A) I first want to narrow down my options by looking at which Plasmas pass tests when it comes to properly de-interlacing 1080i, 3:2 pulldown, inverse telecine, etc. I'm basically looking for an article like this one only updated for new TVs: (that would be a huge help)
http://www.hometheatermag.com/hookmeup/1106hook/

B) I'm thinking 50" possibly a little bigger

C) 1080p is desired since I play video games 3-5 hrs per week and sit within 4 ft of the screen when I do.

D) Budget is somewhere around $2000. I'm loving the Pioneer Kuros but they are too expensive. The Panasonic Vieras look solid and at a better price.

Oh, and I'm buying this cause my old 2003 Sammy DLP just died on me...

I think you might be expecting way too much for $2,000.....

One thing to know about plasmas for gaming is that they are prone to Image Retention which is when a fixed image in on the screen for a long time (say an hour) and your switch to a different source the previous image will have a shadow left on the screen.
The shadow will fade with regular tv viewing (no side bars) or a special "erase" mode in some TVs.

This is not to run you off of plasma but it is something to consider.

I think you might be expecting way too much for $2,000.....

Why? The Pioneer KURO PDP-5080HD 50" Plasma is at $2500 according to HTM and I see it going for less online...
http://www.hometheatermag.com/buyersguides/flatpanels/

It may not be 1080p, but I'm not going to rule it out on that alone.

BTW - Anyone know where I can find a review that tests out all the HDTVs like in link in my first post?

One thing to know about plasmas for gaming is that they are prone to Image Retention which is when a fixed image in on the screen for a long time (say an hour) and your switch to a different source the previous image will have a shadow left on the screen.
The shadow will fade with regular tv viewing (no side bars) or a special "erase" mode in some TVs.

This is not to run you off of plasma but it is something to consider.

Yeah, it's a drawback. But I really don't game too much. And I've heard some plasmas do not have a problem with this at all...

Try www.ecoustics.com for reviews.

BTW - I'm also looking at Panasonic TH-50PZ750U which I'm seeing around 2000-2500.

But I'm not sure about it since I really haven't heard anything indepth about it regarding what I talked about in point "A" of my first post...

Try www.ecoustics.com for reviews.

Will do.

thanks.

EDIT: This is pretty much exactly what I was looking for, again thanks..

http://www.hometheatermag.com/hookmeup/1107hook2/

Instead of worrying about a particular set passing every synthetic benchmark thrown at it.....how about just judging it for the beautiful picture it gives you for movies/games? I have one of last years Panasonics, and I honestly couldn't care less what tests it passed or didn't pass...all I know is that I get a warm feeling of satisfaction every time I turn it on...as well as plenty of envy from friends who didn't heed my advice and went the lcd route.;)

Instead of worrying about a particular set passing every synthetic benchmark thrown at it.....how about just judging it for the beautiful picture it gives you for movies/games? I have one of last years Panasonics, and I honestly couldn't care less what tests it passed or didn't pass...all I know is that I get a warm feeling of satisfaction every time I turn it on...as well as plenty of envy from friends who didn't heed my advice and went the lcd route.;)

Which one?

I'm thinking about going the same route and buying one of last years models - the Panasonic TH-50PZ750U

Which one?

I'm thinking about going the same route and buying one of last years models - the Panasonic TH-50PZ750UI got the 77U with the agressive anti-glare screen coating. It was by choice though...and at the time I had already been through 2 glossy screen plasmas that were nearly unwatchable at certain times of the day...but they have since been banished to bedrooms where glare isn't an issue. Just because it is "last years model" doesn't mean it is obsolete...the 750U was considered near the high-end last year, and if the price is right then you can score a great set.

Does anyone know the difference between the 750U and the 700u?

Panasonic 50" 1080p is well under $2000 now.


Other cheaper brands like Vizio should be near $1500.

Does anyone know the difference between the 750U and the 700u?There are four differences - additional HDMI input, some sort of split screen, additional picture settings in the user menu, and i forget the 4th thing :D

The differences and details are discussed thoroughly in the big PZ700U/PZ750U thread.

Well, I just got back from Best Buy.

I went in there with the intention of looking at the TH-50PZ85u an older TH-50PZ700u (similarly priced) and the Pioneer KURO PDP5080

All were solid, but the Kuro wins. Totally smooth picture, very deep blacks, no artifacts. When the camera panned it looked jagged on all the other similarly priced sets - but the Kuro was exceptional.

