maybe too specific but my friend wrote this up for me, if it helps:
so I vaguely remember one of you asking me about TVs while I was drunk... I don't even remember what I said... but just got latest issue of Home Theater which reviews the Panasonic TH-50PZ85U.
So for the best possible playback of Bluray, you prefer a TV that does not need to do 3:2 pulldown which introduces noise, loss in detail. Most Pioneer TVs display at 72Hz, or 72fps. Bluray content is 24p = 24fps. 72 / 24 = 3 exactly so there is no need to "make up" frames or drop frames to get the picture to match the display. If you care about movies more than cable than this is what you want. Cable TV is full of noise anyways due to their own compression to save bandwidth, so really you shouldn't care about cable.
Most TVs display at 60 fps (or double this, 120Hz) because it's cheaper to do. 60 fps / 60Hz is what cable channels come to your TV at. Pioneers cost more partly because they have to build their own proprietary chips to display at 72Hz... that and they typically have superior processing over anyone.
Definitely Panasonic and Pioneer make the best flat panel TVs still. Plasmas still kick LCDs *** because black levels are far superior for Plasma. LED-backlit LCDs have promise but you need a super-smart processor to "calculate/guess" what part of the screen needs to be darker than the other.. lots of room for error here. Only big reason still to get LCD is if you are in a room with lots of sunlight.
Pioneer has Elite models that cost a lot more and basically provide more manual configuration to optimize the display... and slightly better processing than regular KUROs. I think technically Elite models can only be sold by certified Pioneer sellers so that limits competive pricing.
Panasonic now has models that display 24p content without 3:2 pulldown. Panasonic calls it retardedly "24p cinematic playback" not to be confused with "24p playback (2:3)" on their site which is 3:2 pulldown. Unlike the Pioneers which do this by displaying each frame 3 times = 72Hz, Panasonic does this with only doubling the frames, 2 times = 48Hz. The Pansonic models so far that support this are TH-50PZ800U, TH-50PZ850U, TH-58PZ800U. However, 48Hz is XXXXXXX slow refresh rate... and if you read the CNet review on Panasonic's "24p cinematic playback", it causes noticeable flicker making it
totally useless:
http://reviews.cnet.com/flat-panel-tvs/panasonic-viera-th-50pz800u/4505-6482_7-32886472.html
So it's purely a marketing game on Panasonic's part to appear like they can "do it" too but really it's unusable.
Latest Panasonics:
The Pansonic models with "800" in the model name are THX certified which is totally useless and a marketing scam. Companies pay $ to get a XXXXXXX THX stamp on it and make people believe it's better if it has THX sticker. pointless.
50"
TH-50PZ85U (~$1800):
TH-50PZ800U (~$2000): THX certified. "24p cinematic playback". better colour, more ports than TH-50PZ85U.
TH-50PZ850U (~$2400): this model is the most "advanced" in their lineup, more settings, better colour, better processing, direct IPTV interface for picasa, youtube, "24p cinematic playback".
58"
TH-58PZ800U (~$3000): on par with TH-50PZ800U.
Latest Pioneers:
All display @ 72Hz, direct 24p content.
50"
KURO PDP-5020FD (~3000):
Elite KURO PRO-111FD (~$5000):
60"
KURO PDP-6020FD (~4000)
Elite KURO PRO-151FD (~$6000):
Summary
You can't touch latest Pioneer KUROs really for quality. Their black levels are so good you
can't even measure any light from it when it's displaying black and they play 24p (bluray) content without any loss in quality, ie, no 3:2 pulldown necessary.
However, the Panasonic TH-50PZ85U is $1000 cheaper than KURO PDP-5020FD. From the Home Theater review on TH-50PZ85U, it does a great job at most things, doesn't process everything correctly but bottom line is you can't find a better TV
for that price.
Pioneer has already announced that they will no longer make their own panels because it's too hard to compete, too costly for them... but they will soon source panels from Panasonic. This doesn't mean that they will have the same quality because there's more going on than just the panel to produce the picture, ie. the processing. Sony and Samsung have been using the same panels for years. However, this does mean that Pioneer TV prices will eventually become cheaper. I think Pioneer models won't use Panasonic panels until very late this year or early next year.
Review of KURO PDP-6020FD:
http://www.hometheatermag.com/plasmadisplays/908piokuro/
Pioneer Elite KURO 111FD vs Panasonic TH-50PZ850U:
http://hdguru.com/first-pioneer-elite-kuro-pro-111fd-review/252/
Good list of Best Buys:
http://www.hometheatermag.com/buyersguides/flatpanels/
.
That was pretty much split up the middle.
