mattwnz: It would depend on where you are viewing it though, as plasmas perform best in darker rooms, while LCDs work well in both brightly lit and poorly lit rooms. Also plasmas tend to use a lot more power and generate more heat than LED backlit LCDs, and they possibly don't have the same life. But they do tend to offer more bang for buck initially, and are better for watching movies in a darker room.
An LED with a glossy panel will still struggle in a bright room, especially compared to the likes of the louvre filter Panasonic NeoPlasma's... Sure the white levels will be brighter if you're running it in dynamic mode, but the blacks will still be grey at best. You'd be quite interested to compare power use between calibrated LED's and NeoPlasma's... I certainly would not say that they (plasmas) use 'a lot more power'. The difference would be roughly $20 per annum.
I'll third the P50ST50Z. It is available for $2,196 but it was selling for $1,917 a couple of weeks ago so there may be room for improvement on that price. Make sure you have your laptop's screensaver turned on if you get a plasma as displaying static pictures for a long period of time on them is not sensible.
bfginger: Your Dad's old plasma may have been a 480p model.
I'll third the P50ST50Z. It is available for $2,196 but it was selling for $1,917 a couple of weeks ago so there may be room for improvement on that price. Make sure you have your laptop's screensaver turned on if you get a plasma as displaying static pictures for a long period of time on them is not sensible.
This is the same TV I'm looking to replace our aging non-full HD plasma with later in the year, unless the GT can be found for a bargain.
The reality is many get impressed with the bright look of LCDs and marketing marvels of LED back-lighting - I just couldn't bare the idea of living with that image on a day-to-day basis! (Fine if you like fake images - my father-in-law loves his 55" Sony but I think it's ghastly.) Personally I'd choose to keep my old 720 plasma over an LCD, LED-backlit or not.
To the OP - check out this Panasonic plasma - seems to fit your needs and I doubt you'll be disappointed. Don't be caught by the great marketing/disinformation about the greatness of LCD and that plasma is in its death-throes.
The P50ST50Z is also well under $2k ($1918) at the moment at NL and HN - check out http://pricespy.co.nz/product.php?p=1192887. If I had the money now I'd be buying it today!
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