Sony KDL 55HX923 versus Panasonic 55VT30

[admin_exported]

I am planning to replace my 42 Pioneer plasma with something bigger and up to date.

Initially I considered the Sony 55 inch, last weekend I had a quick look in a Sony shop.

Design , colour and overall feeling just perfect...

however was not really impressed with motion handling (errors on screen, flying bird duplicated shadow etc...)

It might be the setting was left with all corrections on, the shop personel was not really cooperative (maybe becouse it was before closing)

Anybody already owning the set an opinion?

Would it be better to look for the new Panasonic plasma, any pro-con ?

I also wonder if someone had the chance to look to the 65 inch version of Panasonic.

The room view point is quite a long distance,around 4m (and even considering the wife resistance factor ) a smaller set will not give a proper 3d feeling.

thanks a lot

gyr

 

[TKratz]

Quite difficult to say as the HX923 reviews are sparse at this point.

I haven't seen the Sony myself or been able to make a direct comparison for that matter.

But the Sony really needs to be astonishing to beat the Panasonic, as this is a terrific TV in my opinion, and a significant improvement over last years VT20.

 

[TKratz]

And having now read the first serious review of HX923 I would definately say, go for the Panasonic!

 

[bigboss]

Plasmas are generally inherently superior with motion handling. I'm assuming that your 42-inch Pioneer was a plasma.....then it's more likely for you to prefer plasmas.

The VT30 is astonishingly good. The Sony 923 is very good as well, but even I thought it could do better with motion handling. I checked the sets in different shops so can't comment on direct comparison, but I thought Panasonic was better.

 

[Jammoe]

Samsung PS59D6900 plasma?

 

[Deleted member 2457]

I am planning to replace my 42 Pioneer plasma with something bigger and up to date.

Initially I considered the Sony 55 inch, last weekend I had a quick look in a Sony shop.

Design , colour and overall feeling just perfect...

however was not really impressed with motion handling (errors on screen, flying bird duplicated shadow etc...)

It might be the setting was left with all corrections on, the shop personel was not really cooperative (maybe becouse it was before closing)

Anybody already owning the set an opinion?

Would it be better to look for the new Panasonic plasma, any pro-con ?

I also wonder if someone had the chance to look to the 65 inch version of Panasonic.

The room view point is quite a long distance,around 4m (and even considering the wife resistance factor ) a smaller set will not give a proper 3d feeling.

thanks a lot

gyr

I have seen and read reviews on both now, and if it was me buying I would buy the Sony. I didn't see any of the issues you mention on the Sony, in fact I have seen and read those very issues on the Panasonic, although this can be greatly improved by using the set's intelligent Frame Creation processing on its Mid level.

Did you see these issues on the Sony in 2D or 3D? I can also confirm I have had none of those problems on my Sony 46HX803 in 2D. If blacks are your thing though this Panasonic is said to have deeper black levels than the Pioneer Kuros.

 

[andy_s]

Plasmas are generally inherently superior with motion handling. I'm assuming that your 42-inch Pioneer was a plasma.....then it's more likely for you to prefer plasmas.

The VT30 is astonishingly good. The Sony 923 is very good as well, but even I thought it could do better with motion handling. I checked the sets in different shops so can't comment on direct comparison, but I thought Panasonic was better.

No such issues with motion handling on my 55" HX923, in fact i think i got it spot on now, motion is not for everybody, in fact many think it takes the feel away from movies so its best to leave it off, the picture on mine is super and i believe the colours better my old pioneer!, i cannot vouch for the new panasonic but what i've read will be an excellent choice for plasma lovers, i was tempted but am happy with my Sony.

 

[TKratz]

If blacks are your thing though this Panasonic is said to have deeper black levels than the Pioneer Kuros.

Funnily, this is just about the only point where the Sony beats the Panasonic

I don't know who have said that blacks are deeper on VT30 than on the Kuros, because I still hear the opposite. It is close to Pioneer Kuro, but not quite there yet. Anyway we have reached a point where it doesn't really matter so much. Blacks are excellent on both sets.

What is more important, as always, is greyscale. Here the Panasonic shows almost perfect differentiation whereas the Sony suffers, and cannot differentiate the darkest areas.

 

[Deleted member 2457]

If blacks are your thing though this Panasonic is said to have deeper black levels than the Pioneer Kuros.

Funnily, this is just about the only point where the Sony beats the Panasonic

I don't know who have said that blacks are deeper on VT30 than on the Kuros, because I still hear the opposite. It is close to Pioneer Kuro, but not quite there yet. Anyway we have reached a point where it doesn't really matter so much. Blacks are excellent on both sets.

What is more important, as always, is greyscale. Here the Panasonic shows almost perfect differentiation whereas the Sony suffers, and cannot differentiate the darkest areas.

I would give the tuner to the Sony as well - the tuner on the Sony is fantastic. The sound on the Sony is also pretty good, 3D you would have to give to the Panasonic. With the black levels comment it was a reliable source, but I to was a bit unsure on that, so I sent them an email and it was based on someone's opinion who had seen both extensively and also measured both but with different technology.

