Plasma 42 inch ....

If you use your plasma in dim light the Panasonic still is tops. The Panny black levels still best the rest ( Fujitsu is the exception, but they use Panasonic Glass-Pixels). Our eyes are much better able to see differences in contrast levels than pixel counts as we move further away from the monitors. Pannys superior contrast ratios and black levels make it the best for dim lihgt becuase of these factors.

In ambient light. Pioneer is a good choice. Pio 5060 for instance But they are very restrictive in their dead pixel return policies and are closing Plasma plants next year and importaing glass from other vendors.

Their isnt anything special about a Runco plasma other than its price. It isnt using a superior chipset, whatever that is referring to. ( Usually this refers to a deinterlacing chip in common usage but thats what good DVD players are for- you generally dont rely on a monitors chip alone for deinterlacing)

Lots of misinformation in the first response as well. Plasmas sales have skyrocketed andsome companies cant keep up with demand. Companies with QA problems, restrictive internet sales policies and authorized reseller agreements are quickly falling by the wayside. But the remaining manufacturers are cleaning up. The analogy here is Toyota GM- overall car sales worldwide arent declining but some companies arent doing as well as others.

AS far as the best value/performance purchase-- an easy pick- The Panasonic PWD8UY commerical plasma monitor which including the stand-- costs 1500 from authoprized resellers if ya know where to look. I am not aware of other contenders at the 42 inch level. AT the 50 inch, then you go with the Panny 50 inch HD commercial set for 3000.

The regular series Panasonics are not nearly as good as the Onyx series nor the Elite, though their black levels are very good. Also some or all of the standard series do not have 3:2 pull-down for film. They're OK. The Onyx series is another matter entirely, fully competitive with anything out there.

The Runco plasma is exceptional. If you can't see the difference...well, I can't suggest how to fix that.

The standard Pioneers are very good, better than the std. Panny's, IMO, but not equal to the Elites or the Onyx.

Panasonic's standard-setting contrast ratio is unfortunately offset by more LCD-like "video-ness" to the image character. Fine on video, not as accurate on film material transferred to DVD. However, if you're considering Panasonic, Pioneer, Runco, Fujitsu and perhaps the new Hitachi, in plasma, you're considering good images compared to plasma from Sony, LG and all the 16 bit LCDs.

Phil

Phil

You might as well upgrade to 50" or better yet, 60" I have read that these larger sizes give you a much more realistic view. Read the (How to choose Display) in Peter Moncrieff's website www.iar-80.com He highly praises the new NEC plasma sets. Interesting reading.

Size selection is a function of viewing distance. The issue currently is that a 42" plasma and a 61" plasma have the same resolution (pixel count). So it's not necessarily better to go bigger if you can't increase your viewing distance for the same effective image quality. Now, if viewing distance is fixed and resolution increases for a larger screen size, different story but that's not how it is right now.

Phil

Coulndt let this one go by without comment. The Onyx series from Panasonic and the same sized other current Panasonics are all the same as far as glass electronics and power supply. There are not separate Onyx plasma plants! How funny. The differences are largely cosmetic. PQ is identical. Runco sources their glass and does not even make their own. Again, there isn't anything special about a Runco plasma except the price tag. Absolutely none.

3:2 Pulldown is a function of DVD players by the way. The statement that certain plasmas do 3:2 Pulldown and others don't pretty much misses an understanding of very basic concepts. Your DVD player does the 3:2 pulldown and if its not done well by the player and its chipset and it won't matter what your plasma does ( yes even a Runco!)

The discussion about Pioneers and Pannys is fair game however- at least there is something to talk about here. Pioneers have a certain recognizable eye popping Wow! image--especially in well lit stores compared to seemingly dull panasonic ( yes even the Onyx). This is due to differences in performance of the TVs in various lighting conditions. Inngeneral- Pannys have the edge in the dark and Pios in ambient room light. But Pioneers black levels really improved this year in 2005 with their 6th generation sets. Not quite up with the Pannys.

LCDs- yes LCDs have also imporved. Their images from top producers are crisp and clear and very sharp. Hwoever, the large difference still remianing in black levels and therefore contrast ratios between LCDs and plasmas means an incredible loss of shadow detail in darker scenes in LCDs relative to plasmas. This is even mentioned in periodicals such as the Perfect Vision and Sound and Vision in their latest issues while reviewing the newer offerings. Again, the human eye can see differences in contrast ratios where at 8-10 feet we really have trouble decerning differences in pixels counts. Try it out sometime.

LCDs videoness is exactly its limiting factor. With an LCD you know you are watching TV( a very good one!)- with a plasma, if its set up correctly, you are looking through the window. I agree with the divisions between between top plasma groups versus the others. My favorites right now are Hitachi and Panasonic.