Please excuse me for asking a often repeated question, I am new to this forum & my searches did not fully answer my questions...
I am planning on buying a 52 or 58" 1080p TV in the next 2-3 wks. I've done a lot of research & have narrowed it down to these sets:
1. Panasonic th-58pz850u
2. Samsung pn-58a650
3. Samsung ln-52a650

The TV will be hung on a wall, viewing distance at 13ft, with 2 lg sliding glass doors on the right side when facing TV (vertical blinds). I will be watching mostly HD programming, sports, & DVD movies (blu-ray, HD-DVD, & standard DVDs).

Which would be the most ideal? If there is another TV that would be better that I may have missed, please tell me. Any advice will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance...

Well those are all older models, so I would say none of them and wait for the new Panasonic S1 or G1.

That said, out of those the Panasonic imo is the best. I almost bought one myself before I ended up with a Pioneer.

If the set will be used for sports and movies then I would just compare the th-58pz850u and the Samsung pn-58a650.

The Samsung LN-52A650 will give you some issues when watching movies. You will either have to deal with blurr when an object/actor is in motion, or to reduce the blurr, turn A.M.P. (Auto motion plus) on and let it harm the film quality and turn it into a vapored soap opera. You have to choose your poison so to speak.
With Sports, the LN-52A650 won't be great, but wont be too bad as long as you turn AMP on. But you will have too suffer AMP artifacts like the vapors steaming off of the players. It kinda looks like they stepped out of a sauna.

The LN52A650 will also give you some issues with the sliding glass doors.
I had 2 sliding glass doors to the left of my Samsung LCD, and it was the most reflective Television I have ever owned or seen for that matter.
Most Samsung LCD's have have what they call "Super/ultra clear panel", which is a super glossy screen that helps fight the contrast issues that LCD's suffer. This "super/ultra clear panel" helps the picture quality, but gives the worst glare you could imagine. On a sunny day it is a total nightmare if there is a light source anywhere other than behind the TV.
Also, if you are goin to have friends over to watch the sports, then I would not recommend the ln52a650. Unless you are sitting dead-center, then the picture quality goes to the birds. You should make the friends you like the least sit on the end of the couch.:D

I would recommend the 850 from your list, but if i were you I would look into some of the newer Neo-pdp's from Panasonic.

I just read up on the panny tc-p54g10 out in may) & tc-p54v10 models (out in june). My question is do you guys feel there will be a significant diff with "judder" reduction on the v10 series over the g10s? Which one will be better for viewing fast action movie scenes and/or fast action sports?

So have you had a chance to take a look at any NHL games on the G10?

I recently purchased and returned a Sharp AQUOS LC52BD80U 52-Inch 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV with Built-In Blu-ray Player. The LCD couldn't keep up with the game at all.

I would look at a Samsung PN58B550 Plasma. Good price and excellent with motion.

The best choice for for sports & DVD movies would definitely be plasma. Plasmas do not have the slow response time of most LCD's and have better blacks and gray scale than most LCD's. And they will give you a more "film-like" look to the picture. The best plasmas are the Pioneer KURO's while they are still available. If you can't get one of these, a Panasonic plasma would be your second choice.

However, if you do get an LCD, by all means get a Sony XBR8. These are LED-backlit and have excellent image processing, and should be better than other brands.