Support NeoGAF

[Vizzeh]

The pictures are off axis which makes them washed out. In that picture of the 2 panasonics the LED wouldn't look like that if it were on center. Once you go off axis with LCD it's all over. washes out regardless of how you have it set. In my experience in many cases unless it is full array with local dimming with a ton of zones you won't get those inky blacks on LCD. If someone says they are I would bet money they are crushing blacks

Im deffo not a TV expert but isnt the Backlighting and black crush unrelated? I mean The brightness would cause the crush and not the backlighting, so you could in theory put the backlight down to whatever and it would only effect how Bright the pixels are and not the Image?

Took a few photos not sure if they are off use, mostly with curtains closed etc, their from a Galaxy S3 and TV has Local Dimming etc on. Poor clarity since Photos require light, but hopefully it illustrates the blacks/lack of flash lighting, as for the quality of picture, imagination is needed lol

Image 1

Image 2

(V close shot, not entire TV in shot)

Image 3

(Image preload didnt work for some unknown reason)

 

[Racer1977]

I just got the 32" and it is sexy as hell. Image quality is great too.

What are the default picture settings like?

I don't feel qualified enough to go delving into the settings, and will only use settings from a respected reviewer, such as the AV Forums site.

 

[Pearlito's Way]

...eesh. EastCoastTV's was getting a lot of flak over at the AVS forums on a few owners thread (Panasonic VT60, Sony W900A) regarding TV's damaged upon delivery. Apparently a few horror stories about their refusal to acknowlege damages, forcing customers to follow the manufacturer for resolution (which is not quick)- as many say, buyer beware.

I do not recommend EastCoastTV...heard nothing but trouble with them...I went with Paul's TVs...was able to haggle the price of a VT60 down cheaper than I've seen anyone (legit) carry it...and got an extended warranty. It's the best tv I've ever owned hands down...It's worth a try to call some of these places up and "pit" them up against each other for best deal...

Thanks for the heads up. I was really considering them due to their prices, and me being right next door (NYC). I read the sites rating reviews from customers and they seem favorable. How much did you pay for your vt60 ostrichking

 

[Insane Metal]

What are the default picture settings like?

I don't feel qualified enough to go delving into the settings, and will only use settings from a respected reviewer, such as the AV Forums site.

I don't understand your question... you want to know what settings I'm using or which options it has?

 

[benny_a]

My Sony KDL-55W805A was delivered today.

I played around a lot with various settings I found on forums and I've settled on one that was tied in my personal face-offs for preset I like the most, but was more color accurate to the same image displayed on the Vita screen.
(The TV supports setting input specific settings, so it's easy to compare settings by just switching between inputs.)

Some ghetto calibration but I'm very satisfied with the results.

Because Tiemen asked a few days ago, I just gave the W9 settings a try and they were the best even for the W8 for me.
http://www.avforums.com/forums/19263346-post7.html

 

[FrankNitty]

Looking into getting either the Panny 42 or 50" S60 at some point for gaming purposes and had a question. I'm a bit worried of the IR and burn in I've been reading about everywhere and was wondering if playing for a certain amount of time and turning off the TV would be a long term solution. Are there specific intervals that this method could work? Like playing for 3 hours and turning the TV off for 30 min? Or does it have more to do with what's being displayed versus how long the TV's been on?

It is more having a static image or semi static image in one place for a prolonged duration of time. Burn in it would have to be there a significant amount of time. IR can happen within a few hours but it is temporary and with mixed content it goes away. I have played games for 4-6 hours and will have IR which goes away in no time. I think a lot of it is people know it can happen so they look for it. If you don't look for it you probably wouldn't see it unless it was an extreme case or on a certain color with a certain brightness.

Filterless plasma looks so much better than dull filtered plasma picture. So crisp and vibrant. Sure, you have to have a light controlled environment, but don't believe you can watch a plasma tv in full daylight, even if your screen has antiglare.

Really? Why do you say that? is it because of reflections? No TV, none, 0 will kill a reflection that is directly across a screen. I took these just a few mins ago. I have a sliding glass door open to the right of it, a window with blinds semi opened directly across from it (which you can see in the reflection, which if you are watching TV and not the reflection you lose sight of the reflection since you do not focus on that) and a door that is open just to the left of the window. Set is calibrated to 33.4 fL and I can see pretty good.

picks were taken with cellphone lol at 11am

I've had the 55" Panasonic VT60 for several weeks now, and while the black levels and rich colors are gorgeous, I'd like to talk about some of the set's shortcomings since they rarely seem to be mentioned.

