Deftones

because I have poor light control. This is a phenomenal TV. Looks fantastic at night. But during the day I have poor light control and the glare is horrific. It's like a freaking mirror in my house. It breaks my heart because I love Panny plasmas (I have one in my bedroom, where light isn't a problem) but it's just too much. I know Panasonic makes one with a glare filter (ST50) but Best Buy has absolutely no idea when they are getting it in. Maybe if it comes back in stock, I can always trade in what I just bought. I bought the Samsung UN60ES6500 instead. Not a huge fan of LED, but it will provide much better picture without the glare.

Anyone have any of the Samsung LEDs?

Ranger

Yeah, my living room is like a green house. I'd love to cover it all up with blackout drapes someday.

Deftones

My initial impressions:

Good:
Picture quality seems good. Very vibrant and colorful. Seems to be more vibrant than the plasma, but I have nothing but my memory to compare it to.
Brightness is off the charts. I like that I can change that setting based on the room ambient lighting.
Much, much less glare than the plasma. Still getting some, but I think once I mount it and put a little tilt downwards it'll be perfect.
Light as hell. Much lighter than plasma.
Text seems easier to read on this than the plasma (such as reading scores/stats on MLB network shows)

Bad:
Smart hub doesn't seem to be designed well. I liked Panasonic's set up much better.
Blacks not nearly as good as the plasma (obviously to be expected)
Motion blur. I turned on Wimbeldon just to check out some sports (nothing else on right now) and I saw some serious blur with the ball. I'll have to keep tweaking the settings to see if I can eliminate it completely.
The stand (while I love the turning aspect), I don't like how it feels flimsy. Seems like the TV could fall over with little forward or backward force.
Having to turn on the game mode to avoid that dimming issue. That's just stupid.
Seem to get some dithering based on the content. I'm seeing it here in there.

Indifferent:
3D. I actually bought this for the 3D capability, even though I've never used it. I was thinking of the model below (6100) but I paid the extra $200 to "future" proof since I have little kids who may eventually want 3D. Tried out the DirecTV's 3D channels. Football seemed cool, but disorienting over periods. Since I've never used 3D before in anything, I think it will be a while to "train" my eyes and brain on the feature.


Now, I've yet to hook up a blu-ray, so it's hard for me to effectively give a full critique of it. Right now, I am liking some features and not liking any other ones. I'll keep checking working to tweak it and see if I can get some of the bad things to move into the good column. I think it's just going to take a while for me to get used to, since I'm so used to plasma.

Deftones

so i might be sending this back. it's got a very bright picture, but it's grainy as hell. plus, i can see the motion blur very clearly. i've been tweaking settings galore and nothing seems to be making a difference. might now try a plasma w/ a better glare filter the panny 60st50.

DVD Polizei

If you're a Best Buy Premium Silver Member, you get an extended return period which could benefit you.

Surprised you saw some motion blur. I thought HDTVs were rid of that stuff. Anyway, get a Panny.

Come to think of it, I bet your Samsung is not truly refreshing @ 120HZ. It probably is much lower, and "upsampled" by some stupid-lying-ass-formula. Like Sigma telling me their SD-15 is actually 15MP. Yeah, right. My ass.

Deftones

Yeah, I've got 60 days to return it since I'm silver. I already ordered another plasma. Panny ST50. It has a different screen that cuts down on glare. Plus, I'm getting a window tinter out to tint a few windows to stop the glare. I will get a plasma to work in this room by god!

Spiky

Nobody wants to hear the truth, that EVERY other camera is labelled wrong, so they just joined the party.

K&AJones

So which one to replace it? I have read the new ST50's are better than last years ST30's by a long shot and they were good.

soundman2

I have a Panny plasma in the bedroom and the picture is amazing. For living room with light am considering a few options for future

This one seems to have LED with local dimming ...pricy still ..$2700 for 55 inch

Panasonic VIERA TC-L55WT50 55-Inch 1080p 3D Full HD IPS LED TV

K&AJones

Myself and wife; we're Plasma Fans now. i had to replace our 2.5 yr old Sony LCD and had to get a new set. Saw a Plasma and I've been hooked since. LED's are goood in their own way but cost per inch goes to the Plasma's by a long shot. Each has their pros & cons like LED's have a big edge on the black level but Plasma has it on the color scale and combinations. Love our Panny 55" GT30 which was under $1600 when we bought it.

Deftones

so while i'm waiting for the plasma to arrive, i'm still using the sammy lcd. i will say, watching blu rays on it is pretty damn spectacular. cars 2 right now with the boy looks ridiculous.

K&AJones

The current Panny GT30 55" replaced a broken Sony 52" LCD Z Series. That TV when we reseached it was one step below the Sony XBR line. Once I got the calibration in place the PQ was outstanding. Our current Panny Plasma beats it hands down. LED's maybe another thing especially with blacks...probably a closer race. Avatar on a plasma...a triple wow factor.

Deftones

So the Panny 60" ST50 came in over a week ago. Finally got it mounted on Sunday. Made the right choice. Love the picture on this thing. It's fucking fantastic. Now I just need to save up a few bucks for professional calibration.