ben1680

Where did you see the Criterion Magnolia for $499? Is it in Sydney? I'm looking to buy that Magnolia large (2 metre width). Any info will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance...

Yes, come on manufacturer, drop your bucket of money on OLED research and large scale factory. Stop spending it on old tech LCD factory!!! Bring on the OLED panel, there is huge market for that on all front...

You are absolutely correct, it is due to their antiglare screen. It will appeared that way, relative to the TV set position and angle to the light source. That's why I repeatedly said that their antiglare method is actually works as anticontrast as well, as it reduce the picture contrast too much...

If budget are no issue, go with Pioneer. If you are more suspectible to picture contrast (as most people are), but didn't want to spend too much for a screen, go with Samsung. If you prefer larger screen, go with Panasonic. I'm too find the panasonic antiglare reducing the contrast way too much. In any case, you won't be dissapointed. But depending of your preference above, your satisfaction level may vary

greg32, you simply cannot compare miniscule 76cm (30inch) CRT to large screen LCD or Plasma. It's not aple to aple comparison. I'm not talking about tech differences but as simple as size differences. Try to use magnifying glass (2x magnification factor, 20cm diameter, maybe to make comparison easier) to simulate apple to apple comparison to 60 inch LCD or plasma. Watch from approx same distance as you watch the big screen LCD or CRT in the showroom. I bet you can no longer said that CRT is still better than current latest generation of LCD (XBR) or Plasma (Pana or Kuro). In this size, you will see CRT scan line all over the place, worst screen door effect ever, etc. There is other factor that make the difference more pronounced. All display, especially digital based such as LCD or Plasma are best when displaying the content matched with their native screen resolution. Other than native res, they need to scale the source to match the screen resolution, and this introduce noise, false contouring, resolution drop, etc etc. BlueRay and HD-DVD are 1080P (1920x1080), and this match exactly with current Full HD screen.

Yes, PZ range here have those anti-glare (anti-contrast should be more appropriate for this ). I also waiting for 80-90 inch screen to be available affordably. 3 to 5 years is good timeframe, as I still enjoying my 60" (although I feel it shrink in size, day by day) Hope it will reach AU$12.000 RRP when they are finally being released...

My opinion that is is not big news or impressive is because they might use flat CCFL to achieve this thickness level. This will only reduce the thickness without improving anything, and they might charge premium for that. This is not impressive at all considering current level of production technology. Also, if you take a peek inside current LCD/Plasma, there is heaps of gap behind the screen that used for nothing. Current thickness needed only for structural integrity of the screen, also to enable them to use cheap and less rigid material. They also enable them to be more liberal in term of choosing the electronics component, especially the capacitor and/or the coil for the PSU as this usually is the current thickest component in LCD/Plasma design. If they use LED backlight, they should be able to produce it for less than 1 inch thick. And if one company said this is impressive or big news, they deserve it Also, I agree that those prototype organic screen and plasma ARE impressive in thickness, only around 9mm!!!

How big is those LCD will be? I don't think that 1.5inch is impressive, especially if it is only 40". The ratio between the width and the depth is not that great. IMHO, it is just a evolution, and not big news at all. If it is 100 inch, maybe. If LED backlighting is used, they should be able to produce it in 1 inch or less for 40" size, counting current production technology in the fact, and not future technology. Maybe they want to sell it less than current price? If that's the case, then it makes sense. Still no big news though Not trying to critize your post in any way, just don't like hyperbole marketing...

IMHO, all those prices are not price drop essentially. That's the correct price of Kuro should be, as those are the prices in USA and Japan since launch... as far as I know, there is no price drop in USA for these Kuro. After all, why they drop the price if they are have no problem selling those TV? Just for info, 60" Kuro that most of us buy through group buy are being made in October this year, and some of us here already have it in their home early November. It means that they even need to be airfreighted to meet demand... As always, Pio Australia and all other distribution company here try to milk consumer pocket as hard as they can, and lining up their pocket with huge dollar. The management probably feel the pressure to drop the price just to make their target sales in Australia and justify their yearly bonuses... For example, Kuro 60" cost AU$9000 throughout Japan everywhere, including big department store (1:100 exchange ratio). Yet they sell it here for heaps more, AU$12000 RRP and with their "regular deceiving discount" of 10% it only drops to AU$10800. Still a lot more expensive than Japan. This not to mention that Japan and USA version have ethernet connection for DNA and they strip this feature off for European and Australian version, two of the market that pay a lot more for these TV...

For me, I'll take 42PX7A anytime...

I just get the Planet Earth this afternoon, and must confess that my opinion are the same with you that it is not the best material to show off your HDTV set. Some of the shot are impressive, but others are marred with excessive grain and lack of contrast. I notice that they mention in the packaging that not all of the footage are being shot in HD.... Any particular episode of Bikini Destination that's good for demo? Best of, Bahama, California, Las Vegas, Alaska, Rio de Janeiro, Lima, or Fantasy? Bikini Destination is all shot in 1080i, right? I should buy the remastered version of Fifth Element. What is the difference in packaging, so I can get the new and remastered version?

Do you have access to all Pio model which has been properly calibrated, to come to above conclusion and other conclusion that you write about the black is crushed in Pio compared to other brand?

It's not that simple, I'm afraid. Your approach in comparing it side by side in a number of store already good and the most preferred method. However, the default setting is not always the correct and the best setting. It can lead to wrong decision being made. It is good and avisable that you try to get the correct setting rather than default setting. Also when comparing it between store, make sure it is actually the same condition as you will view it at home, mainly ambient light level. This is another simple thing most user failed to notice. Ambient light in the normal store floor usually around 10 to 20 times higher than average home. Our eye response are logaritmic, means that we only see double the brightness when the light level are actually 4 times higher. Not to mention that our eyes also adapt to lighting condition relatively easily. So, here is a very simplified test: Average home will usually have equivalent of 32W fluoro bulb per 3m x 3m x2.5m area (max). When you are in the average shop floor, look at the ceiling and you will be surprised to find that it will have heaps more Again, this is just rough estimation but easy to do. Ideally you should have access to simple light meter to be able to precisely do the comparison...

I want to know what is your reference material to maximize the viewing experience of 1080P FullHD panel? Thank you...

Yes, current Fuji with AVM2 will be better in term of PQ compared to current Pana because they use Pana glass (I think) but slap on better processing engine. But the processing of those Fuji, IMHO, are practically at the same level with current Kuro. New Fujitsu Aviamo will have better processing compared to Kuro, but with much higher price tag...