Hi guys, I was originally set on getting a samsung ln46950 however I have started to look at the TH-50PZ800U.

I'm not sure if a plasma or lcd is in any case better than the other.

My specific viewing situation is thus:

I'm an avid gamer as well as an avid bluray movie watcher. In general tv doesn't concern me. Is burn in still an issue for plasma? What about half lifes?

I would put it in a smaller basement which can easily be made pitch black.

Why is one format better than the other?

One word: 50PZ800.

Chris

plasma, without question will deliver the best picture no matter what you are showing.

as long as you dont pause the tv and pass out for 8 hours you should have no worries about burn in.... hell on our two year old panny that has no burn in protection it's had the screen paused for 4 hours and there is no burn in.

as for half life chances are you wont get even close to it before you decide to buy a new tv.

Then why the big push lately in the market for lcds? Am I to understand that lcds are inferior?

Then why the big push lately in the market for lcds? Am I to understand that lcds are inferior?They are feeling the pressure ;)

I think it is pretty simple...

The average consumer thinks LCDs are better after looking at them for 5-10 minutes in a well-lit store.

Go to a specialty retailer and he will tell you that plasmas blow LCD out of the water and take you back to the dark room to prove it.

But, the bottom line, is...

AVERAGE JOE CONSUMER
LOOKING AT IT IN BRIGHT LIGHT
= QUICK SALES

Plus, it is probably cheaper to produce an LCD and thus more profits.

But don't I have to get it specially calibrated?

But don't I have to get it specially calibrated?

Not necessarily. The Panasonic pz800 that creemail cited in his post needs only minor tweaks in the user menu to bring up to your personal preferences. Most HDTVs can benefit from an ISF calibration but only a very small minority actually have this done. Most people just tweak user settings a little and let it go at that. I promise you the pz800 will look stunning without a professional ISF calibration. Many people just set it to the THX mode and leave it there.

im sure someone here could talk you through making it look great. as for y people like lcds... look at advertising. how many plasma commercials do you see compared to lcd commercials? they only know what they see.

How does the price of an LN52950a compare to the 50pz800u?

I'll depart a bit from most who have posted here by saying that if you will be gaming and Blu-ray'ing exclusively, then it may well be worth exploring that flagship Sammy LCD more closely.

Also, bear in mind, you are posting in a Plasma-centric section of the forum so people will naturally be biased towards plasmas here. If you post the same question in the LCD section, you will likely get a very different response.

Net Net...FWIW...if I could get the 52" Sammy for same price or less than the 50" Panasonic and had your viewing location and habits, I would go Sammy. I would not lose 4" by going 46" Sammy though.

Anyway...here's my thinking.


The Samsung LN52550+ have very nice pictures. When you go full bore on the 120Hz mode, its a bit too surreal for my tastes, but its great for gaming and you could tone it down a bit when watching movies.
While all reports are that you really have to TRY to get burn in, Image Retention is real and so is uneven phosphor wear. IR is more of a minor annoyance, but if you rarely plan to see full screen content, you may will find that the areas where the letterbox bars display may become visibly different than the center part of the screen over time.
I wouldn't pay a premium for the Sammy over the Panasonic at the 52" vs 50" size, but if you can get the 2 extra inches for the same price, I think its worth considering. On the other hand, if your option is going with a 46" Sammy vs a 50" Panasonic, stick with the 50"; you will certainly like the extra size.
As far as calibration goes, it's a equal opportunity service for any HDTV, LCD or Plasma. However, as someone stated above, the 800u has good colors out of the box especially in THX mode; of course the Sammy does too so that's not much of a differentiator.


pax,
rwr

Hi guys, I was originally set on getting a samsung ln46950 however I have started to look at the TH-50PZ800U.

I'm not sure if a plasma or lcd is in any case better than the other.

My specific viewing situation is thus:

I'm an avid gamer as well as an avid bluray movie watcher. In general tv doesn't concern me. Is burn in still an issue for plasma? What about half lifes?

I would put it in a smaller basement which can easily be made pitch black.

Why is one format better than the other?

I would look at both sets, I doubt very many people here have seen a 950 with their own eyes. In fact I'm willing to be bet not one person that commented has seen one (including me) they are very new