Brightness / ABL: This is by far the weakest aspect of the set. When displaying bright scenes the contrast will noticeably dip. Hockey looks particularly bad with dirty looking ice. Even set to a modest 60% contrast (which is used by the THX Cinema preset), the fluctuating white levels can be very distracting. As an added bonus, these low contrast "bright" scenes kick the plasma buzzing into overdrive.

Image Retention: This is still a problem to consider. I have after images from both The Last of Us (a game with a dynamic HUD) and Ultimate Marvel Vs. Capcom 3. This is from 1-2 hour game sessions at my preferred 75% contrast with panel brightness at Mid and pixel orbiter on. These sessions were also padded with TV and movie viewing. This may have been less of an issue if I had left overscan on, but I prefer a 1:1 image.

Phosphor Trails: These are yellowish trailing after images that can appear when there is motion between certain contrasting colors. It's usually only noticeable in 60fps games, particularly so in sidescrollers like Guacamelee or Rayman Origins.

So yeah :/. it can still be a beautiful display depending on the content, but that's the problem for me. It could also be that I'm just too damn picky. :lol

Panasonic is a huge offender when it comes to ABL. My biggest complaint about them. One of the reasons I was looking at the 8500, but then the 8500 had floating blacks so it was which can I live with more.

How long does it take for your IR to disappear?

I haven't seen the phosphor trail on my ZT but will look for that. I may not be sensitive to it though. Actually I think if I cannot see it I won't look for it, those types of things cannot be unseen and once you see it you will always see it. Like I didn't see rainbows on DLP for a long time until I told my friend that I think it looks off and he showed me the rainbow specifically and ever since then I cannot unsee it lol

 

[FrankNitty]

Im deffo not a TV expert but isnt the Backlighting and black crush unrelated? I mean The brightness would cause the crush and not the backlighting, so you could in theory put the backlight down to whatever and it would only effect how Bright the pixels are and not the Image?

Took a few photos not sure if they are off use, mostly with curtains closed etc, their from a Galaxy S3 and TV has Local Dimming etc on. Poor clarity since Photos require light, but hopefully it illustrates the blacks/lack of flash lighting, as for the quality of picture, imagination is needed lol

Image 1

Image 2

(V close shot, not entire TV in shot)

Image 3

(Image preload didnt work for some unknown reason)

No way to tell off a picture unless it shows shadow detail. Ideally you would use a test pattern and some reference material that have good shadow detail

The reason it could crush blacks is because lowering the backlight after brightness has been set is how it interacts with contrast & because you generally set the brightness after you set the contrast and backlight.

Ideally how it works is you set contrast to ideal fL peak white. Then you adjust backlight. You do this so that way you know if you are clipping whites. After you do this you then set your brightness. Now ideally. These controls should not interact with one another, but they do. Which is why after you set one you then need to recheck the other

If these controls didn't effect one another and backligt only effected contrast it wouldn't be an issue, but since contrast effects brightness (at least in all cases I have seen) then lowering your backlight would effect your brightness and probably crush your blacks.

I guess I would say lowering it some wouldn't be that big of a deal. Making a major change would have more of an impact.

Edit: Actually thinking more about this I am going to test this later when I get hold of an LED. I think I'm wrong and it is reversed. What I'm thinking now is your blacks wouldn't crush (all depends on how contrast and brightness interact within the display), what might actually happen is your black level would be too high and need to be lowered.

My thinking now is raising the backlight will lower your blacks because contrast is brighter even though it is technically set the same but your blacks would need to be raised. Then on the otherside of things lowering the backlight would make your blacks too light and they would need to be lowered. Yeah I need to test this some. Also need to test how panasonics panel brightness works with this as well as Samsungs celllight brightness. This could all be dependent on panel, how it's driven, if contrast interacts with brightness.

So my mistake totally I believe you're right. It won't crush blacks. Though it will probably take you out of reference black and you would be clipping blacks.

 

[DarkLegion]

so I got something like a 300$ budget and I'm looking for a 32inch for my room to replace this crt. Any suggestions or am I doomed with my budget? Also is there anything I should look at when buying the TV like refresh rate and lag?

 

[EasyMode]

How long does it take for your IR to disappear?

