Alright everyone,
I'm a relative newbie to this, and I've done all kinds of research to help me. These forums are an incredible resource.

I've drawn my plasma purchase down to the two listed sets. From what I gather via reviews (Consumer Reports, cnet), the Panasonic has the better picture and rates higher (2HDMI Inputs to boot). However it does not have any burn in protection as the LG has. The reviews on the panny sound great, but the LG keeps getting trashed.

Can any of you guys help me make up my mind. Is burn in with the panny a big issue at all? Panasonic claims it's not.

BTW, they are the exact same price at brandsmart, and the salesmen all puch me toward he LG.

Do a search on "burn-in", it has been discussed ad nauseam on this forum.

Alright everyone,
I'm a relative newbie to this, and I've done all kinds of research to help me. These forums are an incredible resource.

I've drawn my plasma purchase down to the two listed sets. From what I gather via reviews (Consumer Reports, cnet), the Panasonic has the better picture and rates higher (2HDMI Inputs to boot). However it does not have any burn in protection as the LG has. The reviews on the panny sound great, but the LG keeps getting trashed.

Can any of you guys help me make up my mind. Is burn in with the panny a big issue at all? Panasonic claims it's not.

BTW, they are the exact same price at brandsmart, and the salesmen all puch me toward he LG.
I have not read anything where the LG gets trashed, except maybe by someone who has a rabid affection for his own particular brand.
Regardless - burn in is not really an issue with any top brand using the better panels. I have made a post here - actually two in regard to burn in.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=794675
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=794879
The LG does have three different methods to deal with burn in - which is a plus. The Panny may not have those measures, but that does not mean either will have a problem with burn in.
You do get a two year P&L warranty with the LG, which may be important. Otherwise, they are both fine sets.

I like the LG picture a little bit better, like the two year warranty and dislike the only one hdmi it has. LG should be a little cheaper than the Panasonic or at least when I sold it, it was.

dont knwo what pricing your getting at brandsmart but best buy has the th50px60u on sale through saturday for under $2k.

I like the LG picture a little bit better, like the two year warranty and dislike the only one hdmi it has. LG should be a little cheaper than the Panasonic or at least when I sold it, it was.
The newer models from LG coming out in March all have at least 2 HDMI - of course not at the better price you are going after.
The thing with some sets having only one HDMI never really bothered me. Using the component jacks have done just as well (sometimes better) for many folks.

surprisingly the LG was on sale at Circuity City for $300 less than advertised on-line, so $200 less than the th-50px60u on sale this week. We ended up buying the panny as my husband felt it looked better (I was leaning towards LG for price/warranty). The picture does look sweet, though I actually think I prefer the LCD. He wanted plasma for sports viewing. Question: how do I get the closed captioning to work? It said something about built in coding for CC, but can't seem to get it to work.

Thanks for all of the help, folks. I've been riding the fence on these two sets for over 3 weeks. In the end, I feel that the burn in protection and the 2 year warranty give me a little more security with the LG. That's not to say that the panny isn't a fine set. I actually think the picture is marginally better (particularly with flesh tones). The second HDMI input isn't a big deal. I'll make component work.

BTW, Brandsmart has both sets for under $2000