So, I am about to purchase a Plasma TV. This will be my first Plasma and my first TV since my Hitachi Rear Projection that I bought 5 years ago or so.

Based on everything I've read here ... the Panasonic TH5xPZ700U is a great TV, especially for the money they cost today. I am looking to buy a 58-60" most likely as my viewing distance in my living room varies from 8'-15' with the most popular spots being at a distance of 12'-13'.

After doing my research on the TH58PZ700U I decided it was time to look at it in store. I went to BB which was the only local store who had it in stock and on display. I watched it for about 10 minutes, then talked to a Rep.

I thought the picture did not look great at all. Supposedly BB is feeding their own OTA HD that is 1080i (according to the Rep). All TV's at the BB is was at were connected via Coaxial cable. I then asked to see an SD feed which was not at all impressive (not that it should be, but I expected better). The picture looked horrible ...

So, what this all boils down to is ... how is my DishNetwork at home going to look (both SD and HD) on this TV compared to what I saw at Best Buy? They're signal can't be great knowing that it's been split 50-60 times! Do I need to move on and look at Pioneer lineup? Should I go with a 50" instead? I am reluctant to go smaller then I have now (51").

I must say that the TH50PZ80U they had on display seemed comparatively better. I just don't know!

Help! :) Someone talk be into buying this thing!

You can't tell much in the store. All of the feeds are usually crap and taylored to make the TVs look eyecatching in the bright store.

Get home in you living room ambient lighting (much dimmer than the store) and feed with clean signals and the TV will be night and day. I did the same thing with looking for my 42" panasonic 600u plasma and it looked like crap in BB and CC.

I finally saw it at a higher end store next to the Poineer Elites of the time and they suprising held their own. Especially considering the price difference (when not in the high end store) :)

I'd suggest trying to find it in a high end store that had proper lighting to show off picture quality.

So, I am about to purchase a Plasma TV. This will be my first Plasma and my first TV since my Hitachi Rear Projection that I bought 5 years ago or so.

Based on everything I've read here ... the Panasonic TH5xPZ700U is a great TV, especially for the money they cost today. I am looking to buy a 58-60" most likely as my viewing distance in my living room varies from 8'-15' with the most popular spots being at a distance of 12'-13'.

After doing my research on the TH58PZ700U I decided it was time to look at it in store. I went to BB which was the only local store who had it in stock and on display. I watched it for about 10 minutes, then talked to a Rep.

I thought the picture did not look great at all. Supposedly BB is feeding their own OTA HD that is 1080i (according to the Rep). All TV's at the BB is was at were connected via Coaxial cable. I then asked to see an SD feed which was not at all impressive (not that it should be, but I expected better). The picture looked horrible ...

So, what this all boils down to is ... how is my DishNetwork at home going to look (both SD and HD) on this TV compared to what I saw at Best Buy? They're signal can't be great knowing that it's been split 50-60 times! Do I need to move on and look at Pioneer lineup? Should I go with a 50" instead? I am reluctant to go smaller then I have now (51").

I must say that the TH50PZ80U they had on display seemed comparatively better. I just don't know!

Help! :) Someone talk be into buying this thing!
I bought this set about 3 weeks ago and have NOT been disappointed. I was originally going to wait for the newer 58inch 800 series, but didn't want to wait till fall.

I was able to compare it next to the 8g Pio and the 58in Samsung and was very happy with how it compared, especially for the money.

I have comcast cable, and although I don't really watch that much non-hd, I think this set does a great job on SD. The HD performance is really amazing....

Great ... thanks for the answers. I will probably order this TV this coming week!

I am pumped!

Sounds like you're already good to go with this set, but I'll point you to a post I made after I got my 58pz700u. Someone asked pretty much what you're asking so I took pics. Don't pay attention to the over saturation of colors, though, I hadn't figured out how to set my camera yet to get an accurate picture of what's on the set. Here's the link...
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showpost.php?p=11479907&postcount=4109