Replacing a tv

There is one concern with a plasma set under the conditions you describe which is glare. This is a problem under certain lighting conditions where lots of ambient room light is present. If you have windows that lack light control, and light colored room furnishings, this might be a concern. But window shades and/or roller blinds, or even lined draperies are an easy solution. But glare is a problem with rear projection HDTVs as well, so I suspect you solved this problem years ago.

The other concern I would have is screen size. Your rear projection set is probably somewhere in the neighborhood of 18" deep, perhaps more. Measure the total distance from the screen to the wall behind it. Now consider how you intend to mount the plasma. If it is wall mounted, you may want a larger screen size - else you will have a smaller screen further away, and a considerably reduced image size. But if you are mounting the plasma on top of an equipment cabinet with the pedastal stand or on a freestanding TV stand such that the screen is closer than your present HDTV, this would not be a problem.

If it was me, I would use a 60" to 65" set for a slightly larger image.

st50 if only because of the brighter panel and good anti glare screen which will work much better in a bright room.

EDIT: Never mind i spoke to soon, the st50 is in fact brighter but it looks like the e6500 has a better screen filter

Looks like the st50 might be slightly better overall in the picture quality department though.
Edited by Mik James - 6/14/12 at 9:01am

[quote name="07fjcruiser" url="/t/1415580/replacing-a-tv#post_22133125"...we have blinds and drapes that limit the light entering the room. .... Yes the plasma would be wall mounted and I have thought about going bigger than 55", j...think I have decided to go with the Panasonic 60ST50. .....[/quote]

Don't see any notes as to Viewing Distance, but - FWIW - at a 9ft viewing distance blu-rays look Wonderful on a 60" ST50.

Upconverted SD DVDs, and MOST "HD TV" channels (including Premium channels; via Uverse) vary between "Pretty Good" and "Ugh!"

The large panel size simply does an Excellent Job at revealing whatever FLAWS exist in the source: our 50" Pan plasma - at 1366x768 - presents a much better PQ, at 9ft, with less-than-ideal material.

OTOH, moving back to around a 12ft distance when viewing SD DVDs (etc) has the effect of substantially improving the Apparent PQ on the 60" set.

YMMV.

Yep, you picked a winner. Make sure you calibrate it away from the factory settings. Start with Custom and you'll be very happy. Plenty of settings for the ST50 are available for you to try in the ST50 Thread. CNET's seems to be a good place to start.