So I figure it's high time to finally plunk down the moolah and get myself a HDTV. After doing a little research, I determined that for a moviehound like myself, plasma was the way to go. After researching the various features and technologies that plasma sets have to offer, I learned that having a 24p mode was essential for me. I'm a little bit bothered that the smallest set I can find with that particular feature is 50", which is bigger than I wanted, not to mention more expensive. It's not a dealbreaker, but if anyone knows of a 46" version, please let me know. I know about the Panasonic TH-46PZ850U, but it's an older model and heard that its 24p mode isn't the greatest.

OK, so what are the two models I'm looking at? Here they are:

Samsung PN50B860
Panasonic TC-P50V10

I find myself leaning towards the Sammy not just because it's slightly cheaper, but the colors are supposed to be more accurate than that of the Panny model. The blacks aren't quite as great, I hear, but I figure it's probably good enough and not really that noticeable. The 24p mode on both are supposed to be just fine on both, although I guess the Panasonic model has dejudder added to it? Does that make much of a difference?

I've heard great things about the THX mode in the Panasonic model, although I understand no one can tweak those settings. That bothers me a little bit, I'd like to have greater control over the color settings.

On a side note, I own a Pantone Huey, could I hook up my PC to the plasma set, calibrate it, and then essentially copy the ICC profile settings into the set's OSD? (After all, my PC won't always be on while I'm watching a movie, nor do I want a wire to trip over).

Put yourself in my shoes, as a movie lover and a football fan, which model would you go for?

Thanks!

Here's the most unbiased advice I can give you:

Go to a store with dim lighting (like BB magnolia) and go into the menu of each TV and adjust the picture to your liking. I remember reading a thread here years ago about the "steaming rat" calibration and I tend to agree, people waste so much time worrying about what other people plug into their settings that they don't even attempt to set the TV to what they enjoy. That said, professional calibration is your best bet, but you can get that in store, so set each up to the best of your abilities and liking and THEN compare them side by side. This is best done with a variety of materials, but you may not have that luxury in store.

That said you can search around and find hundreds of posts like yours on this exact issue and get all the info you want. There is no excuse for not searching, and you'll turn up the information you are looking for (like the Panny has full motion resolution, the Sammy has better black level retention in higher ambient light, etc).

Good luck, they are both good sets. (and now for that little touch of bias I'll throw in my $0.02 that at the end of the day I was more impressed with the V10 and got myself a 58V10, to arrive tomorrow).