Help with plasma TV choice


Greetings,

I would appreciate comments/suggestions to help me with my choice of plasma TV. This TV will be our first HT set-up, and will be used in a weekend home. It will be used for DVD playback, movie downloads, and the kids' video games (Wii). NO cable or satellite. Video signal will be supplied by an Oppo DVD player, and/or the TV's (or Oppo's) internal Wifi connectivity for movie downloads. As such, I would strongly consider a dedicated display, but don't seem to be able to find one in my price range.

Size-wise I would like something in the 55-60 inches diag range, and I
would like to spend $1300-2000 (street price), or so. After some research at a local dealer, I am pretty sure my choice can be narrowed to either
Panasonic or Samsung. The Samsungs' picture quality looks somewhat better to my eye, but I have concerns about screen reflectivity given reported issues with the Samsungs and the fact that there are many windows in the room where it will be used. The Panasonics in general look very good but somewhat subdued and less bright and defined than the Samsungs.

Rest of the system will be a Totem Dreamcatcher 5.1 setup driven by a B&K 307 receiver.

Thoughts? Thanks.
frogman
Thanks everyone. I appreciate the suggestions. A related question:

The dimensions of the wall that the display will be mounted on is very narrow, and JUST wide enough for a 55" display. The L/R speakers and stands will be positioned just below the lower edge of the display. I bought the stands that the seller of the Totems had; they are 28" tall. Add to that the Totems' 11" and I am looking at a height of 39". The center channel will be positioned above the equipment rack positioned between the L/R speakers, also at 39". So, I am looking at a mounting height for the plasma where the lower edge of the display is 39" from the floor. Given a viewing distance of 12', the center of the display will be about 6" or 7" above the recommended eye level position.

Is it worth it to buy shorter speaker stands in order to get the center of the display exactly at eye level, or is 7" above eye level acceptable and a negligible deviation from the ideal? Is a downward tilting mount the solution? Thanks for your thoughts.
I think you would be more comfortable in the long run if you bought shorter stands. Could you maybe trade them somewhere?