When I purchased my plasma last year, I did a lot of side-by-side comparisons with the same content and same conditions. I compared Pioneer to Panasonic, LG, Phillips, Samsung and Hitachi. I found Pioneer to be superior. Having said that, when I started to compare price, size and PQ I chose Hitachi. I found the Hitachi PQ to be better than Panasonic and for a little more money I got 5 extra inches of viewing space. With approximately 97% of the PQ of a Pioneer and significantly lower price, the Hitachi became a no brainer. Some will argue the Panasonic PQ is better than the Hitachi. This past December I did another comparison check and I still don't think the Panasonic is better. The problem for American consumers is that they're just not exposed to Hitachi products, but in Japan they sell a ton of Hitachi plasmas.