Panasonic vs. Samsung 50" Plasma TV?

Question

I am debating one which of the two following TV's to purchase.

Panasonic TH-50PZ85U 50"

or

Samsung PN50A550

When I went to Best Buy and compared them, this is what I saw: The primary colors for the Samsung were amazing, but the Panasonic looked sharper and had more of a outlining detail quality.

Pictures on the Samsung that were purple appeared blackish or dark blue on the Panasonic. This shows that the Samsung has better basic colors, but the Panasonic was sharper because of the high quality black levels and outlines.

Does anyone have a suggestion or experience with which one is better? If so, why? Thank's all ahead of time for responces.

Answer 1

Assuming you want the best in both performance AND reliability, it's the Panasonic hands down. Yes, I have a 50" Panasonic and am probably a little biased, but read the HDTV articles in the 11/07 and 3/08 Consumer Reports, and pay attention to the reliability section. However, on the other hand, if you want the brand that advertises the most, go Samsung. ;-)