I just bought the new 800 series 58 inch Panasonic plasma.

Just an incredible picture!!

 

Panasonic plasma FTW, since I own one.

 

Between those 2 choices, I'd go with the LED DLP, it'll last way longer in the long run, as Plasma tends to fade over time (color accuracy wise)

 

Pioneer KURO 60" 1080p Plasma PDP-6020FD if you gots the cash.

Panasonic 58" 1080p Plasma TH-58PZ850U if you want to save some cash.

Plasma ftw!

 

Pioneer Kuro hands down! If that's out of your price range, Panasonic makes a really good plasma for less money

 

Samsung LCD FTW

 

Saki,

The room I have my 65" is about 12 x 20. I have the room set up the long way so I can have two rows of seats, the back row is elevated. But if I remember correctly, the first row is 12ft from the screen. At a size of 65 inches, thats as close as I would want to go. The distance is about perfect. If I wanted to go 70 inches I would add a foot or two of distance from the screen. For some video games 12 feet is too close and jumbles your brain a little.

And 65 can seem huge, but after a couple weeks you'll be saying, "ahhh, I should have gotten the 70!"

I have not a single regret about my dlp, even though I am supposed to change a $100 bulb every 10,000 hours. For the price and picture quality, you can not beat it.

 

A friend of mine recently picked up the Pioneer Elite PRO-151FD Kuro in 60". It's a plasma screen and costs about $6500. I've watched a few BluRay flicks on it with quick motion, dark blacks and bright colors. I could be mistaken, but I haven't seen a better picture for any home theater that wasn't front projection. Since you're not looking for a projector, if your budget can handle it, I doubt you'd be lacking in terms of picture quality or viewing angle.

http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/Pro....PRO-151FD.Kuro

Good luck and let us know what you decide on!

 

Even though top quality plasmas do have downsides (weight, power consumption, the extremely unlikely chance of burn in, reflective screens) they still provide the best picture in light controlled settings. Static contrast, color accuracy, color saturation, resolution.. those are the four most important things that contribute to your eyes and brain seeing a "good" picture.. and plasmas are better than (contrast, saturation), or equal to (resolution, and typically a small and possibly negligible advantage in color accuracy) LCDs in all four categories.

LED LCDs DO have better dynamic contrast, which means they are able to produce darker absolute blacks, but this isn't always desirable because the backlight is either off to produce dark, or on to produce light.. for example, if you have a scene with dark AND light portions, or a dark scene with a lot of detail, the LCD isn't going to be able to produce dark where it needs to be dark, and light where it needs to be light.. it's going to be dark all over and the detail might be muted. The expensive LED LCDs try to combat this by breaking the LEDs up into blocks and allowing them to be turned on and off individually..so the LEDs behind dark objects on the screen will be off, and those behind bright objects will be on, but the blocks are too large and they often create a "halo" around light objects, and they respond slowly so you see back light ghosting.

In the end though, a Pioneer KURO is going to give you the best picture possible. Darkest blacks for a plasma, and great colors.. but you gots to pay to play.

Personally I could never own a DLP because the silk screen effect drives me bonkers.

I have a Samsung 5084 50" 1080p plasma.. I sit 6ft away, and it's money.

 

I just got a BNIB 60" Hitachi Plasma 1080 Director Series for $1999 shipped / no tax and a $400 stand included.

PM me for the online store.