Pansonic Viera GT50 vs ST50

[scofal]

Hello,

I'm sure this question has been asked before in some variation but I was all set to buy the Panasonic Viera GT50 60" from best Buy for 1999 then I noticed I could get the Panasonic Viera ST50 65" for like 2099. So that's 5 extra inches for another hundred bucks.

A little background:
My current TV is an old Toshiba 50" rear projection that only displays video up to 1080i, so I wanted to get a TV for 1080P, cable and blu-rays, then I noticed that Verizon offers 3D programing and a lot of blu-rays and even some video games are being offered in 3D. So my wife & I were in a Sony store and looked at the 3D in their Bravia TV's. While it looks fantastic they cost like 5500 for the new 65" and I think 3500 for last years model (both way out of my price range which is about 2000).

So I went to Best Buy and the guy explained that Plasma is the way to go for 3D and that the Panasonic Plasmas are really good. So I decided to do a little research before buying.

Since the difference in cost is negligible - $100. Is the picture quality of the GT worth losing 5" of screen size of the ST?

Thanks for any help you can offer.

[Dierk]

........

Since the difference in cost is negligible - $100. Is the picture quality of the GT worth losing 5" of screen size of the ST?

Alas, that is a decision that is entirely a matter of personal choice.

For example, MY Answer would be: "The COST SAVINGS of choosing a 60" ST50 trumps BOTH the (minor) PQ enhancements of the 60" GT50, AND the Extra 5" on the 65" ST50."

Now I can get a 3D blu-ray player, glasses, and a handful of movies, and still be within budget.
Not, of course, that I would actually WASTE MONEY on 3D Glasses or Silly 3D movies....

Simple, right?


At least until someone else comes along and says "Hey, it is An Investment, so why not get the best: go for a 65" VT50 and Really Enjoy your home theater!"

[scofal]

Thanks that is a brilliant idea.

I can get the ST50 60" for 1699, then I'll have a little left over to buy a stand for the TV, a dedicated blu-ray player (i'm using a PS3 right now) and i can pick up a couple pairs of glasses.

From what I've been reading the ST50 is good, I'm sure the GT50 is better but I think the St50 will be good for my basement home theater.

I plan on buying a Denon 3312 to replace my older Denon 3802 so I'll have plenty of HDMI 1.4 inputs.

[NightHawk]

You should be able to get as good picture quality on an ST50 as a GT50 with good settings in the custom picture menu.
The GT50 does offer some more features that may or may not be important to you, such as an extra HDMI port, slightly slimmer cabinet and different design, plus a dual core CPU for faster internet app processing. But those extra features may not be worth the extra several hundred dollars.