I also asked someone else who had tested both, but together and with the same technology and he said: "I found them in actual comparisons to be essentially the same." Although reading from his measurements, I thought he was clearly saying the Panasonic had better black levels. But like you say, when you get to this level of black it does not really matter, I also saw measurement on the Sony level and that too was really good.

 

[Anonymous]

bigboss,

correct, my Pioneer is a palsma, and not the latest generation, is only the 1024x768 resolution.

still I enjoyed it for many years and still is acceptable even with high def. material

 

[Anonymous]

bigboss,

correct, my Pioneer is a palsma, and not the latest generation, is only the 1024x768 resolution.

still I enjoyed it for many years and still is acceptable even with high def. material

 

[Anonymous]

bigboss,

correct, my Pioneer is a palsma, and not the latest generation, is only the 1024x768 resolution.

still I enjoyed it for many years and still is acceptable even with high def. material

 

[Anonymous]

An update ...

I made a quick decision, and ordered the Panasonic.

(the Sony I haven't had the chance to check one more time, in my home city not many of them on show, you are fully right finetuning filters and data processing will improve motion control ... the panasonic was compelling, since now they offered 4 3d specs and 5 years warranty as bonus.. )

Now apparently I am not that lucky or expecting too much...

The new set arrived, installed.

Is incredible nice, and well built, motion handling etc perfect. Is even good with low res. and TV material.

But apparently has not enough brightness.

I was trying with all type of sources, BD, DVD, Settop box.

In normal and THX mode, is just not enough... it looks like an old rear projection tv set.

The details are partially lost, for example in the scenes of Star Trek the half of the detail is not visible.

I tested also with older material, the Gladiator for example, same story, in the darker scenes experssion on faces and backround details lost, like the whole movie would be shot at dawn or sunset....

Cartoons are slightly better but only slightly- details of How to train your dragon are lost as well...

I compared same scenes with the old Pioneer plasma 42'' - huge difference, details are visible scenes are bright- of courseresolution is a different issue...

If I use any of the high brightness settings (game, etc which normally I never use, or I pull up the brightness, is slightly better in details, but still not there, and picture balance is going bye-bye. I have not had the time to play with all calibration, -the Pioneer is properly calibrated but assumed THX setting can give a bit of a good start...)

Anybody an opinion can be a defect or failure on the set, or is just as it is?

Just to set properly - i never expected a bright picture like some Samsungs have- and prefer natural balanced pictures but missing the details is a problem.

Needless to say I did the test in a perfectly dark room....

 

[Anonymous]

An update ...

I made a quick decision, and ordered the Panasonic.

(the Sony I haven't had the chance to check one more time, in my home city not many of them on show, you are fully right finetuning filters and data processing will improve motion control ... the panasonic was compelling, since now they offered 4 3d specs and 5 years warranty as bonus.. )

Now apparently I am not that lucky or expecting too much...

The new set arrived, installed.

Is incredible nice, and well built, motion handling etc perfect. Is even good with low res. and TV material.

But apparently has not enough brightness.

I was trying with all type of sources, BD, DVD, Settop box.

In normal and THX mode, is just not enough... it looks like an old rear projection tv set.

The details are partially lost, for example in the scenes of Star Trek the half of the detail is not visible.

I tested also with older material, the Gladiator for example, same story, in the darker scenes experssion on faces and backround details lost, like the whole movie would be shot at dawn or sunset....

Cartoons are slightly better but only slightly- details of How to train your dragon are lost as well...

I compared same scenes with the old Pioneer plasma 42'' - huge difference, details are visible scenes are bright- of courseresolution is a different issue...

If I use any of the high brightness settings (game, etc which normally I never use, or I pull up the brightness, is slightly better in details, but still not there, and picture balance is going bye-bye. I have not had the time to play with all calibration, -the Pioneer is properly calibrated but assumed THX setting can give a bit of a good start...)

Anybody an opinion can be a defect or failure on the set, or is just as it is?

Just to set properly - i never expected a bright picture like some Samsungs have- and prefer natural balanced pictures but missing the details is a problem.

Needless to say I did the test in a perfectly dark room....

 

[bigboss]

Is it on eco mode or something similar? If I'm not wrong, Panasonic has a light sensor which automatically dims based on light around. Switch that to "off".

 

[bigboss]

If you google "panasonic vt30 calibration settings", there are some settings available which you can try.

 

[Anonymous]

Bigboss,

yes I disabled eco mode and tried all of bells and wistles on and off...

This has to be something more serious.

I believe, compared to Pioneer we cannot have a significant discrepancy on brightness, and I assumed up to now, if we talk plasma, than screen diameter also cannot be an issue...

I just hope is a defect and they will replace it, and story ends with happy end... I just cannot believe a premium Panasonic product can perform this way.

Thanks for the hint I am looking now into additional setting posibilities, I see also firmware upgrade is mentioned somewhere, but mainly becouse of colour space, not brightness...