Only two problems:
1) I'm basing my comparison off (I assume) a horrid Direct TV feed. I want to see how they look when hooked up to a good source, like a Blu Ray Player - and if the 720p Kuro looks noticeably less sharp than the 1080p sets (It certainly didn't in the store).
2) Both the Kuro and the 700u were floor models and from what I hear, they torture their plasmas and you are taking a risk when buying one - hence the low prices

FROM THE CATALOG THAT PANASONIC SENT ME:

WHAT THE 750 ADDS OVER THE 700:
STUDIO REFERENCE MODE
PRO SETTING
FRONT HDMI INPUT
FRONT ANALOG AUDIO INPUT FOR HDMI
SD AVCHD/MP2 PLAYBACK
ONE TUNER SPLIT SCREEN DISPLAY

STUDIO REFERENCE MODE:
Movie images are some of the most difficult for TV displays to reproduce. By
working closely with movie studios for many years and applying research by the Hollywood Lab, Studio Reference Mode on Panasonic plasma TVs enables the replication of colors that was originally intended by the director----exactly the way they are seen on reference monitors in professional film editing rooms.

PRO-SETTING MODE:
Pro-Setting Mode offers the user precise, highly-detailed adjustment of image quality to suit personal preferences. Just the touch of a button on the remote executes setting adjustments such as tint, brightness, contour emphasis, gamma compensation, and black expansion, which would otherwise require the use of special equipment to accomplish.

FROM THE CATALOG THAT PANASONIC SENT ME:

WHAT THE 750 ADDS OVER THE 700:
STUDIO REFERENCE MODE
PRO SETTING
FRONT HDMI INPUT
FRONT ANALOG AUDIO INPUT FOR HDMI
SD AVCHD/MP2 PLAYBACK
ONE TUNER SPLIT SCREEN DISPLAY

STUDIO REFERENCE MODE:
Movie images are some of the most difficult for TV displays to reproduce. By
working closely with movie studios for many years and applying research by the Hollywood Lab, Studio Reference Mode on Panasonic plasma TVs enables the replication of colors that was originally intended by the director----exactly the way they are seen on reference monitors in professional film editing rooms.

PRO-SETTING MODE:
Pro-Setting Mode offers the user precise, highly-detailed adjustment of image quality to suit personal preferences. Just the touch of a button on the remote executes setting adjustments such as tint, brightness, contour emphasis, gamma compensation, and black expansion, which would otherwise require the use of special equipment to accomplish.

That's perfect. Thanks.

I read on this site [different thread though], that Plasma TV's put out a lot of heat [e.g. enough to raise the temp in a room]. All TV's put out some degree of heat I know, but I was wondering if anyone had any info to support that Plasma's run hotter than LCD, DLP, etc. to the extent that they (in addition to using more power than the other technologies), will increase your electric bill (to a lesser degree than the power its using of course) by needing to run your AC more to cool a smaller room [assumption in my case is a 12x14 room (moderate size living room)].

I read on this site [different thread though], that Plasma TV's put out a lot of heat [e.g. enough to raise the temp in a room]. All TV's put out some degree of heat I know, but I was wondering if anyone had any info to support that Plasma's run hotter than LCD, DLP, etc. to the extent that they (in addition to using more power than the other technologies), will increase your electric bill (to a lesser degree than the power its using of course) by needing to run your AC more to cool a smaller room [assumption in my case is a 12x14 room (moderate size living room)].Plasmas do put off a fair amount of heat...that is a fact that I can't deny and is one of the concessions that I feel is worth it if the alternative is lcd/dlp/rptv. However, like you said all tv's put out heat to some degree...some run hotter than others...but then again the same applies to different makes/models of plasmas. Again, plasma isn't the most energy effcient technology but it isn't as bad as it seems. For example a properly calibrated plasma that is rated for 275w (peak) will normally use about half that peak number during normal operation...someone here actually measured this with their plasma. (Randy Walters??) I can tell you that a plasma will make a minimal at best increase in your electric bill....but mostly that can be due to spending more time using it and marvelling at the wonderful PQ.;)

Might want to look into the ( little over your set budget):

Panasonic TH-50PZ800U
Panasonic TH-50PZ850U

Samsung PN50A550
Samsung PN50A650

Thanks.

One of my biggest worries is Plasma's issue with bright lighted rooms. I've been researching the heck out of the Panny 80U/85U/800U/850U 50" 1080P's and it sounds like a bright lighted rooom isn't handled too well with Plasma TV's in general - regardless of which manufacture made it.

Previous postings by several people (including screenshots and YouTube video clips) show these panny models having some issues with their dynamic contrast technology (a feature designed to combat the changes in on-screen light constrast dynamics). The postings prove this to be an issue in showing a slow-enough-to-detect-processing by the TV in its trying to compensate for dynamic changes in scene brightness/contrast levels, where lighting contrasts are significant). The technology seems to work, but it has some flaws in how its been implemented. It doesn't seem to be able to process the video information faster than the human eye can detect the change (at least not yet and/or in these model TVs).