I haven't seen the phosphor trail on my ZT but will look for that. I may not be sensitive to it though. Actually I think if I cannot see it I won't look for it, those types of things cannot be unseen and once you see it you will always see it. Like I didn't see rainbows on DLP for a long time until I told my friend that I think it looks off and he showed me the rainbow specifically and ever since then I cannot unsee it lol

I'm pretty sure the IR is still there from a week ago. I can double check tonight.

You're right that phosphor trails can be one of those subtle things that once seen, cannot be unseen.

 

[IRAQcitizen]

i just bought this vizio 55 inch for ps4 is led type, looks solid

 

[Racer1977]

I don't understand your question... you want to know what settings I'm using or which options it has?

Ideally, I'm looking for a set-up guide like this for the Sony TV - http://www.avforums.com/forums/lcd-...50e6-reviewers-recommended-best-settings.html

Failing that, I'm wondering if the default settings do a decent job, as I'm not confident in adjusting the picture myself..........

Probably end up making it look worse!

 

[demosthenes]

I'm pretty sure the IR is still there from a week ago. I can double check tonight.

You're right that phosphor trails can be one of those subtle things that once seen, cannot be unseen.

Sounds like you have a bad panel. IR isn't supposed to last a week.

 

[LordCanti]

Sounds like you have a bad panel. IR isn't supposed to last a week.

IR that lasts a week is probably burn-in.

 

[BruiserBear]

Sounds like you have a bad panel. IR isn't supposed to last a week.

All image retention is a form of burn in. People have just created the term "image retention" in recent years in order to calm burn in fears. Burn in became the dirty word.

Burn in can be eased with time, but sometimes it takes hours (if it's minor), but sometimes it can take months. Other times it's so serious that it basically will never go away. I've seen people on this very forum post images from their plasma after they played too much Madden for a week or two. The white EA logo was burned in. I checked with him a year later and he told me it's still visible.

So yeah, once again, talk of burn in being a thing of the past is absolutely false.

 

[Insane Metal]

Ideally, I'm looking for a set-up guide like this for the Sony TV - http://www.avforums.com/forums/lcd-...50e6-reviewers-recommended-best-settings.html

Failing that, I'm wondering if the default settings do a decent job, as I'm not confident in adjusting the picture myself..........

Probably end up making it look worse!

All I could find: http://forums.hdtvtest.co.uk/index.php?topic=7772.msg35153#msg35153

 

[dmr87]

Phosphor Trails: These are yellowish trailing after images that can appear when there is motion between certain contrasting colors. It's usually only noticeable in 60fps games, particularly so in sidescrollers like Guacamelee or Rayman Origins.

Have you tried putting IFC on 'Min'(still off for 24p Blu-Ray), supposedly it can improve phosphor trailing according to HDTVtest, worth a try.

Enabling the “Min” [Intelligent Frame Creation] mode uses a very small amount of digital motion interpolation and results in slightly less plasma picture noise and also makes coloured phosphor trails less visible; although in return eagle-eyed viewers might see the occasional motion interpolation glitch (inevitable given the speed the motion calculations must be performed at).

The “Min” setting, by the way, does not add the video-like “soap opera” motion to film content; it is a very light setting. Our favourite setup was to leave the interplation features off entirely for 24p film from Blu-ray (the 24fps frame rate is too low to reveal motion issues) but to set it to “Min” for 50hz video material, such as UK/European broadcast TV.

 

[hellmonkey]

IR that lasts a week is probably burn-in.

Nope. It depends on how long the image that caused the IR was on the tv. When I first got my plasma, my wife watched a good bit of 4:3 content. It took almost a month for the bars to not be visible anymore. If I watch a channel for 4 hours, it will take quite some time for the logo to disappear. After the first 2 weeks though, you had to be looking for it or have a keen eye, which I was and have.

However, the ONLY time I see this is on large, brighter, single colors (all white screen as an example). You will not see it watching normal tv, movies or playing games. It might take a while, but there has been no permanent burn in on my tv, but IR has lasted quite some time.

 

[Eterniti]

How is Plasma's lag compared to LED? I'm currently looking to save up for potentially a 60" TV and have noticed that plasmas are priced lower now... specifically, looking at the Vieras.

 

[hellmonkey]

How is Plasma's lag compared to LED? I'm currently looking to save up for potentially a 60" TV and have noticed that plasmas are priced lower now... specifically, looking at the Vieras.

From what Ive read, Plasmas have the best/lowest latency. Also, LED is just a backlight technology, its still and LCD display at heart, it just has a different source of light. I have a Viera, 55ut50, and love it.

