Loud buzz and the store display at my Sears has MAJOR burn in right by the panny. It says "SOUND STAGE" in the bottom left corner very clearly. The demo playing only has sound stage appear like every 10-15 min but it still picked it up. Makes me nervous about my games being played.

Good price but wrong TV for me.

$50 less for the panny and better TV overall on CNET and consumer reports

I had a Samsung pn50a450 (last year's predecessor to this model) and recently changed to Panny tc-p50x1. I like the Panny better. If the newer Samsung model is anything like my old model, here are my opinions of the Sammy compared to my Panny:

Samsung
PROS
- has PC input
- extremely sharp images when displayed in native 1366*768 from PC
- more color controls in user menu

CONS
- much worse black level
- more reflective screen
- posterization in dark scenes
- easier image retention (after breaking in and using calibrated settings from avsforums)

Review sites tout the color accuracy of the Sammy but to the untrained eyes like myself, I could not tell the difference between the two. However, the black level and screen glare are two areas which I can easily distinguish with my naked eyes. The black level is Leaps and Bounds better than the Sammy and really makes most images pop on the Panny.

Way to hijack a thread and forward people to your own thread Diswes...

Yeah, mirrors my own research:

Panasonic
PROS
-Temporary Image Retention (TIR) is almost non-existant
-Deep inky blacks
-Has an SD-Card slot for photos
-Has an odd grid pattern in the screen to reduce glare.

CONS
-Boxier, no swivel stand, and just not a very attractive bezel design
-Has no PC Input
-S-Video input is notoriously mediocre on Panasonics
-Colors not as rich (though the less glossy screen may give that appearance)
-Possibly dimmer than other Plasmas, and previous Panasonic plasmas.
-Game mode doesn't do anything at all to speed processing. It just changes the display.
-Only 41.6 inches viewable

Samsung
PROS
-Very nice bezel design and a swivel base
-Has PC-Input
-Colors are better (thought the glossy screen may help that)
-Game mode reduces processing time for no delay in gaming
-42.3 Inches viewable

CONS
-Temporary Image Retention is a concern on Samsungs. Some people say they have no issue whatsoever after hours of gaming... others have a lot of problems. Really no complaints about this for the Panasonics.
-Reports of a loud Buzzing coming from the unit, moreso than the typical plasma buzz. This problem seems to be more of an issue with the larger screened Samsungs, but googling shows a few posts about the 42" Samsung buzzing.
-No SD-Card slot
-Blacks are not as deep. Better than LCD but not as dark as a Panasonic. (Though though my own instore viewing I thought the Panasonic's blacks were too dark. A woman was onstage singing, wearing a black dress. All I saw was one large black blob with a head. On the Samsung, the blacks weren't as deep, but I could see the detail in the black on the dress. I couldn't see any of that on the Panasonic. Perhaps once in a home, and adjusted, this wouldn't be a problem. In store viewing is taken with a grain of salt)

I went with the Samsung. For one, the Panasonic is pretty much out of stock at every Sears and Best Buy now. I tried to like the Panasonic, but it looks like a shoebox compared to the sleek styling of the Samsung. I also plan on hooking laptops up to the Plasma from time to time, and the dedicated PC input is a huge plus. HDMI can sometimes give you fits with a laptop, and not using it frees the port up for other devices.

ponickka said:

what rebate are you refering to? Do you have a link?

Thanks!

Sure. It's for online purchases by Sears card holders. Long story, but I didn't have a Sears card, so I signed up for one in store. Then found out you have to wait to get your Sears card in the mail before you can buy anything online. I asked if there was anyway to get my card info sooner... and boy was that a mistake. One employee handed me off to another then to another... until I ended up with the Store Manager. They tried, but I have to wait to get it in the mail. I gave up and just bought it anyway before they went out of stock. If my card comes, maybe I'll do a return rebuy.

Here's the advertisement for the promo: http://www.sears.com/shc/s/v_10153_12605_Computers+%26+Electroni...

Electronics over $299 = 5% Cash Rebate, or 15% back on a Sears giftcard.
http://content.sears.com/ue/elec/12Months_MIR.pdf

Samsung, Sony, Panasonic, LG TV's over $799 = 10% Cash Rebate, or 20% back on a Sears giftcard
http://content.sears.com/ue/elec/10Back_799_TVHome.pdf

kostarae said:Way to hijack a thread and forward people to your own thread Diswes...

"hijack"? The poster simply provided a link to a discussion of an alternative product.

I too went back and forth between the 50" Panny and Sammy. In the end I decided the Panasonic was just too dim and the Samsung had a slightly better picture; it seemed more 'natural' and more forgiving.

I've had my Samsung for about a month and I'm very happy with it. There's no buzzing, though it isn't the best with image rentention. A few times I've fallen asleep or my girlfriend has left it on the black bars and I've noticed the rentention. It's gone in a short while though.

I jumped on the 50" deal, got 8% CashBack from live.com and 10% rebate from Sears. Came out to roughly $750 including tax and I pick up. SWEET! Thanks OP!

You guys are confusing me. I was set to order this TV tomorrow from Best Buy or Sears and now I am wondering if they are good set's. I read 28 positive reviews on this set on the Best Buy forum so I was excited. now I am wondering if Plasma is a good way to go.