THis is for people doing research on the next HDTV purchase.

I bought a Samsung LNA650 LCD TV after reading all the hype. Real disappointing. Returned after suffering through all kinds of headaches due to the pixellation and blur. BTW, one more factor might have been that I bought a 46 inch and I sit only 6-7 ft away.

I decided Plasma is the only choice. Went for a 42 inch Panny PZ80U. Just got it a couple of days back. First impressions much less blur. Watched a couple of fast paced movies on HBO-HD. Very few scenes were pixelated or blurred.

Waiting for HBO-HD to play TRansformers. This was a real mess on the Samsung LCD. IF this is even decent on the PAnny, then I'll know Plasma dowright kicks LCD's ass.

Will keep you guys posted.

Arvind

You gotta take into consideration the compression of cable/sat. as this will cause blocking/pixellation. Good choice on going the plasma route though!!

lol I'm actually on the fence between the LCD 46A650 and the Plasma 50A550. I've never had a plasma before and really never seen one in a home for correct lighting sake. I am partial to the LCD 650 because of its high brightness but something tells me the plasma WILL be better; however, I just can't convince myself enough to make the purchase.

I'm also a little worried about burn-in and IR. I'm not worried so much about it happening but about it being a hassle to keep it from happening. Another concern is the power bill. I have the money for the TV as I'm selling my Sharp LCD but if my power bill skyrockets because of a TV, it'd almost be a selling point to get the LCD and save money in the long run.

I'm a Journalism major looking to be a sports journalist so the bulk of my use on the TV will be watching sports, playing video games and watching blu-rays--and doing them all at about the same percentage.

Such a confusing last couple weeks lol

You're going to want a plasma. LCD brightness (and plasmas) that you see in the store look absolutely horrid in normal room environments. Don't get sucked into the brightness. Any plasma will be plenty bright enough....and handle sports, blu-rays, and everything else better. IR isn't much of a concern, just break the TV in properly and keep your settings off of Vivid (which is what you see in stores). Power usage is very minimal over an LCD with the correct/best settings