Nobody complaining on details , brightness and greyscale so I just hope is a one-faulty-unit case...

 

[Deleted member 2457]

I have read stuff about 'brightness fluctuations' on this TV range. Also I have read that the VT30 has an extra contrast filter that slightly reduces the picture's brightness, and because of this some people might prefer the GT30 but the max size of that range is a 50in.

 

[TKratz]

Well, last years VT20 measured 68 cd/m2 whereas VT30 measures 77 cd/m2 out of the box, so this is not true.

But as BigBoss I would also recommend you search the web for recommended settings. The adjustments I have seen improves the colour accuracy (although very precise out of the box when using the THX mode) and increase the brightness to around 88 cd/m2. That is definately not too little!

If the pictures seems muddy, even in dark surroundings, I would suggest there is something wrong with the set.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks TKratz

I also tend to believe something wrong with the set.

I tried (not to an expert level but played with... ) the prof. settings-did not help

Something strange ... I found reference to firmware upgrade on the web

http://thetechjournal.com/electronics/panasonic-vt30-plasma-tv-firmware-updates.xhtml

they mention last version as 2.06 , mine has 1.8 smtg... and at update request is saying is up to date.

Maybe is US vs european version

In between I consulted with one of my friends who is movie director and worked as cameraman , he confirmed my feeling, the tv picture is dark and details are lost when in shadow.

Panasonic service is coming today, I will post the outcome.

 

[bigboss]

Keep us posted.

 

[Anonymous]

i think there is something called CATS in thepicture menu this adjusts the brightness to ambient light. Try turning this off mate.

 

[Anonymous]

So.... to cut the long story short and come to the end of this saga ray: ...

Panasonic service representative showed up, equipped with a nice piece of Panasonic Blueray player.

I had to learn the following:

-the tv is not faulty, operates as designed (according to him). All of the levers for economical operation have been switched off.

-the overall brightness of the tv set remained the same, hovewer the dark uniform spots became filled with content using the panasonic player

-lesson learned - try to avoid using BD player from a competitive company who also produces tv's (I was using my Sony PS3 for BD)

-after digesting all these and looking again to all test materials , going back again to Sony and looking to the same again, I decided to return Panasonic and buy the Sony.

Summary from my point of view, not necessary an expert view rather a user feeling:

-Panasonic produced incredible sharp and engineering wise correct reproduction of pictures

-no shadows or errors on picture, every pixel where it should be even looking from close

-the overall tone of the picture remained dark

-space and scenes remain irreal, with the feeling all pictures created in green room and moving items mounted artifficialy

-I feel picture quality was sacrificed on the altar of environment friendly design and low consumption.

(I might remain alone with my opinion but if somebody is buying a 3000 GBP set, the last thing he will look at is the 10% decrese in consumption -usage itself with the present workload and free time will not harm anyhow the rainforest )

-The Sony has some minor errors on picture, motion can carry some very minor shadow and duplication looking from close

-overall picture is live and enjoyable, and can live with it.

I don't know if I made the right choice or not, but at least I enjoy what I finally took.

(Assuming the Panasonic delivered to me is/was not faulty)

Will be very interested if a professional team will perform a supertest involving the two flagship 55'' TV's what conclusions will they find.

all the best

gy.

 

[Deleted member 2457]

If blacks are your thing though this Panasonic is said to have deeper black levels than the Pioneer Kuros.

Funnily, this is just about the only point where the Sony beats the Panasonic

I don't know who have said that blacks are deeper on VT30 than on the Kuros, because I still hear the opposite. It is close to Pioneer Kuro, but not quite there yet. Anyway we have reached a point where it doesn't really matter so much. Blacks are excellent on both sets.

What is more important, as always, is greyscale. Here the Panasonic shows almost perfect differentiation whereas the Sony suffers, and cannot differentiate the darkest areas.

I would give the tuner to the Sony as well - the tuner on the Sony is fantastic. The sound on the Sony is also pretty good, 3D you would have to give to the Panasonic. With the black levels comment it was a reliable source, but I to was a bit unsure on that, so I sent them an email and it was based on someone's opinion who had seen both extensively and also measured both but with different technology.

I also asked someone else who had tested both, but together and with the same technology and he said: "I found them in actual comparisons to be essentially the same." Although reading from his measurements, I thought he was clearly saying the Panasonic had better black levels. But like you say, when you get to this level of black it does not really matter, I also saw measurement on the Sony level and that too was really good.

Hey, you can now read about it in a certain other mag, my question got printed in this month's edition lol, I have now been in my two favourite mags - brilliant.

 

[Deleted member 2457]

Also you can now add WHF to that list that with the black level statement (just got round to reading it).

Hi WHF team

Having seen the Sony and Samsung as well, and been very impressed with their black levels as well, when you come around to the group test, any chance you could give detailed reports on how much better each one is over the other in that department (I'm sure you would've anyway), just quite interested. I thought the Sony was very strong too.

Many thanks