Pioneer's NEW 7th Generation Plasmas for 2006-2007

[Nero]

any idea on when the Elite specs will be released, or how long after the normal line is out that they will be released?

[Nimbus]

totally serious on the 60/600 series. I have a 42PX500U sitting in my family room and I have spent a few hours in store on the 60 series running it through the paces and I can tell you the 500 has a 'smoother' PQ. There is a degree of noise on the 60 and face tones are not as realistic or accurately rendered as on the 50/500. First impressions on the 60 are 'wow' bright and bold but once you get by the whiter 'Tide' whites you begin to see subtle PQ 'issues' that are not there on the 50. Find any store with remaining 50/500 series and do a side by side if possible with the 60. The discriminating viewer will pick out the differences. I've seen a few comments on the Forum on same but by and large it seems to be a stampede overrun by thousands about their 60/600 purchase. I note that the Forum seems to be lacking some of the critical reviews that it use to get in the past. RH weighs in from time to time, but it feels like reading consumer reports lately on the Forum. Reason I was interested in the 60 is possibly upgrading to a 58 or even the 65 1080p. At this point I am grateful that I bought the 500, may be like buying an old tube driven amplifier but I am sticking to my story that the 50/500 has the better PQ, at least to this set of eyes.

[redford]

If you're waiting for the new line of Pioneer PDPs, then take a look at this Forbes article, which was posted today on another Pioneer-related thread.

http://www.forbes.com/business/feeds...fx2701873.html

[Augustes]

Interesting, but the article seems to fly in the face of what we think we know - specifically, that Pioneer will be producing 7th generation plasma panels that will reach market in June in Japan. Maybe they meant two PDP production lines will be closed, but others will remain open? Because it said they're increasing production to 1.2 million panels...

[Nero]

If Pioneer is shutting down its production lines, then why would they announce new models on April 19th ? Something does not fit here, and for Forbes to say that they are saddled with "overcapacity" when the overall demand for PDP's is outstripping supply, implies that there is no market for the NEC / Pioneer products. There are -- some number of us -- that would purchase these sets right now if they were available...many of us are tired of waiting for availability of other brands. I sense a lot of pent-up demand for the "best bang for the buck" plasma tv's, if it were not so what are we all doing here?

This is a GREAT LOOKING product, and I for one hope that Pio cranks up the production line and produces enough so that the prices can be competitive.

[Nimbus]

There is a simple way to solve the overproduction problem - lower prices! Pioneer is still using a very restrictive authorized dealer channel, while Panny is available from every corner market at a discount. Pioneer needs to get their costs down so they can lower the selling prices - right now they (just like Fujitsu) look very overpriced to the average consumer compared to Panny. I'm willing to pay a bit of a premium for better looks and build quality, but not 50% more.

Maybe Panny should just hire away the Pioneer bezel & stand design team..

[redford]

Pioneer for years hasn't QUITE been as good as Panasonic but has always charged out the WAZOO!

The fact that maybe now Pioneer might be slightly better than Panasonic's models will do them no good if they KEEP charging out the WAZOO!

The only way to send a message to Pioneer without putting them out of buisness is to buy MORE NECs and less Pioneers. They'll get the message!

[Augustes]

Closing two production lines doesn't mean they are ALL closed. Pioneer is more expensive than Panasonic because they look better by a good margin, in my opinion, but I agree they do need to lower prices by about 500 bucks to have a chance in the market place to turn a profit.

What worries me most is the fact that on the whole Plasma quality is getting worse across the board. THis is because of the rising competition from Korean, and chinese brands that turn out crap for a low price, like Insignia brand, etc. Pioneer can't compete so they must either accept a smaller market share with good quality or risk quality and brand identity with lower costing poorer performing models, like Panasonic.

[Nero]

I tested the 5060hd and the commerical 8th gen panny 50 inch side by side. The Panny did have the better blacks, but only by a very, very small margin.

If the panels were not side by side I don't think you could tell the difference. Just my opinion. You might want to be sure both player and panel are properly calibrated. Some folks say the blacks are so good on the Pioneer 5060hd that material on earlier gen Pioneer's they owned actually looks darker.

There might be an improvement in the blacks on the next gen sets, but my guess would be, if there is, it might be something related to the 1080p and processing of the color shades/separations than anything else. But you never know, they might do a better display or mask.

[Nimbus]

Bear in mind also, that while you may not want all the features, the Pioneer comes with:

Mount/stand (and I don't mean the furniture)
Speakers
Hi Def Tuner
2 HDMI ports

The Panasonic commercial version 8th gen, which is or was the big favorite over the holidays I wanted to buy and was simply not in stock anywhere, came with NONE of these.

So when comparing prices, be sure to look at features so it has some chance of being something of an apples to apples comparison.