X Series/sammy M8 And Pana Plasma Query

[angelus512]

Well have decided its time to buy in the next 2-3 weeks considering as apparently the next Panasonic models won't come out until June so i'm not waiting that long. Want to get the panel for the footy really.

Anyways was in Myer yesterday doing some browsing and I came across the Sony X Series full HD hooked up to Sony's PS3. It was playing that demo version of the movie Kingdom of Heaven....well i've been against LCD's for many reasons for quite some time and I'm aware that a PS3 hooked up to a Sony playing their demo bluray is probably going to look good....but DAMN DID IT LOOK GOOD!!!

Even on scene's i expected to find flaws like when the horses kick up clouds of dust i expected to see slight motion blurs or lack of clarity...crystal clear. Even in darker scene's overall the blacks looked good except for one or two where it had that mottled effect going on.

I guess my main query is black level and ability to do well with sporting games is my concern and we all know how cr*p footy is shot at the moment. Am I better off sticking with a Pana as originally thought? Would the X-Series look pretty sweet with anyways without optimal sources?

And finally for the price differences would I be better served buying a Sammy M8? Because from memory everybody pretty much says Samsung's and Sony's are of very comparable picture quality but massive price differences.

And finally the important Q&A whats the Black Level's like on LCD's nowdays? Last I checked it was all 5000:1 or 10000:1 but they were "tricked up" black levels ie Dynamic Contrast garbage.

I ask all this only because that X-Series hooked to BluRay looked amazing. I guess the real query is IF they had of hooked says the Pana 42PX600a up to it would it have looked pretty much the same too? Lot of what if's and maybe's here. Looking for opinions from all LCD owners and Pana owners too please.

[Owen]

Contrast ratio numbers don’t tell you much about black level, even if they where accurate.

The only way to tell what blacks are like is the see the display in a dark environment displaying night scenes.

LCD all look great with bright scenes or in bright viewing environments, but get them in the dark and it’s a VERY different story.

The Pana Plasma blacks should be quite a bit better but still not black, no digital display can do black at this time.

[KRiSX]

i'm having the same problem... trying to choose between current x series and soon to be release samsung... now its a hard choice seeing as the new sammy isn't even on the streets yet... but i have a feeling its gonna be good