I have finally convinced my wife that we need something other than a 19" Phillips CRT for our viewing pleasures. We have directv upstairs and will be adding an HD receiver downstairs along with the HD programming package when the new tv arrives. I am a gamer. I have an Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, and a decent computer that can run such games as Crisis and Oblivion without much trouble. I have been doing a little research on different tv technologies and I'm looking at possibly a Panasonic TH-46PZ85U. I like the contrast ratio on the plasmas and have read from several websites that, for gaming, plasma tvs are the way to go. My fear is that I'll spend about $2000 on a tv and have it crap out in a couple of years. My questions are: Does anyone have any experience with this particular tv? After the standard one year warranty is expired and a problem arises with the plasma tv, is there a way to repair these or am I S.O.L? Lastly, I have chosen this tv based upon the fact that I game a lot. Does anyone have any suggestions from their experience on best plasma tvs for gaming? My decision is not final on purchasing a plasma so any other tv suggestions would also be appreciated. My budget is $1500-$2000. Keep in mind I do want to mount the tv on the wall. Thanks for your time.

You'll have better luck in the plasma forum.

I have been reading on this forum for a good time and I have gotten a general consensus that Panasonic makes really good plasmas.

I purchased a 42" 600U plasma in November of 2006 and absolutely love it. I have no problems with burn-in but have had some very slight image retention issues (which are resolved rather quickly). That said, I did go ahead and purchase the extended warranty for two reasons:

1. I used to work at a high-end home theater place and have seen how high repair bills can be on various equipment. Having the warranty gives me peace of mind.

2. The demo unit at the store had a large green line on the display. While this doesn't mean that mine would have issues, no equipment is totally immune to malfunctions.

I have the 42px60u panasonic plasma. I stuck with just the manufactures warranty because I didn't have the money at the time and I know panasonic makes great plasmas. If your tv is going to have any problems it will usually be in the first year of use. Burn-in is not on the manufactures warranty either fyi. It has been about a year and a half so far and the tv is still going strong.

a. i HIGHLY doubt you will notice a difference between 1080p and 720p on anything less than 50"...

b. you can walk into any Costco and get a 42" Panny 720p HDTV for less than $1000...

c. you can walk into any Costco and get a 50" Panny 720p HDTV for less than $1300...

d. you have 90 days to try it out and decide if you like it, and if not you can throw it in the box and return it, which is usually 60 days more than most retail store will let you try it out for...

e. do you see where i'm going with this...

and for the record, i have a 42" Panny plasma in my living room that's over 2 years old, and if i was to every replace it for any reason i would only replace it with another Panny plasma...