My two cents to address compensating the D-Constrast issue would be to have the processor (or better yet, have a second dedicated processor) pre-scan several frames ahead of what you are currently viewing, buffer those frames, and apply the re-contrastive/brightness level change in the buffer, then feed it to the screen -- so its transparent to you when watching it, because the processing is all done before its ever on-screen (and to make everyone happy make the feature able to be turned on/off by the user for mass market appeal)

Thoughts? Seems like a no-brainer way of handling it to me.

I have a bright lighted room with 2 Windows Left wall of TV separated by a fireplace with a fairly large skylight slightly off center to same window side of the room [centered with the fireplace]. Daytime viewing is pretty bright. I can kill light from the two windows but the skylight I'm screwed during the day.

Plasma is the best for motion video, but the ambient light issue [and IR/Burn-in are big concerns] -- LCD resolves IR/Burn-in & ambient light issues for the most part, but motion and black-level are LCD's downfalls [those new 120Hz LCD's I've seen so far make the video look creepy, unnatural/fake -- even my 11yr old dughter doesn't like the fake/artificial video]. The 800U I looked at, at BB the other day under their very bright warehouse style lighting washed out a lot of color contrast and anything short of VIVID setting made the brightness of the picture (very noticable on white backgrounds) look hazy, like there was a fogginess to the picture). The Anti-glare did prevent the ghosting of the overhead-lighting [compared to other plasma/LCD's next to it which did have ghosting of overhead lighting showing in the glassy finish of the TVs]. The anti-glare didn't really do much other than resolve the ghost-lighting issue, except for maybe a slight softening of the light source hitting the screen. I could still see my own reflection in the glassy finish and clearly see the overhead lighting (albeit in darker scene's on the screen). The other interesting thing was when we turned the 800U off. The screen was milky grey (looked like my old Panasonic CRT 27" TV), like their's grey backing to the glass or something to enhance color accuracy maybe?

I am truely interested in reading replies, your reviews, help, so please do not misunderstand my postings as just whining, its meant to generate constructive feedback as well as hopefully move the video industry in the right direction for consumer satisfaction too (yes I'm very picky -- making this worse is being picky and on a budget reinforced by what the Wife will allow & concerns with US economy/gas prices being what are right now).

So far, I'm wondering if waiting for the LaserVue (or other manufacture versions that will eventually show up) is worth it too versus getting panny plasma now, so you're not ticked off 6 months from now saying "wish I had waited". LaserVue fixes most of the issues where Plasma, DLP, LCD, etc come up short, but its downfall (from what I've seen so far), appears to be its RPTV design, not allowing it to be wall mounted (yet?). If it can be refined to a wall mountable panel, theoritically its the perfect technology 'best all-around' in a swiss-army-knife sort of way. OLED once improved to compete on its lifespan will be a huge plasma/laser alternative too.

To end this posting and get back to my main purpose to begin with... How well do you think the 2008 model Panasonics will do in my room lighting conditions I have a bright lighted room with 2 Windows Left wall of TV separated by a fireplace with a fairly large skylight slightly off center to same window side of the room [centered with the fireplace]. Daytime viewing is pretty bright -- Night viewing I have recessed lighting on dimmer controls -- night viewing is very theater like, its daytime lighting I'm having to deal with. I really do not want LCD, unless someone knows of an LCD that handles motion, black level & color accuracy very well to the extent that it competes on motion/black-level with the plasma panasonics (and doesn't have that creepy artificial look to the video playback). I feel like I'm stuck between a rock and a hard-place literally.

Hate to say it but the only way your going to know for sure is to try one out. If I was you I would go with the Panny PZ800 & make sure the store has a Good Return Policy so you can return it if you don't like it. Costco right now has the 50" PZ800 & they have a 90 day no questions asked return policy & you should be able to tell in 90 days if the set is going to work out for you.

folks please stop posting prices and where to find them

thanks all

W

One thing to know about plasmas for gaming is that they are prone to Image Retention which is when a fixed image in on the screen for a long time (say an hour) and your switch to a different source the previous image will have a shadow left on the screen.
The shadow will fade with regular tv viewing (no side bars) or a special "erase" mode in some TVs.

This is not to run you off of plasma but it is something to consider.

sigh

C) 1080p is desired since I play video games 3-5 hrs per week and sit within 4 ft of the screen when I do.

I play games too, and I could never sit closer than 5 feet or so to my pioneers (I owned a 1080P and now own a 720P) without seeing the pulsations on the screen (apparently inherent to the technology). You might want to go to a store and stand about the same distance from a screen and see if it's for you. Try it with different brands too if you do see the dancing fuzzies.