I know you are a pro plasma. But If you were to choose between the two, which one would it be and why. I already had a long discussion with Carlo regarding this. Just wanna know your side.
I choose the Panasonic 50PY800.
Is this a Japan panel? If so, that's another reason why it's expensive.
My Panny EDTV is the last Japan-made entry-level 42-inch Viera plasma (9th gen.). No IR whatsover. Pero napansin ko, starting with the 10th gen models, naging IR-prone na naman ang Viera entry level plasmas. I think the PV7 & PV8 are Singapore-made.
Ano balita sa mga PY800 regarding IR? Less IR-prone than PV8, or pareho lang?
As for Sammy 52A650 vs Panny 50PY800, sa plasma pa rin ako, so I choose the Panny PY800.
An LCD's picture will be sharper than a plasma's, but sharpness is not always a good thing.
For videophiles, film grain is an integral part of the picture whenever it is intentionally present, and that grain must also be reproduced accurately. Plasma is better on that score because it gives a more accurate rendition of film grain than LCD.
On LCD, the picture is so sharp that even the film grain becomes sharper than intended, which tends to result in a picture that looks excessively grainy. That's probably why complaints about excessive film grain are more likely to come from LCD owners rather than plasma owners.
Another aspect is image depth, a quality that makes the picture look like it's almost 3D. The key to image depth is an accurate rendition of a blurred background, which plasma can easily do. But with LCD, the image is so sharp that even the background blur is sharpened, resulting in a shallower image that ruins what should have been a 3D-like illusion.
Plasma still has the green phosphor lag problem. But most people can't see this artifact. For the few who can see it, it's only a minor inconvenience.
On the other hand, LCD still has problems with uneven blacks due to the nature of its backlighting. For me, uneven blacks is not a minor inconveniece but a major limitation of the LCD format. Maybe the new LED backlight technology has solved the problem. I'm waiting for more reviews about LED backlighting on the web.
The reference image should be the image in a movie theater. Notice that a plasma's picture is still closer to film than an LCD. That's why I still prefer plasma.