating the brightness of the entire screen when largely dark areas are present.