Best plasma tv for $1000

Now that I've tried all three major brands still making them I'd probably lean towards Samsung. Of the plasmas I've had it had the most vibrant colorful picture and among the best detail.

The LGs have some distracting flaws such as line bleed, but have a lot of menu options to get the color down and while they look good with Blu-rays they don't look so hot with SD material (I don't watch much SD, but its there to know). After some tinkering the picture seems to be pretty accurate.

While I don't personally own a Panasonic my sister does and I took the liberty of trying to get it set up, it wasn't the easiest to get reasonably well calibrated but had a good picture. I'd take it as a close second brand behind a Samsung. It is a matter of personal preference really.

.. what i've located; no particular order:

Panasonic tcp50u1
Samsung pn50c550
LG 50pk550 (best in controlled lighting; chadtv)
LG 50pk750



add: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...1250816&page=2 (chadtv reference)

i own a lg pj350, & SD looks dam good. i have fios tv, which has a great signal. that definitely helps.

Panasonic 50G25 if you play games a lot

LG 50PK550 if you don't play games

At a thousand bucks the Samsung PN50C490 will be irresistible.

Eh, I don't know about that.


1. First off, it's not 1080p. Although at least it's a legit 1366 x 768 instead of 1024 x 768

2. It's Samsung, so the chances of getting a "buzzer" are definitely there.

3. It's a 2010 model plasma, so the chances of "dimming whites" are very real.

4. Is the AR (anti-reflection) filter up to par?

5. The 3D supposedly is pretty lame. Engadget HD saw this TV first hand at a recent Samsung event, and they said that the drop in resolution from 1080p to 768p is "very" noticeable.

6. It's a 2010 model Samsung 3DTV, which = ghosting/crosstalk



I'm very interested in this display as well, because let's face it.... money talks, BS walks. Under 1 grand for 3D is pretty cool. It's a decent stop-gap option from a 3D standpoint. Get a taste of 3D during 2010 and 2011, and early 2012. By mid to late 2012, check out the newer 3D models and maybe make an upgrade. That's my take on it.

Of course, if you end up with a TV that buzzes, or has horrible crosstalk, or the drop in resolution is super noticeable, then that kinda changes the value proposition.