After a lot of research...

I was going to get an LCD.

They were the new thing. Plasma had burn-in, dead pixels, etc.

After doing a bit of digging, it turns out that most of the Plasma problems were 1st and 2nd generation issues. And according to Consumer Reports (plug!), this was one of the best. This was reinforced by talking to friends who had bought LCD and Plasma displays.

The display has deep, rich colors, very good viewing angles, and detail in the blacks that an LCD can't touch. All in all, if you're going to spend nearly $2,000 for a TV, this is hard to beat.

Faulty Product

Within a month of purchase screen would get very light after about 10 minutes of the TV being on. After about 5 more minutes the unit would power off entirely and the power LED would just blink seven times. Would have to unplug the TV from the wall to get it to power back on. After doing some google searching for power issues this appears to be an issue with many Panasonic TV's (didn't see this while researching the product pre-purchase). The Panasonic help line was friendly and helpful and tech was out within 4 business days to repair so I give them some credit for that. Tech has to replace one of the system boards to fix. Talking to the repair guy he confirmed this to be a common issue he has seen with Panasonic brand plasmas (appears to not just be this particular model). Luckily mine was under warranty. Beware this product.

Just an awesome TV-even without HD sources

After a lengthy research period, I finally settled on the 50" PZ77U. I'm happy to report that after two weeks of use the experience has been fantastic. First off, the picture is just gorgeous. Of course I expected that with HD cable and a Blu-Ray (PS3) player -- it's jaw-droppingly great -- but I was very impressed with the SD picture of this unit. Sure, it pales in comparison to HD, but the SD channels don't have that processed look that makes everything appear like it's been through a photoshop watercolor filter. I've seen that on a number of LCDs and plasmas before and it drives me nuts. Remember, they never will show a SD signal to you at most stores-- it's always a sharp HD signal. The good SD clarity is even more impressive for a 50" model.

I'm still in the break-in period-- trying to make sure the phosphors burn in easily; I downloaded a burn-in disc from eaprogramming.com, which has been helpful.

Lastly, a few nice words for the purchase experience via Amazon and 6ave: The  more