Quote:
Originally Posted by
Trucktrail 
I have been reading the thread since the 1st post and have planned on getting a 65st50 or 65gt50...
but to be honest I am having a hard time getting past the dimmer image, everytime I go to BB I can pick out the new panasonic plasmas across the room because they have such a gray or dingy look compared to the others... I keep trying to get past it but ??
I know they look different in the large store with lights, but I don't remember this when I bought my 50" maxent plasma in 05 there, it had one of the best pictures in the store, bright and beautiful, I remember I couldn't get over how good it looked... (still looks awesome)
I don't have a real bright room so I think I will be ok, but I am kinda afraid it's not even going to be as bright as my old Maxent...
Also, I am not in to buying and returning TV's like its no big deal... so I want to make sure this is it... did anyone else having the same hesitation at BB and then what did you think when you got it home?
You are certainly correct in your perception about the Plasma TV's. The problem with this forum is that some people here try to apologize for how dim Plasma looks in the stores by saying that maybe they need calibration and such which is just nonsense.
The stores take all the TV's out of the box and turn them on and put them on demo mode which is generally on Vivid by default which also is the brightness setting available to showcase the TV's in a bright store. The truth of the matter is that LCD/LED tv's are significantly brighter than Plasmas without question which is why they have so much more pop in the stores over Plasma. Unfortunately this is exactly why I fell into the trap that LCD was superior and bought my Samsung UN55D7000.
When I got it home I thought it looked fantastic. This was my first HDTV so anything looked better than my last CRT. I watch TV during the day and night and not one time did I ever have the TV set to VIVID or anything remotely close. I watched day and evening in MOVIE mode because most of the LCD presets were just too bright for real world use at home. Their bright screens sell well in the stores but in real world use their not ideal.
I couldn't deal with the flashlighting or the cloudy effects of LCD so I returned it and went shopping for a Plasma. Yes, I too hated the fact that they looked dimmer than LCD but if you're not educated on Plasma you won't know that it looks better in real world use in your home.
I recently bought a Panasonic GT50 worrying about how dim it might appear in my house but I only use the THX Cinema mode and never use the THX Bright Room and VIVID is out of the question.
The one thing you may not see much of on forums is people returning their Plasmas because they are too dim, because they really aren't. If you can go to a retail store such as BB and go into the Magnolia room (if they have one) or a speaker room they may have a Plasma and LCD TV in the room. Those rooms are generally much darker to simulate being in your own home. You'll notice the Plasma is equally as bright as the LCD and the PQ will be superior.
One thing to note, not every Plasma is built the same. Some are made only to used in a darker room and they don't perform as great in brighter rooms.
From my own research I've seen the Samsung E6500 and above or the Panasonic ST50 and above with filters that absorb ambient light very well so brighter rooms work well with them.
If you're really concerned about this then stay away from the Panasonic UT50 and below or the Samsung E550 and below. They do not contain these filters and therefore don't work well in brighter rooms.
If you decide on the Panasonic ST50 you're making a great choice and it's a better value over an equivalent Samsung.
- but then the Starting Point was also Much Higher with the 50!
