Help with plasma TV choice

Thanks guys, very helpful comments; particularly re screen brightness and dealer bias.

Learsfool, your impressions mirror mine exactly. The differences that I noted at the dealer were not subtle. To use an audio analogy, the Samsungs were like good solid state, very clear and defined; impressive but bordering on the surreal and hyper detailed. The Panasonics; like tubes, with softer, more rounded images, but with a nice sense of refinement. I am glad to know that this can all be tweaked to satisfaction.

"have it professionally calibrated once it has been in use for 250 hours, I think it is (unless you already know how to do this yourself). I did this, and could not believe the difference it made. I watched the guy carefully and could do it myself in future."

Does one need any test equipment to do this, and how difficult is it to do without having watched a pro do it? It will be difficult if not impossible to get a tech to my house which is in the middle of nowhere.

Very happy with my Panny 50" plasma. Four years of very heavy use and never a problem and picture still looks fantastic. Never go by how a TV looks in a store -- they're never optimally calibrated so it's always an apples to oranges comparison. Once set up properly I'd think most of the Panny, Samsung, and LG sets will look very good. Read reviews here and there are lots on CNET that will give you some comparisons and other info. on features, function, etc. that may be helpful.

I think some of the Panny models offer an auto-calibration mode that approximates ISF standards, and in the one review I read it seemed to get pretty close and the reviewer was impressed. If so, that largely takes the calibration issue out of the equation and saves you upwards of $500 on getting an ISF certified guy to do it (unless you want to take it to that level). You can also get "recommended" settings for lots of TVs from "experts" from some of the TV sites (can't remember which anymore), so those at least can get you in the ballpark.

Last thing I'll mention, I sprung for an APC power conditioner that offers voltage regulation (compensates for dips/surges in power coming from the wall) along with filtering and surge protection. We have lots of power issues in our area (who doesn't these days), and it's nice knowing the TVs power supply isn't being subjected to all the strain and abuse. Not sure how much this has helped, but as I mentioned I've got several years of heavy use on mine with lots of brownouts, blackouts, etc. and never a problem. At the very least it's a nice peace of mind.

Best of luck

I replaced my Proton tube TV with a Panasonic about four years ago. The Panasonic plasma is so much better, I have been nothing but happy.

I had the PAN vt30 found pic to be too dark for my tastes
Replaced with Samsung E8000 really love it
Asa far as picture the smart hub sucks but not that important to me
The new pan vt 50 looks brighter in store
It's your call good luck!!!!E

All sets come out of the box in torch mode for the sales floor. As mentioned above, you can't really compare without some careful time consuming adjustment.

Based on my own and friend's anecdotal experiences, I'm not convinced that Samsung has a firm handle on product quality and consistency. They make stuff that looks great on paper but seems to me to have too many premature failures.

YMMV!