I know this sounds bizaar, I'm comparing two beautiful HDTV flat panel displays and I'm asking about standard definition. I'm buying my dad a TV for Christmas, which also coincides with his 60th birthday! He loves movies, so he's already planning on getting a High Definition DVD player, and getting HD Cable, but the majority of the TV watching he does is Standard Definition. He watches some pretty obscure international channels, and who knows when they will go HD. Which has me a little concerned. I've read a few reviews and a few posts, and I have NOT noticed many negatives for the Panasonic 700 series in this regard, actually very positive posts. Does the Panasonic 700 Plasmas process standard definition well? Do Plasmas generally perform better than LCDs in this regard? Will I notice a difference at all in standard def between the two?

No contest for SD.
Forget LCD...go plasma.

Wow is it that much better? If I'll get noticable difference in SD PQ between the two like you say, I'll go with the Panny.

If the SD PQ between the two will be nominal, I think I'll go with the Sammy