tv reccommendations

[mnx]

Hi,

I'm moving in about a month and wanted to get your thoughts on a tv for my new place. It's a somewhat bright room, but most of our tv watching is done at night.

At this point I'm thinking 60" plasma (the price premium to go to ~65" is on the high side still). I don't care for 3d. Basically I want the largest screen size possible with the best picture quality for the best price. I've set the budget at an arbitrary $2000, but the less i spend the better. That way I can replace it when OLED comes out and not feel guilty. What are your thoughts on the following sets? I've scribbled down the best price I could find for each set locally beside it.

LG 60PV450 ~ $1300
- cons: CRsays the set is a little on the dim side.
- CR only gives it a very good rating on HD picture quality.
LG 60PZ550 ~ $1300
- cons: CR says "There was slight banding (unnatural contours) on scenes with subtly shaded light-to-dark areas, such as a sky during sunset, rather than a smooth transition in the shaded areas."

Panasonic TC-P60S30 ~ $1500
cons: would have to find a set manufactured after august to avoid fBR issue.
- CR says, "There was distinct banding (unnatural contours) on scenes with subtly shaded light-to-dark areas, such as a sky during sunset, rather than a smooth transition in the shaded areas."

Panasonic TC-P60ST30 ~$1900
- cons: CR says, "2d/3d content are both on the dim side"

Samsung PN59D550 ~$1500
- cons: CR says, "his TV did have some issues. Reflective screen can be annoying in bright lighting"
CR only gives it a very good rating on HD picture quality.

Samsung PN59D6500 ~ $1700 (online price, have to get it shipped)
- cons: CR says, "• Glossy, reflective screen
• Noise reduction causes visible blurring with standard-def content
• Image brightness on the dim side in 3D mode"

Based on what I've read on CR and elsewhere, the LG 60PZ550 seems like the best bang for the buck, it's probably my first choice at this point. It appears the Samsung PN59D6500 may have better PQ (no banding for example) but it's $400 more. The Panasonic TC-P60S30 seems to be well liked, but it seems to suffer from banding as the LG 60PZ550 does (and the LG is $200 less).

- matt