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View Full Version : PN50B650 - This the best way to spend $1,300-$1,400 on a TV? Can I get more?


jivetrky
07-20-09, 04:11 PM
So I've been reading a bit on TV's and it seems like the price and performance of the new line of TV's from Panasonic and Samsung are the way to go for me.

I was looking at either the Samsung PN50B650 or the Panasonic TC-P50G10.
The reviews I see all seem to say that the Samsung has the best color reproduction and the Panasonic has the best Black levels (or at least in a darker room).

Thing is that the TV is on for the better part of the day usually, so really more of it will be watched in daylight. There's not an issue of direct sunlight, but the room has low to moderate light during the day. The reviews say that the Samsung looks just as good or better in higher light environment. So that is one score for the Samsung. I guess the near perfect colors are another.

Also I read that the Samsung does a very good job with SD upconversion. And since my cable company doesn't have a vast number of HD channels, I'm sure I'll be watching some SD channels. Now I believe my cable box will upconvert, but I'm just assuming that the TV will do it better and I'll probably want to go that way. (This I can't know for sure until I get a TV as I currently have a 15 year old CRT tv. :))

Another thing I like about the Samsung is the Internet and network capability it has. Apparently with the DLNA stuff is can do I can actually stream video right to the TV over Ethernet! (or also just via USB)
I do currently have a Popcorn Hour media player that does HD very well, but if I can eliminate it, I could sell it and put that toward a surround sound system. :shrug:


Are there any alternatives that I'm overlooking here? Is there a TV that will look as good and cost $100+ less? ( I can find both of these TVs online for about $1300 shipped)



BTW, I've been to AVS Forums and all i really see there are a bunch of people with biases to one brand or another and don't really get any clear ideas aside from the fact that everything gets compared to a Kuro Elite. :)

Neuromancer
07-20-09, 04:58 PM
Dunno about your cable provider...

Comcast here, offers the choice of stretching 4:3 programs to widescreen or not. In either case the image that is being sent will be sent in 16:9 format. So either you get a stretched 4:3 image, or you get a upscaled 4:3 with black bars on either side. And those black bars are actually sent by the cable box, so your TV's upscaler/Smart stretch will not come into play.

Too me black levels are very important but I do more night time watching.


As for the rest. It sounds like you know which TV is right for you already :)

I give you permission to buy it ;) lol

jivetrky
07-20-09, 05:16 PM
Dunno about your cable provider...

Comcast here, offers the choice of stretching 4:3 programs to widescreen or not. In either case the image that is being sent will be sent in 16:9 format. So either you get a stretched 4:3 image, or you get a upscaled 4:3 with black bars on either side. And those black bars are actually sent by the cable box, so your TV's upscaler/Smart stretch will not come into play.

Too me black levels are very important but I do more night time watching.

My provider is Mediacom, I have both a Motorola DCT-6412/2000 and a DCH6416. (I'm assuming I'll be using the DCH6416 on this new TV since it has a bigger hard drive and I assume it likely has better HD quality (:shrug:)

It seems like if you set the 4:3 override to 480i, it will not upconvert SD at the Box. So then the TV can handle it. (Not sure entirely, but I believe that is the case.)



As for the rest. It sounds like you know which TV is right for you already :)

I give you permission to buy it ;) lol

hehe...i guess in a way this thread kinda works like that :)


I guess I'm already mostly set on the B650, I just wanted to make sure there wasn't anything I've missed or didn't think about. And also if there were any TV's that I didn't know about which would be a better way to spend my cash-ola. If I can spend a little less then maybe I can get a surround sound setup at the same time. :thup: