THANKS for all your feedback. I really appreciate it. I also did some research, after reading your comments, locally and spoke w/several TV repair shops. The consensus seems to be that a $300 calibration, priced on sale at $200, at Best Buy is a terrific deal for Best Buy! The THX Calibration DVD was mentioned by many. However, all the repair guys agreed that since the LED/LCD technology is so new, vis-a-vis CRT, I should buy the extended warranty program. I did do that, and I think that is a big RIP. The mfg provides about 85% coverage on the first year, so I thought I could buy my extended warranty for 2nd year on....but NO! I bought a 4 year warranty and according to Best Buy the 4 year starts from date of purchase. So, really I bought a 3 year warranty program.

No regrets what-so-ever. As it was, I was poised to buy the Sony Bravia but I felt that the picture was not as good. It actually looked blurry to me. Again, this is my own personal opinion. Additionally, the Bravia is more $$. Two of my other TV's are Sony Trinitrons and they have been very good to me. I'll make one more suggestion. A lot of times these big electronic chains will let last years model go a lot cheaper than the brand new model. Sometimes the only difference between this years and last years model is the contrast ratio. While it is true that the higher the contrast ratio the better your picture, sometimes the difference is something like 6000:1 vs. 7000:1. Again, I'll bet most people will be hard pressed to see the difference..especailly for a thousand dollars. Please remember, this is my own opinion. If you do go after a left over model, make sure it has all the features you were looking for in a brand new model. You have a tough decision to make. Will there be a gaming system, like Playstation, hooked up to the TV? Will there be anyone who will leave a static picture on the set for a really really long time? Will the set be kept in a room that is bright most of the time? If you answered yes to all these questions, then you'd be better off with a LCD. If not, then you'll be able to get a bigger screen for a lot less if you go with plasma. One other thing. How far away will you be viewing the TV from? Most people think thas getting a gigantic set and plopping themselves down three feet from the screen will give them a movie theater like experience..buzzzzzz, wrong. The only thing it will do is first give you a headache and then make you angry because the picture will look like a million little boxes. In any case, LCD's look less boxy close up. Again, see these things for yourself when you go looking. By the way, you're not a pest. ;-)

Ok gang, the debate here would be the same as anywhere...it probably points to personal preference and word of mouth from family and friends on whether you end up buying a "Ford or Chevy" of the flat screen panels. They work on 2 different technologies to produce the same thing, a picture. Energy costs of the Plasma are higher because of the need to introduce an electrical charge into a gas (neon, Xenon, etc) at every pixel to produce a color (even to produce the color black). Thus all the pixels together, produce a picture. How long does it take the various gases to leak out? Probably just like refrigerant in a refrigerator, etc....varies depending on the particular unit itself. As the gases leak, the picture fades until eventually, there is none.The gases cannot be replaced. The LCD unit works on the principle of refracting light. It has one cfl type light that is refracted to provide different characteristics on the liquid crystal to provide the picture as current is passed through it. The liquid crystal is very similar to liquid dish soap with a lot of salt mixed in it, sandwiched between 2 types of polarized glass. Over time, the cfl type light may change color, similar to that in a florescent light tube (when it turns pink or black, etc.), which will alter the images. The light source usually cannot be replaced. The Plasma will show high speed action better than LCD, which will show a bit of blur to those who are attuned to it. The LCD has the advantage where the screens can be made as small as 5 inches diagonal where the plasma cannot. The LCD provides better clarity when connected to a computer where Plasma does not. The Plasma provides better picture quality when viewed from far left, far right, from above and from below than the LCD. Basically, they both provide a good picture when operating normally, cost is close to the same and they both are good for at least 60,000 hours of viewing before the possibility of deteriorated picture quality. Here's my opinion on this as well as any other competitive product.....what kind of warranty will you get, what kind of customer service can you expect from the supplier and the manufacturer. I hear Samsung is one of the better of all the evils....I don't know because I still use all my older tv's that give great pictures. As they wear out, I'll be in the same boat as the OP !!!

Most good plasmas,such as the new Pioneer Kuro models can be engaged with a slight movement of the picture that is impossible to detect when watching, so even when playing games burn-in is quite unlikely. With a Pioneer or a Panasonic plasma a good rule of thumb is don't use it for gaming during the first 100 hours of watching or for static scroll lines on the picture bottom, such as on ESPN and some news channels. After that, good plasmas have a white-out feature in case of the slight chance of residual burn-in--it basically erases it. Since I am a videophile that loves watching good movies and shows, I watch in a dim to dark room. Without a doubt a Pioneer Kuro and even the latest Panasonics have a much superior contrast than any LCD model and this makes thepicture more natural and richer, or if youn want, the colors POP with exactitude. In a bright room and if you have gamester kids and grandkids that frequent the HDTV, I would get a Sony XBR or Samsung, or even one or two of the JVC models. But the 52" Sony's, Samsungs, Sharps,and JVC's aren't quite as good as their 46" and 40" models. The Sony 46" XBR4 or 5 and 40" XBR 4 or 5(and even a 32" XBR 4 or 5 for the bedroom) are about as good as LCD's get at this point. I have a 40" Sony XBR 4 in my bedroom and love it, but compared to my Pioneer Kuro 50" (5080) and in my media room my Pioneer Elite PRO-150FD 60", the Sony isn't in the same ballpark. If your room is dim enough and a 50" plasma is large enough I would save money and the new Pioneer Kuro PDP-5080. While it isn't a 1080p screen, as long as you sit at least 7 feet away it will look as good as any 1080p screen and it is available online between $2,375-$3,000 delivered. Just don't buy the way overpriced warranties. Panasonic sells a 1080p 50" plasma a little cheaper, but I find the Pioneer better. If you want to get an even bigger screen either get the Panasonic 58" 1080p which can be gotten online delivered between $3,200-$3,900. The 60" Pioneer Kuro PDP-6010FD will cost delivered online between $4,050-$5,000--with some dealers asking for full price--up to $6,500. I would get the 60" Pioneer over the 58" Panny, unless budget is a huge issue. Greg