There are two downsides to plasma, they don't perform as well in bright rooms, and image retention is still a concern, so you have to vary your viewing habits. However, they almost always give the best picture.

 

[YuriLowell]

That ZT looks amazing.

Its gonna be hard to leave the screen size of an 83" TV behind.

 

[BruiserBear]

From what Ive read, Plasmas have the best/lowest latency.

You haven't done enough reading.

http://m.cnet.com/news/game-mode-on-cnet-tests-tvs-for-input-lag/57587317?ds=1

Most of the recent plasmas have high input lag. Input lag truly has nothing to do with the display technology. It's all about the processing the TV does to the image, and how quickly it can display and image.

 

[Sithlord77]

I bought the Samsung D7000 LED TV last year. It's a fantastic tv and got great reviews. Cant fault it. Gonna be great for next gen. Dunno if this is old news but it even passes audio through to the receiver even if the HDMI is connected directly to the TV.

 

[Lima]

Couldn't find my set there... 32W653A...

Well the info is right on this site. HDTVtest.co.uk just tested it with 14,6ms. Lowest input lag ever recorded on a TV using the Leo Bodnar lag testing device.

 

[vpance]

I've had the 55" Panasonic VT60 for several weeks now, and while the black levels and rich colors are gorgeous, I'd like to talk about some of the set's shortcomings since they rarely seem to be mentioned.

Brightness / ABL: This is by far the weakest aspect of the set. When displaying bright scenes the contrast will noticeably dip. Hockey looks particularly bad with dirty looking ice. Even set to a modest 60% contrast (which is used by the THX Cinema preset), the fluctuating white levels can be very distracting. As an added bonus, these low contrast "bright" scenes kick the plasma buzzing into overdrive.

Image Retention: This is still a problem to consider. I have after images from both The Last of Us (a game with a dynamic HUD) and Ultimate Marvel Vs. Capcom 3. This is from 1-2 hour game sessions at my preferred 75% contrast with panel brightness at Mid and pixel orbiter on. These sessions were also padded with TV and movie viewing. This may have been less of an issue if I had left overscan on, but I prefer a 1:1 image.

Phosphor Trails: These are yellowish trailing after images that can appear when there is motion between certain contrasting colors. It's usually only noticeable in 60fps games, particularly so in sidescrollers like Guacamelee or Rayman Origins.

So yeah :/. it can still be a beautiful display depending on the content, but that's the problem for me. It could also be that I'm just too damn picky. :lol

That sounds pretty disappointing, particularly the image retention issues. You'd think they could solve that kind of thing by now especially after buying up Pioneer's tech. I could justify paying top dollar for my old Kuro at the time, but I don't think I can now with today's sets.

The F8500 sounds like the best option out there I think. Sure it's not the blackest but double(?) the max brightness makes for much easier viewing conditions during any time of the day.

 

[Racer1977]

All I could find: http://forums.hdtvtest.co.uk/index.php?topic=7772.msg35153#msg35153

Reading around, it appears the default settings are very good, it's just a case of selecting whatever pre-set you want, i.e "movie", "sport", "game" etc.

 

[EasyMode]

Sounds like you have a bad panel. IR isn't supposed to last a week.

I just checked and the IR is still there, but I don't think the panel is defective since it's not half as noticeable as it was a week ago. Incoming crappy cellphone pic:

Identify the HUD element and win a prize!

Spoiler

Not really

Have you tried putting IFC on 'Min'(still off for 24p Blu-Ray), supposedly it can improve phosphor trailing according to HDTVtest, worth a try.

I assume this is the Motion Smoothing feature and they call it IFC in the UK. It does diminish the phosphor trailing, but the catch is that it's not available while game mode is on. The input lag is quite bad if you turn game mode off.

Input lag truly has nothing to do with the display technology. It's all about the processing the TV does to the image, and how quickly it can display and image.

This is true and I wish that myth would go away.

The F8500 sounds like the best option out there I think. Sure it's not the blackest but double(?) the max brightness makes for much easier viewing conditions during any time of the day.

If the F8500 can better maintain a consistent white level, then that does sound like a fair trade-off. Hopefully it's not as prone to IR as well.

 

[No Love]

No Image Retention issues lasting more than 1 hour or so on my S60 or S64 or Samsung plasma.

Also, can't wait to see Dragon's Crown tonight on my S64. It looks amazing on the Vita but somehow I think the PS3 version on a nice plasma is going to look even better.

