We are renovating our living room and will be setting up a wall-hung
42-inch plasma TV with surround sound. We will be using a mid-level
Denon receiver and a Denon DVD player, mid-level Paradigm speakers and
DirecTV's HD receiver and DVR.  We're using an industrial plasma
monitor because all of the inputs will come from the above equipment.

However, I'm confused over which HD plasma monitor to use and Googling
all the reviews on Consumer Reports, C-Net, Sound and Vision and
Consumer Search haven't helped.

The decision is between Pioneer's PDP434CMX monitor and Panasonic's
42PHD8UK monitor.  The two concerns I have read about with the Pioneer
monitor center around black levels and its rendering of green. I
haven't read that there are any real issues with the Panasonic.

Our installer is pushing the Pioneer (he is a dealer for both, so
there is no conflict there) over the Panasonic. He has told me in his
experience, the Pioneer is a higher quality product; its media box
will make installation cleaner with fewer cables; it has more inputs
and, if anything goes wrong, Pioneer will replace the set while
Panasonic will only repair theirs.

I have been unable to see these sets side by side running the same
programming at high-def to do a comparison., so I don't know if there
is a dramatic difference or not. Most of what I watch on our current
television are movies, sporting events or DVDs. My wife watches DIY
programs.

So with that background, here's the admittedly rather amorphous
question: Is there a significant difference between the two monitors
in color rendition or any other aspect and, if so, is it significant
enough to ignore the advice of our installer and go with the Panasonic
monitor?

Hi,

It looks like you have been to all of the good review sites, and have
done quite a bit of digging on your own. So it sounds like what we
need here is another expert opinion, so I called a very close friend
who works with HD cable installations, and is sent out by COX cable
for repair tickets involving HD TV types. She has quite a bit of
experience with 'what goes wrong' rather than what goes right. I
guessed that this would be a good counter balance for your installer.

She tells me there is very little difference in the quality of the
picture, and she has very few calls on either one of them. When I
asked her to pick one, asking her to tell me which she would choose,
she said her decision would be based on price, and the type of jacks
she needed to setup the rest of her sound system. If pushed further,
in some esoteric plane of existence where neither of those criteria
were an issue, she would go with the Panasonic (but I believe that was
just to get me to shut up and get off the phone).

I then called our installer (we have a Sony HD) and asked him what he
would choose, and he picked the Panasonic because the install was
better ("Less hassle or things to go wrong").

So, from those two people and your installer, I would say that there
is probably very little difference in a side by side comparison, and
from everything else, Panasonic, in your case, would probably be the
best choice, given the variables.

thanks, 

webadept-ga

Panasonic is my vote. After viewing and listening to those who are
involved, yes the Pioneer is good but the Panasonic is better.