Need some advice on LCD vs Plasma

I went from a 32" sony XBR450(1080i) CRT to a 42" panny 1080p plasma. The plasma looks everybit as good as the CRT. I've had no issues with ghosting/blur/IR.

The 360 isn't good enough for the display and is the limiting factor.

I've got a 700U

It sounds like you've done your research and you know exactly what you want. In general, plasmas are superior to LCDs (even those of the 120 Hz variety) when it comes to viewing angle and displaying fast motion scenes.

The typical short list for 50 inch plasmas:

* Pioneer PDP-5080HD
* Panasonic TH-50PZ700U
* Samsung FPT5084

Check this stuff out first. There is pricer stuff out there, but these seem to be the most accessible.

In all honesty, it is going to depend on where you put the TV...do you have a lot of outdoor light coming in? Can you control the lighting, (indoor and outdoor)? If it can be controled, who cares about glare? I have my 50" plasma sitting on a west wall facing 2 huge east windows....in the morning the glare is MASSIVE, but if I just drop the blinds it is easily watchable...and during the afternoon/night, which is when I use it 95% of the time, lighting is a non-issue, (sun is on the other side of the house). Older plasmas were much worst for glare/reflection due to two layers of glass, but companies like Pioneer are going to 1 layer glass + 1 plastic filter, which significantly reduces glare.

As for some of your original questions....blur/ghosting is a concern with many LCD's, but you are not going to have that issue with plasmas. Be gentle with a plasma for the breakin period if it makes you feel better, and just vary your content, and you will have a far superior picture IMO...and wait until you see a xbox360 or ps3 on it .... OOOOooooooo

Can you suggest those 3 brands but 1 tier down in price?
The 3 u listed are in the 2000 range.

Looking @ the 1500 would be more like it for me.
Of course I could be just asking for some nuisance like flickering @ that price range.

Sure. Check these out:

* Samsung HPT5064
* Panasonic TH-50PX75U

Unfortunately you can't get anything much cheaper from Pioneer.

CC has the 5054 Sammy onsale...can't say price here...but let's just say it's right where your looking and it's a good set.

I second those choices! Here's more:

TH-50PC77U
TH-50PE700U
TH-50PX600U
TH-50PX60U
TH-50PX6U
TH-50PX50U

HP-T5044
HP-T5064
HP-T5034

These should all be around your price range. Good luck!

Pioneer or panasonic in the current generation both have very good 1080p models. I, myself, would go for a Kuro (Pioneer) hands down, but check them both out to see what you like best.

* Pioneer PRO-110FD
* Pioneer PDP-5010FD
* Panasonic TH-50PZ700U
* Panasonic TH-50PZ77U
* Panasonic TH-50PZ750U
* Samsung FPT5084

All are 1080p displays.

Panasonic also makes some professional models which are highly regarded. I haven't seen any in action at the 50 inch size so I can't vouch for their quality.

Yeah. I worry about the flickering issue though. But if that is resolved, it is a great value esp. with the high contrast ratio.

thanks. Looks like Samsung & Panasonic dominate up & down this segment for sure

No problem. I like that particular Samsung. I don't know how it performs compared to the Panny, but in my opinion it looks really good.

I think when you look @ this 'value' segment where it's not entry level per se but not upper level for sure, there are compromises.

I was really set on the Price/performance with the Sammys until the 'flicker' issue kept coming up in thread discussions.

The Pannys are bulletproof & it appears you definitely get what you pay for.

This will be my first Plasma not to mention flat screen - coming from a 20th century rear projection Tosh - so I am a little bit more cautious than usual.

As this literally is a big jump into the unknown for me.

Haha Thanks again to all.

I highly recommend the Panasonic TH-50PZ700U or if glare is an issue then the TH-50PZ77U would do nicely. I have the 42" version of the 77U and love it. Once you go plasma it will be hard to ever go back to an lcd as your main HT set.

You know I do seem to see a flicker ,but it seems to only be on certain channels so I don't believe it to be the set. It has not happened during a movie yet, but I have only had it 2 weeks...and I love it so far.

Have fun finding a set...took me 2 months before I leaped at a deal I thought was worth it for a tv I liked the picture on for the price.

Well, irrespective of price, I think the Pioneer PRO-110FD is the best 50" 1080p plasma (neglecting stuff from Fujitsu and Runco of course).

Of course picture quality is subjective and everyone has their own opinion about what is actually best.

IMO the Pioneer Kuros and Samsung 71 series LCDs are about the best looking sets out there. I've been through a number of DLPs and an SXRD and they aren't in the same league as a good plasma or LCD IMO. And if gaming is your primary thing you might want to see if you can demo a 120Hz LCD and see how they handle gaming. The 120Hz option makes HD movies look very 3D'ish like you won't see on another display. This might be quite appealing on games so long a the motion is smooth and without ghosting. I personally haven't seen gaming on a 120Hz display.

Another thing you might want to consider is that news for the 08' TVs will come out next month. IMO plasmas need to be brighter and from what I've heard at least next years Panasonics are supposed to get brighter and black levels are supposed to be closed to the Pioneer Kuros and they are also supposed to be much cheaper. Panasonic's new models typically come out in the April/May time frame. If you already have an HDTV now it might be worth the wait for the new models.

If Panasonic comes out with a Plasma that's brighter with blacks equal to the Kuro and much cheaper, is that bad news for Pioneer?

I just hope Panasonic decides to add "lighter" to the discription of their new designs.

I'm sure it will be at first if Panasonics plasmas come out in the spring as they typically do. My only info is what I've read on this board. Supposedly the blacks are supposed to be closed to the Pioneer but not quite there. If the displays are brighter then that will make make the small amount of difference less obvious. When you are talking 60" screens, plasmas need a boost in brightness. That's starting to become as important to me as deeper black levels. Panasonic needs to get whiter whites as well. Pioneers whites are much whiter than Panasonics (as is the Sammy plasmas as well).

My 60" Kuro is about 40lbs lighter than last years 58" Panasonic so hopefully they will get lighter as well. It will be interesting to see how much improvements there are in LCDs as well. In some scenes I like the 71 better than my Kuro but in other scenes it really lacks color and looks washed out.