58" tv: sam 550 or pan s2?

Viewing uverse hd (70%), panasonic bd (15%) and sony dvd (15%), I have a Yamaha 667 receiver. No gaming, internet or 3d.

Prices are close enough that price difference is not a key concern. PQ is top priority. HT setup is in the basement so I don't have to be concerned with ambient light.

I know these both have great PQ but are there any problems that would steer you away from either?

I have a 50" pan 800u in another room that I like. The only problem is that the uverse signal crushes blacks/whites and the panasonic cannot 'uncrush them', although this post suggests ATT has fixed the issue, http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1138881
see post #22, 07-24-10, 12:18 AM .

Thanks.

(p.s. I found an older thread with some 550-s2 comparison but the author quickly decided to go with sammy so there wasn't much feedback on the actual comparison between these 2 displays.)

Thanks for the feedback, I am starting to lean toward samsung.

A lot of my viewing is HD sports off cable. Are you saying the S2 has a better picture for all HD cable channels? Or just, HDNET? Thanks.

I think you are correct that the technology is the same, but I've read that the C500 has a lesser coating on the panel so that lights and sunlight might produce more glare. The difference in price (on sale not msrp) between the C550 and the C500 is about $100. I ruled out the C500 because I think the difference in price should be greater than $100, given the features that are not present on the C500.

Thanks Jason. There was some talk in the C550 or C500 thread about differences in panels, or panel coating, but not sure if it was actually verified.

I also see these differences on BB's side by side comparison, if accurate:
550 has:
a USB port, composite input, 1 more component input (2 vs 1), some speakers differences, and no ethernet port for either version.

The usb port on the C550 might make upgrades easier.

After a look at the manual, I think the better filter refers to the panel coating.

Thanks for the feedback everyone.

I was going to buy an s2, but I am going with the C550 instead.

I went to big box today and they had the C550, C500 and a panasonic s2 set up side by side by side.

These displays are so close you can't tell a difference at first glance. I watched for several minutes and noticed slight differences in glare from the store lights, black levels/crushed blacks and detail in the displayed image.

glare: There was little noticeable difference. I could see reflection of the ceiling lights equally well in all 3. I thought that maybe the S2 diffused the glare a little more so the reflected images were perhaps not quite as sharp, but you wouldn't know the difference if you were not comparing side by side.

black levels - Both samsungs had more contrast and the blacks were blacker. However, they were also crushed. It was easy to make out detail in the S2 dark images that could not be seen on the samsungs. I think this was probably due to a difference in settings, but not sure.

detail - I thought the S2 looked a little softer, but again, I only noticed because the displays were side by side.

The C500 and C550 had nearly identical PQ but not identical tint which leads me to believe the settings were not the same.

The only other thing I noticed besides the crushed blacks on the samsungs vs the S2, was an artifact(?) that was apparent when all tv's in the store simultaneously displayed a yellow screen with black lettering. For instance, the letter A had white instead of yellow in the little triangle that is formed within the letter A, but only on the C500 and the S2. Other letters appeared to have white borders. However, the C550 was solid yellow around the black letters. I asked a salesperson about it and he said it was probably the settings. He wasn't very knowledgeable though.

Maybe someone else can offer an opinion on what might cause a very slight white border to appear around some black letters on a yellow background.

There was no noticeable buzzing, but I didn't put my ear next to the display.

The side by side was helpful in that I can honestly say that if I put any of these three in my home, I would be satisifed with the PQ for the dollars spent.