Panasonic ST50 or Panasonic ET5

Unless you need lower power draw i would vote for the st50.

The et5 appears to be an average run of the mill edgelit led tv which means it's not likely to do very well in darker scenes, and it's very likely to have poorer contrast.
Due to it being edge lit the panel uniformity (eveness of brightness across the screen) can only get so good and the plasma will have near perfect viewing angles where as the led will lose contrast off angle. (though ips panels like the one in the et5 perform very well in that area.
Plasmas usually have a higher motion resolution as well and the st50 is a very highly praised plasma: http://reviews.cnet.com/flat-panel-tvs/panasonic-tc-p50st50/4505-6482_7-35117941.html?tag=contentMain;contentBody;2r where as the et5 hasn't been reviewed as far as i can tell.

As far as lifespan goes they are pretty much on par now, there isn't enough information out there to say for sure which will last longer, both are being rated at upwards of 100000 hours (30 years) to half brightness.
Leds don't usually suddenly fail but it is possible: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_LED_failure_modes
Plasmas are less susceptible to sudden failure of the light source but it's not likely for either to suddenly fail.
Plasmas do draw more power but the power supplies are probably picked with that in mind to decrease the failure rate, and if good quality power supplies are used then the supply isn't likely to take any other components with it when it goes and can be replaced.

The plasma has an anti reflective coating as well, so while it may be more reflective it won't be like old tube tv's for reflections.

There is still the slight chance of burn-in on plasmas but it isn't something to worry about unless you only watch 4:3 content or 16:9 content with black bars. If you will be alternating content that fills the screen and some that doesn't and you don't leave static images on the screen for days at a time then plasma will do you just fine (i've used a 2008 panasinic as a computer monitor for a few months with only slight taskbar image retention that went away with some movie watching and gaming).

If your interested in led sets over plasmas you should look into a good local dimming set. Local dimming sets dim parts of the backlight for a much higher contrast ratio, and there are edgelit models out there with local dimming that can be had for very reasonable prices.

55" sony kdl-55hx850
http://reviews.cnet.com/flat-panel-tvs/sony-kdl-55hx850/4505-6482_7-35118056.html?tag=contentMain;contentBody;1r

65" Samsung un65d8000
http://reviews.cnet.com/flat-panel-tvs/samsung-un65d8000/4505-6482_7-34513689.html?tag=results;prodInfo

55" Samsung un55b8500 an older one would be a good deal if you can find one used.
http://reviews.cnet.com/flat-panel-tvs/samsung-un55b8500/4505-6482_7-33740174.html?tag=results;prodInfo

Lg infinia 55le8500
http://reviews.cnet.com/flat-panel-tvs/samsung-un55b8500/4505-6482_7-33740174.html?tag=results;prodInfo

55" Vizio xvt55vs3
http://reviews.cnet.com/flat-panel-tvs/vizio-xvt553sv/4505-6482_7-34122871.html?tag=results;prodInfo

Most of these come in smaller sizes as well, good luck
Edited by Mik James - 6/12/12 at 1:15pm

Buy the plasma. The st50 has a very bright picture with an excellent anti reflective filter. Both are going to look good during the day but the plasma will do much better than the led in lower lighting. Reliability and longevity are about the same on both. Anyone who knows anything about tv's would agree. Mik James, why would you suggest a bunch of discontinued tv's (aside from the hx850) that aren't one of the two tv's he's choosing from? On top of that you posted a bunch of cnet links, and if you look at cnet the st50 scored better than all of them in PQ. Now if he asked, whats the best three year old used led i could buy ? you'd be spot on.

Just covering all the bases mate,. I posted led's that would perform better agains't the plasma as the et5 just wouldn't cut it. 2 out of 5 are new or last generation which would still be in stores and honestly those are just examples of sets, there are newer generation local dimming sets out there I just posted the top performing ones. Besides in this price range there is nothing wrong with considering a set from last generation if you can get a good deal on it and it has top notch performance, the older samsung and lg are both in that category and the vizio is a good budget buy
I also read the cnet review because... well.... i posted it Which is why i put a vote for the st50, The op mentioned he was looking for differences between the 2 sets and power draw is a factor of which the leds i mentioned would perform well at.
Heck i could have really given you something to gripe about and posted last gen plasmas but from what i've read they don't really perform as we'll in brighter rooms vs the latest generation of plasmas.
Edited by Mik James - 6/12/12 at 4:48pm

I'm here to help
and learn of course

What are you leaning towards? Is power draw a factor for you?

Well you covered the bases the dirt in between them and all the grass in the outfield. Why make it more confusing. This person gets a discount on panasonic through there place of employment. The retail on both tv's is almost identical, and i gotta asume they picked these two sets cause they're budget calls for it. Even a D8000 from last year is still over priced and at no time is a Vizio a good buy at any budget. There really is no better value than the st50 in any size. "Flagship performance" for an everymans price. cnet scored a 9 outa 10 in performance and hometheater mag scored 4.5 stars outa 5. Enough said. K.I.S.S.

Whoops :P I missed the part about the discount, that makes more sense now, st50 it is then.
What do you have agains't vizio, their goal was to competitively jump into the higher end with that set.
How is there no better value than an st50? if i were buying id go for a u50 cause i could care less about 3d and how smart my tv is.
The u50 wouldn't work very well in this situation though cause of the lack of an anti glare filter.

