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Need some input on possible TV upgrade for this summer.
or
Picture quality (for the money) is my biggest priority. The Samsung seems to have a slight edge in colour reproduction/calibration flexibility, the Panny in black levels/shadow detail. The Panny also ads some unneeded (for me) "smart" functionality. Otherwise the two seem to be pretty comparable including prices (just under $1k in Canada currently).
So any thoughts, preferences, input etc on which you'd get?
Picture Quality Rating: 8.8/10
The Samsung PN60F5300 is a value plasma TV with excellent picture quality for the price. Samsung plasma TVs have one of my favorite picture renditions among all TVs today. I like the color space even more than Panasonic plasmas once calibrated. It's important to note that this one has a few picture quality differences than the top tier F8500 plasma. Screen reflections and picture brightness are the two downsides in picture quality on the F5300. There is not as much light flow-through as the top models on the market. The screen also doesn't get as bright, which is a typical problem with plasma displays. Those two things combined make it a tough sell for a bright room. In a controlled lighting environment, the F5300's full HD picture quality is excellent.
Black Levels and Contrast
Contrast is another strong point on Samsung's bottom of the line plasma. For a budget priced model the contrast performance on the F5300 is very impressive.
Color Reproduction
The PN60F5300's colors look extremely realistic and fresh thanks to the plasma display. The going trend seen in many LCD/LEDs as of late is to bump the color saturation to high levels. That's not the case here. The high points are in warm colors and flesh tones. Samsung's plasma televisions deliver colors that are accurate and true to life and the F5300 carries through on this positive strength. It is important to calibrate the settings correctly to get the optimum picture performance out of this TV. A Warm1 Color Tone setting really helps to balance colors as Standard is too cool and Warm2 introduces a great deal of green coloration.
The Samsung PN60F5300 is a value plasma TV with excellent picture quality for the price. Samsung plasma TVs have one of my favorite picture renditions among all TVs today. I like the color space even more than Panasonic plasmas once calibrated. It's important to note that this one has a few picture quality differences than the top tier F8500 plasma. Screen reflections and picture brightness are the two downsides in picture quality on the F5300. There is not as much light flow-through as the top models on the market. The screen also doesn't get as bright, which is a typical problem with plasma displays. Those two things combined make it a tough sell for a bright room. In a controlled lighting environment, the F5300's full HD picture quality is excellent.
Black Levels and Contrast
Contrast is another strong point on Samsung's bottom of the line plasma. For a budget priced model the contrast performance on the F5300 is very impressive.
Color Reproduction
The PN60F5300's colors look extremely realistic and fresh thanks to the plasma display. The going trend seen in many LCD/LEDs as of late is to bump the color saturation to high levels. That's not the case here. The high points are in warm colors and flesh tones. Samsung's plasma televisions deliver colors that are accurate and true to life and the F5300 carries through on this positive strength. It is important to calibrate the settings correctly to get the optimum picture performance out of this TV. A Warm1 Color Tone setting really helps to balance colors as Standard is too cool and Warm2 introduces a great deal of green coloration.
Picture Quality Rating: 8.6/10
The TCP60S60 has a full 1080p display for showing HD content at a great price. This is a great addition to the lineup considering that Panasonic's non-3D full HD plasma last year was on the bottom of the list. Black levels and color reproduction are strong points. In a controlled light environment the S60 provides a very strong picture quality for any price.
Video processing up-conversion from standard definition sources is strong, but not as good as the step-up ST60 in the 60Hz mode. There is apparent judder, but nothing out of the ordinary. There is no de-judder mode (Motion Smoother) on the S60 to smooth out the judder, but these de-judder technologies usually cause more harm than good by eliminating too much background blur.
Black Level and Contrast
The TC-P60S60 drops the Infinite Black Pro panel of the ST60 series that resides above it in the lineup. Black levels and contrast suffer slightly as a direct result, but are still stout. Even though they are not as strong, they should still be considered excellent when compared to budget models. Dark shadow detail is a particular strong point that we noticed when viewing the set.
The TCP60S60 has a full 1080p display for showing HD content at a great price. This is a great addition to the lineup considering that Panasonic's non-3D full HD plasma last year was on the bottom of the list. Black levels and color reproduction are strong points. In a controlled light environment the S60 provides a very strong picture quality for any price.
Video processing up-conversion from standard definition sources is strong, but not as good as the step-up ST60 in the 60Hz mode. There is apparent judder, but nothing out of the ordinary. There is no de-judder mode (Motion Smoother) on the S60 to smooth out the judder, but these de-judder technologies usually cause more harm than good by eliminating too much background blur.
Black Level and Contrast
The TC-P60S60 drops the Infinite Black Pro panel of the ST60 series that resides above it in the lineup. Black levels and contrast suffer slightly as a direct result, but are still stout. Even though they are not as strong, they should still be considered excellent when compared to budget models. Dark shadow detail is a particular strong point that we noticed when viewing the set.
So any thoughts, preferences, input etc on which you'd get?
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