Who has the best plasma monitor these days

I just went through the whole process (and headache) of picking the "best" tv to build my new HT around (not a headache)...and the winner for me was the:

Pioneer Elite 60" Plasma. (the 1080i) This was just about 2 months before the 1080p came out, but I cannot tell the difference. I sit 12 ft away and have a denon DVD source, until the Blu Ray - HD DVD wars are over.

All I do is watc movies now.

John

Can't go wrong with Pioneer, the 5080 can be had for 2k as they recently cut prices.

"Tlg":

I am also with several of the other posters on this thread.

If money is not a problem, I would go with one of the Pioneer KURO's also. If you STILL want a plasma and money is SOMEWHAT a problem, then I would steer toward Panasonic (just gotten myself a 77U (a 42" model) for Christmas, and so far, I have been MORE than satified), and not look back.

I've read at some places that the 77U is a 720p set, and then at other places, they say that the 77U is a 1080p set. I don't know who to believe. Maybe I need to contact Panasonic and get the correct story sometime later this week. But whatever the case is, I got my 77U for about $1,500.00 + $300.00 for an extended warranty. Comparably speaking, the 700U was seen for as low as $1,900.00 on sale. But the 700U is a TRUE 1080p set, so there are no doubts as to what the resolution capability of this set. Now, if Panasonic tells me that my 77U is also a 1080p set, then I probably would be very happy as I would have then gotten a 1080p set at a bargain price. Otherwise, if they tell me it is in fact a 720p set, then I'll still be happy, as this was what I was setting out to get in the first place

Between LCD and Plasma, I feel the way to go would be to go plasma. My reason being is that they tend to produce a sharper, clearer picture with a much deeper black than even the best LCD set that I can find. Of course, this will come at the expense of some brightness and some on screen glare during daytime hours (even though, the anti-glare coating on the screen does help somewhat).

If you MUST go with an LCD, then I would look at Sharp and then Toshiba in exactly that order.

Good Luck and Happy Shopping.......

--Charles--

If you get one out of the box with no problems, the Pioneer Kuro Elite Series is best right now. Pioneer's Q and A is just fine , but there return policies as a manufacturer are more restrictive than some of the others and Panasonics Q and A process is really something.

Additionally, Pioneer, Panasonic, and Hitachi have collaborated and come up with "10 lumen technology" that will further improve plasmas when commerically introduced. 10 lumens per watt will give more brightness capabilities at lower energy cost and will improve contrast ratios, but not improve black levels, which are quite good nowadays ( {Particularly with Pioneer and Panasonic in that order).

I am waiting for this generation of plasmas before buying my next one, and hopefully some clarity and ubiquity on Hi Def DVDs, receivers, and displays and the smooth integration of HDMI 1.3 handshakes and the like between hardware and media working together.

A don't feel that an LCD is a serious consideration for home theater based on technology limitations.

Upgraded from the Fujitsu P50 to the Pio 60" Kuro Elite. The Kuros are simply the best right now.
No LCD comes even close. I have the Sharp 37GP1U in the bedroom and my girlfriend has the Sony Bravia XBR4. As nice as the Sony is, it doesn't even come close. The black levels on the plasma alone puts the LCD to shame.