Samsung HPR5052 50-Inch Flat Panel HD-Ready Plasma TV
In Use For Over A Year And .......
After much research I ended up buying this Samsung as an open box at BestBuy. Samsung is not my favorite brand. I am hoping that the Samsung of today may be lots better than the Samsung of old. I based my decision on which plasma to buy on how much bang for the buck I could get (picture quality, size, looks, price, etc). I also picked up a three year warantee, just in case. This was my first HD so I wasn't sure what to expect. After using this set for a year the following are my findings:  Most people who have purchased their first plasma TVs (from what I have read) are saying that you shouldn't expect your normal analog channels to be anywhere near HD looking when you go to digital, because they won't be. These channels may be better than your old set but I have noticed many of mine were worse probably because the bigger screen shows all the imperfections that you don't see on your smaller 32 inch standard set.  I would say that only 20% of the digital channels were better, about 40% were the same and 40% appeared worse.  As time goes on there will be lots more digital and HD channels. Now the good news!  The HD channels on this set are SPECTACULAR. I don't mean good... I mean simply Spectacular. I haven't seen better anywhere. The black border on this set is really nice too and makes for a nice frame for the picture.  It appears to me that the picture has gotten better as time goes on and I think I read that this happens.  \\"Burn in\\" is no longer a huge issue with plasmas if you use some common sense and make sure you don't leave a static image on the screen for hours and hours. You may have to play around with the settings to get the picture that suits you but that is very easy to do. I can't think of anything that I don't like about this set. I realize that you can get good and bad in any model so you are always taking your chances, but I would certainly recommend this plasma TV at this super price... but for some piece of mind get an extended warantee if possible.