Panasonic TC-P50S1 Excellent choice, you will not regret it.

This tv uses Panasonic's 12th generation panel called Neo-PDP. What that means is that the picture is exceptionally bright and saturated, and that the tv draws 40% less power than last years models. That means that power consumption is now on par with many LCD's in this size range.

I purchased this TV after 6 months of searching and couldn't be happier. In a brightly lit room, the picture is bright and vivid. Watching movies in the dark, the blacks are so black. It's unreal, I've never seen blacks this dark. To get blacks as good on a comparable lcd, you would need an lcd tv with local dimming -- and to get that you'll pay 3 times as much. The native contrast ratio is 40,000:1. That's native contrast! You won't find many lcd's that have this native contrast ratio. The dynamic contrast ratio is 1 million:1.

The viewing angles are exceptional. From the extreme right or left, the colors are just as vivid and beautiful as they are from the center seated position. This is not true of many lcd's where the colors tend to shift as you move to the extremes.

Another good thing about plasma tvs is the complete lack of motion blur. When a scene pans quickly in a movie or during sports, you could get some blurring with an lcd. To get an lcd without motion blur, you'll need a 2ms panel and 240Hz processing. LCD's also tend to do some processing that some say makes motion unnatural (for example, Samsung uses Auto Motion Plus `AMP').

The LCD's I was considering had reports of clouding and flash lighting. I was considering the Samsung Luxia LED backlit models or the Samsung B-Series LCD's that use traditional CCFL backlighting, but after reading many reviews, it just didn't make sense to take the risk that I might get a set that had problems.

I'm very particular about my displays. I can't rave enough about this TV. Knowing how good it is now, I should have picked up the 54" model of this tv. Or even the upcoming 58" or 65" models. You will not be disappointed by this television.

When checking out tvs in a store, remember that most lcd's are set with blindingly high backlights. Most plasmas will appear dim when compared against such an lcd. But in reality, this tv is exceedingly bright. And in the stores, the blacks don't impress but when you see it at home, you will know how inky black they really are.

In the end, it's up to you. Do the research like on AVSForum. You will see that many experts who know about good picture quality. They frequently recommend Panasonic plasma sets. And if you make that decision, the Panasonic S1 is an excellent choice.

Amazon is a great place to buy with an excellent return policy. The pilot delivery service was ok. But they do not set up your tv, unbox it, or help you put it on a stand so plan accordingly. They also gave me an 8 hour delivery window which sucks.

Good luck.