[Atlplasma]

Some of the Samsung plasmas are supposed to be okay. Perhaps they will buy Pioneer's true black tech from Panasonic.

[Vulcan00]

Bummer

I did not buy the maintenance or insurance or what ever its called.  I usually do not buy those plans but with this TV I seriously thought about it. My ex girlfriend has already had to replace hers. She had the warranty but funny thing is they replace the Panny with a LED Samsung.

[SoCalWJS]

Bummer.

I was hoping to hold off until next year. My older 720P model still looks great and works fine. Figured I'd replace it next year and move the old one into the basement, but I don't want to risk missing out.

 

[sts9fan]

I just bought a Samsung 65" plasma. I returned it for an LED.

[Freo-1]

I just bought a Samsung 65" plasma. I returned it for an LED.

+1.  I still have a Pioneer Kuro in the spare setup, and while it still gets a great picture, the new Sony LED is a whole another level better.  Ice Hockey is unbelievable, movies look better, just better all around.

[Bemopti123]

Bummer.

I was hoping to hold off until next year. My older 720P model still looks great and works fine. Figured I'd replace it next year and move the old one into the basement, but I don't want to risk missing out.

 

There will be excess inventory available for even cheaper prices next year....So. I would not rush.  The only issue with this announcement is that replacement or repair from now on will be difficult if not impossible.  BUT, technology such as this is mean to be finite in lifespan. 

[SoCalWJS]

+1.  I still have a Pioneer Kuro in the spare setup, and while it still gets a great picture, the new Sony LED is a whole another level better.  Ice Hockey is unbelievable, movies look better, just better all around.

Huh......     They must have changed something. Last time I looked, one of the main advantages of Plasma over LED/LCD was watching sports. The motion on LED/LCD has always looked very "jerky" to me. Much smoother on Plasma.

[SoCalWJS]

There will be excess inventory available for even cheaper prices next year....So. I would not rush.  The only issue with this announcement is that replacement or repair from now on will be difficult if not impossible.  BUT, technology such as this is mean to be finite in lifespan.

Yup - it's a gamble though. Gotta figure out what I think is better - waiting longer for (probably) better prices as opposed to when selection/availability starts to make it tougher to get what I want.

[NIGHTFALL1970]

I think this news sucks! I spent all day at Paul's TV comparing tons of TVs and the Panasonic plasma beat them all in picture quality. Even the backlit LCD that everyone is going gaga for looked like crap.  I have a two year old 50" 720 panny. Maybe I should grab a larger screen with 1080p while I still can?

[RDavidson]

Huh......     They must have changed something. Last time I looked, one of the main advantages of Plasma over LED/LCD was watching sports. The motion on LED/LCD has always looked very "jerky" to me. Much smoother on Plasma.

I think this is very dependent on the TV's processing capabilities. If you compare 2 top of the line TV's, plasma and LCD, properly setup, I think you'd find their motion processing more similar than different. This is why, in my opinion, it is better to buy a smaller but higher end TV, than a larger lower end TV, where price is a concern.

[WireNut]

This is why, in my opinion, it is better to buy a smaller but higher end TV, than a larger lower end TV, where price is a concern.

Great advise 

[*Scotty*]

Probably one the most difficult tests for motion artifacts is a rapid pan across a complete background landscape. A rapid 90degree pan across the landscape requires every pixel on the set to change color very quickly, usually at faster speed than the set can accommodate without artifacts. I have yet to see any LCD set regardless of the type of back-lighting used behind the LCDs do this without falling down. A modern CRT type display has no problems with this.
 The new HAWAII FIVE 0 series has frequent pans across the scenic landscape of Hawaii and almost every time this occurs I see motion artifacts on my Samsung UN55D6050 LCD set, regardless of my attempts to optimize its motion performance. The individual pixels response time just is not fast enough with currently applied technology. Loss of gray scale and contrast is also aggravating.
Scotty

[RDavidson]

Probably one the most difficult tests for motion artifacts is a rapid pan across a complete background landscape. A rapid 90degree pan across the landscape requires every pixel on the set to change color very quickly, usually at faster speed than the set can accommodate without artifacts. I have yet to see any LCD set regardless of the type of back-lighting used behind the LCDs do this without falling down. A modern CRT type display has no problems with this.
 The new HAWAII FIVE 0 series has frequent pans across the scenic landscape of Hawaii and almost every time this occurs I see motion artifacts on my Samsung UN55D6050 LCD set, regardless of my attempts to optimize its motion performance. The individual pixels response time just is not fast enough with currently applied technology. Loss of gray scale and contrast is also aggravating.
Scotty

Curious. Does the same happen when you watch a true/direct 1080p source, ie Blu Ray? I ALWAYS find the overall picture quality of Blu Ray better than my cable box.

[mcgsxr]

A good friend of mine has a 60 inch LG plasma, and a 55 LED LG.

The LED unit is very bright, and delivers an almost cartoonish aura about it.  Super for a bright room, but not a realistic film like experience.  His plasma looks better for that.

We both agree that gaming is better on the LED (which is what he bought it for, a gaming system in a spare bedroom for his kids), and the movies look better in the light controlled basement plasma setup.

I think there are good non plasma units out there, but did not elect to spend my $ on any of them.

When the time comes (one of my units fails), I will buy whatever I like in the given size I am shopping for.  Hopefully it is MANY years from now!

[jarcher]

What a shame. And just when Sound and Vision mag declared that the new panny zt60 series had equaled or finally surpassed the legendary Pioneer Kuro.  I own two Panasonic plasmas which I've been very happy with,  but fortunately most of my "serious" movie watching is with a projector, so the news doesn't hit me too hard. Home Theater (now S&V as well) did say the Samsung 8500 series plasmas were near Kuro quality. So all is not lost.

[SoCalWJS]

Drove to a fairly distant Best Buy with a Magnolia to take a quick gander at the higher end Pannys. They didn't have the 60" ZT, but they had the 60" VT right next to the 65" ZT. (No ST's to look at there - there is one on display at my local BB)

No comparison.

Admittedly this is at whatever settings they decided to use.

At first, we both liked the SETTINGS on the VT better (not quite as "hot" - color levels and contrast a bit lower than the ZT), but then they showed a scene panning across a black Lava field covered with crabs next to the ocean. Black levels were sooooooo much better on the ZT. The depth and detail of the lava field was much more obvious. Pretty well decided on the ZT right there.

They had a Samsung F8500 (60" or so) nearby, but on a different feed.  Hoping it was just the setup, but the picture wasn't in the same league.

Now we gotta start figuring out how to fit that puppy in. Gotta reconfigure the Entertainment center to fit the bigger TV as well as come up with a new stand.

[viggen]

Just when they finally solved most of the issues from high energy consumption to shorter panel life to increasing black contrast to image retention to noisy panel/psu (well this they never really solved) to getting the form factor slimmed and trimmed and then they decide to pull the plug.

I really like my 50GT50 I got last BFD.  Best TV for the moolah.  And, I work for a competitor.  I always tell my cowkers how much better my TV is than the ones they bought with their employee discount.