On the odd chance your TV was disabled during the second week of January
and you missed the evening news during that half-fortnight, C.E.S. is the
Consumer Electronics Show held annually in the city of conspicuous power
consumption, Las Vegas, Nevada.
I subscribe to almost every publication
targeted at the Home Theatre arena, both on-line and hardcopies. The objective,
obviously, is to try to stay current with new developments and maybe spot a
trend or two, before the next guy. As I peruse late November material I can't
help but spot an annual and apparently immutable trend to offer Christmas gift
ideas to Home Theaterites (yes, I'm licensed to make up new words whenever I
feel like it).
For the fourth year in a row now, Value Electronics presented a Flat
Panel Shootout where I was a presenter. The panel contestants were the
Panasonic TC-P65VT30 plasma, the Samsung PN59D8000 plasma, the LG 60PZ950
plasma, the Samsung UN60D8000 edge lit LED, Sony XBR55HX929, and the Elite PRO-60X5FD.
Every year at
the annual CEDIA (Custom Electronics Design & Installation Association)
Expo, CEDIA bestows their Life Achievement Award on a deserving member of our
industry. This year that coveted award went to Don Stewart, one of the partners
of Stewart Filmscreen, a leading front and rear projection screen manufacturer.
I love my job.
Have I mentioned that before? If you'll excuse the mixed metaphors, I have my
fingers in enough pies that I get to look out over the landscape of our amusing
little avocation and see Engineering genius stacked up next to Marketing faux
pas (uh, let's call them mis-directions, unclear as to legitimate intent or
not) on a regular basis. Sometimes it boggles the mind.
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except TweakTV
Pros: The PRO-60X5FD, a full array LED
backlit LCD panel with Local Dimming Technology, produces superior blacks to
the vaunted reference Pioneer Elite panels, and is definitely one of the best
performing most color accurate flat panel displays available today.
Cons: Quite pricey
carrying MSRPs of $5,499.00 for the PRO-60X5FD and $7,999.00 for the PRO-70X5FD. Off
angle viewing is not as good as plasma.
To Buy Or Not To
Buy? If you want the very best in an LED based LCD flat panel in a very large
screen size, then one of the two Elite models is definitely what you are
looking for.