 

[Deadly Cyclone]

ORDERED

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/VIERA+-...6448&skuId=8135042&st=panasonic s60&cp=1&lp=2

May god help me. This 65" Panny plasma cost the same as my 40" Samsung LCD did 4 years ago...

It comes next Thursday. I can't wait.

 

[FrankNitty]

I just checked and the IR is still there, but I don't think the panel is defective since it's not half as noticeable as it was a week ago. Incoming crappy cellphone pic:

Identify the HUD element and win a prize!

Spoiler

Not really

I assume this is the Motion Smoothing feature and they call it IFC in the UK. It does diminish the phosphor trailing, but the catch is that it's not available while game mode is on. The input lag is quite bad if you turn game mode off.

The wrench from The Last of Us

That sucks that it turns the motion smoother off. lol looks like that is the only thing that it turns off.

Not sure how the F8500 handles it. I know to get lower input lag it has to be in PC mode. Not sure if you loose anything by doing that though

 

[demosthenes]

All image retention is a form of burn in. People have just created the term "image retention" in recent years in order to calm burn in fears. Burn in became the dirty word.

Burn in can be eased with time, but sometimes it takes hours (if it's minor), but sometimes it can take months. Other times it's so serious that it basically will never go away. I've seen people on this very forum post images from their plasma after they played too much Madden for a week or two. The white EA logo was burned in. I checked with him a year later and he told me it's still visible.

So yeah, once again, talk of burn in being a thing of the past is absolutely false.

Okay.

 

[No Love]

Okay.

He's been doing this for a few pages now. Ignore it. Just another guy who doesn't own a plasma or have personal experience with them trying to shit on them based on stuff he's read on the Internet.

 

[Wizman23]

ORDERED

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/VIERA+-...6448&skuId=8135042&st=panasonic s60&cp=1&lp=2

May god help me. This 65" Panny plasma cost the same as my 40" Samsung LCD did 4 years ago...

It comes next Thursday. I can't wait.

Congrats on the purchase. Look forward to hearing your impressions!

 

[MikeE21286]

Can't wait to hear your impressions of the S60 Cyclone

Could easily be my next set

 

[dmr87]

ORDERED

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/VIERA+-...6448&skuId=8135042&st=panasonic s60&cp=1&lp=2

May god help me. This 65" Panny plasma cost the same as my 40" Samsung LCD did 4 years ago...

It comes next Thursday. I can't wait.

Awesome, prepare to shit your pants at them 65 inches when it arrives. Don't forget to post pics when you are up and running.

 

[synce]

Are there any decently sized sub-$1K HDTVs that can display true black yet? By true black I mean when you turn the TV on a blank channel and can't even tell it's on.

 

[EasyMode]

The wrench from The Last of Us

Ding-ding-ding!

It's funny because I'm not even sure what the wrench indicates.

 

[apana]

Is it true Panasonic Plasma is dying? Where shall we go, what shall we do?

 

[Insane Metal]

Well the info is right on this site. HDTVtest.co.uk just tested it with 14,6ms. Lowest input lag ever recorded on a TV using the Leo Bodnar lag testing device.

What?? Damn, so I made a great choice... hahaha

thanks

 

[ShineALight]

Is it true Panasonic Plasma is dying? Where shall we go, what shall we do?

Get an ST60 to last you until OLED/4K/etc.

 

[Witchfinder General]

Need help picking a high quality tv.

What I'll be using it for:

Blu-Ray
PC (gaming and web browsing)
TV

I'm trying to decide between the Panasonic 55" VT60 or the Samsung 60" 8500.

My living room does get a lot of light during the day. I checked out both sets and while the blacks were better on the Panasonic the brighter display on the Samsung is appealing.

I'm mainly worried about image retention when browsing the web for an hour or two.

 

[rocksteady1983]

Another vouch for ST60's picture quality. Here's a quick shot from my iPhone of Prometheus on HBO (sorry for crappy quality).

 

[TheLaughingStock]

What are the default picture settings like?

I don't feel qualified enough to go delving into the settings, and will only use settings from a respected reviewer, such as the AV Forums site.

Just buy a calibration disc, pay ISF, or don't worry about it. The settings can vary significantly from TV to TV.

 

[T-Matt]

so I got something like a 300$ budget and I'm looking for a 32inch for my room to replace this crt. Any suggestions or am I doomed with my budget? Also is there anything I should look at when buying the TV like refresh rate and lag?