The u series or ut series are solid tv's but the st50 has better color accuracy and more picture adjustments for calibration. It seems much brighter in person as well. The louver filter makes day time viewing much better as well. And despite your lack of need for smart functions or 3D its still a great deal for those features along with stellar picture performance superior to the u series. My problem with Vizio has to do with performance. The low end models really suck, and the "high end" models perform ok. They're clunky looking and the user interface is cumbersome not to mention most panels are outsourced to low quality manufacturer's.

Yeah they have the neo panel in the st50 vs the lower end models which accounts for brightness and probably the better color accuracy as well.
I don't know, i guess i'm just old fashioned I don't buy plasmas to watch in a bright or even moderately lit room, i can't justify the cost of 3d right now considering the good results i get from colorcode and i can't justify a smart tv as i have a gaming pc for 3d conversion of games on the fly. If i buy a plasma i take it for what it is, a barebones display with great picture quality that is meant for a dim or pitch black room. The cnet review of those vizios must change your mind a little though right, i mean compared to dynex and insignia they can at least put out a great all rounder for a decent price even if it isn't the prettiest thing in the world
I also got burned by panasonic and their rising blacks so unless i can hear the buzzing on samsungs i would probably buy one of the 2012 models sometime in the future, sounds like they are really making some improvements in the blacks: http://reviews.cnet.com/flat-panel-tvs/samsung-pn60e6500/4505-6482_7-35159642.html?tag=TOCcarouselMain.0
You don't like ugly tvs though so that stand would probably drive you up the wall.
Good luck with your purchase marx

speaking on rising blacks. cnet did an article last year on all 2011 model plasmas they reviewed from samsung and panasonic. After 1500 hours of usage the blacks actually got better on the panasonics and got worse or rose on the samsungs. Yes certain Vizios will do better than Dynex and Insignia. But still wouldn't buy one.

Yeah I saw that article, it's pretty good news but I just can't support them after the way they handled it (or ignored it)
The Samsungs rose very slightly but i believe they were able to calibrate them back to their original mll, it was more like they drifted.

I'd buy a vizio local dimming set it's just a question of price, maybe if I could find one for 300 maximum 500 but I'm cheap :P if they even sell them in Canada.

No doubt at all the plasma is definetly the best bet it's too bad the lower end models don't have the anti glare filter or neo panel it really pushes people toward lcds or samsung plasmas in the low end. The st50 is the cheapest panasonic with the anti glare screen and is plenty bright due to the neo panel.
When i first read about the neo panel i figured all plasmas would encorporate it and lower end panasonic plasmas in the past had an anti glare screen as well.
Do they sell hdmi splitters? i know they sell switch boxes.
Edited by Mik James - 6/13/12 at 10:52am

There's also the louver filter toby mentioned, just to clarify it basically keeps dark areas dark during the day where as the lower end models would look washed out in bright rooms.

Your definetly not ignorant, ignorance is an unwillingness to learn, you clearly want to learn
The sharp is reviewed as average, so if you just want a big screen that you know for sure will work best in a bright room then go for it.
If you want a much higher quality television that will do just fine in a bright room and will do much better than the sharp in a dark room then go for the st50.

Actually, the Sharp tvs put out a very respectable picture.

The sharp elites put out a very respectable picture. The regular sharps put out a very average picture, the model you mention isn't an elite, elites cost a lot of money (around the 5000$ range) and the st50 is better than the average sharp LEDs that don't use local dimming (as far as I'm aware only the elites have local dimming.

Says you. Do you own a Sharp??? With the lighting conditions stated by the OP the Sharp has a very good chance of putting out a far better, more watchable picture than the plasma.

I'm not doing this mate I can see where you are going with this and I'm not getting into an argument here.
It's always best if you can see the sets in person and there are probably a few things the average led can do better than a plasma (I can only think of one which is brightness) but I think you'll find the st50 to be a much better set overall than the average non elite sharp led.
I don't own a sharp and everything I write here is insight based on both professional and customer reviews, if you own a sharp similar to the one the op is looking into then you should list some pros and cons of it to give them an idea of how it compares to the st50.
The st50 holds it's own in all lighting conditions which is why it is a good competitor to the leds.
Edited by Mik James - 6/13/12 at 3:24pm

pds3. Your argument holds no water. Far better picture? Yes a sharp led is a bright picture and will keep direct reflection in check a little better but it won't do well in viewing angle, color accuaracy, color saturation, black level, shdadow detail, (deep breath) or picture uniformity. Besides the fact buying a refurbished tv is a little sketchy as it is. No I don't own a sharp tv but i do work at retail establishment that sells only hometheater equipement and get to compare all brands a types of tv's directly with eachother. Everyone can have an opinion but i back mine with reviews and 11 years of tv selling experience and knowledge.

I was reading the other thread you posted in as well pds3 and it looks like you have a 70" sharp, alot of the 70" sharps have full arrays of leds for backlights which would give them a much more uniform and better overall picture than the edge lit sharp the op mentioned though still not on par with the plasmas. I can understand your thinking but the only reason i originally posted the leds in my first post was because i wasn't sure if the op cared about power draw and i didn't realize how well certian plasmas are doing in rooms with ambient light these days. After reading up on it some more it definetly seems like the st50 is the way to go

Opt for the ST50. There's no quality LCD lineup this year worth mentioning