Consider this TV, I have the 46 inch model and it has been great for gaming and such. It is ranked highly for color reproduction and quality. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0071O4ETQ/?tag=neogaf0e-20

 

[Macca]

Wondering if someone could help, looking to pick up a new TV, and just wondering if there's anything bad that stands out with these 2 models?

Thinking more about Plasma, but could be swayed either way. 3D isn't really a deal breaker for me either. I'm in NZ so it makes finding information and reviews about certain models a bit tougher.

http://www.jbhifi.co.nz/tv-lcd-led-plasma/samsung/50-inch-full-hd-3d-led-lcd-tv-sku-96953/
http://www.jbhifi.co.nz/tv-lcd-led-plasma/panasonic/50-inch-full-hd-smart-plasma-tv-sku-89986/

 

[helvetica bold]

Sony W900a and W800 are the best gaming LCD right now.

From HDTVTEST.uk
"For us, if there’s one overwhelming reason to buy the Sony W8, it must be for its unrivalled suitability for video gaming. With [Game Mode] enabled, our KDL47W805A sample not only registered the lowest input lag we have on record, but also was capable of 4:4:4 chroma reproduction. And unlike plasmas, there’s absolutely no risk of image retention or permanent screenburn. Sony has been on a roll with brilliant gaming displays from its 2013 Bravia TV range, and this will surely go down a treat with all gamers including future owners of the Japanese manufacturer’s next-generation PlayStation 4 (PS4) console"

 

[Dead]

Although I'm a plasma man, the W900 is really nice looking. Insanely low input lag, impressive blacks for an LCD panel, and them triluminous colors are very attractive...

I'm thinking I might buy it as my exclusively for gaming TV just in time for PS4. I wasn't planning on dropping 2 Gs on a TV this fall what with me planning on buying a new car and all but I think I can stretch it...lol. We'll see i guess.

 

[madmackem]

I'm pretty sure the IR is still there from a week ago. I can double check tonight.

You're right that phosphor trails can be one of those subtle things that once seen, cannot be unseen.

I had a set changed out due to bad ir, it hadn't gone after over a month, I've now bought a w9 to game on and kept my vt for TV and movies.

 

[FrankNitty]

Need help picking a high quality tv.

What I'll be using it for:

Blu-Ray
PC (gaming and web browsing)
TV

I'm trying to decide between the Panasonic 55" VT60 or the Samsung 60" 8500.

My living room does get a lot of light during the day. I checked out both sets and while the blacks were better on the Panasonic the brighter display on the Samsung is appealing.

I'm mainly worried about image retention when browsing the web for an hour or two.

Honestly you cannot go wrong with either.

The Panasonic will give you better night viewing and the Samsung better day. The filter on the 8500 seems to be stronger then on the VT60.

The VT can get bright with THX Bright Room somewhere in the mid 40 fL range but if you get it ISF calibrated and they use Pro 1 or 2 it can get maybe to 40fL tops and that is a maybe. The F8500 can get into the 60's

I would recommend checking out AVS and see if people are still having issues with floating blacks.

Both can get IR as to the extent idk maybe go to best buy or something and switch to a input with nothing on it and see how they look.

Also keep in mind panasonic has a more aggressive ABL circuit where the samsung does not.

You are really in the best position possible because there is a lot of information out there on these 2 as they have been in the wild a while now and either one you pick you are getting arguably one of the best sets available today period. You really cannot go wrong and doubt you would be disappointed with either choice.

 

[RepairmanJack]

First time ordering a TV from Amazon, when it says a month or two to ship is that a serious estimate? A week wouldn't really bother me, but if it's going to be a month I'd rather just go down to Best Buy.

Finally getting the 50" ST60. I've had bad luck with TV's and big purchases make me panick so now that it's coming down to the purchase I'm second guessing everything. :lol

 

[EasyMode]

Also keep in mind panasonic has a more aggressive ABL circuit where the samsung does not.

Yes, and on the VT60 the ABL is very noticeable when opening/closing windows, or during transitions between websites. I wouldn't recommend it for desktop viewing.

I had a set changed out due to bad ir, it hadn't gone after over a month, I've now bought a w9 to game on and kept my vt for TV and movies.

I'll be doing the same with my VT since that's what it excels at (most of the time). How well does the local dimming work on the Sony? Can you enable motionflow and still have reasonable input lag on it?