Hi there. I am too shopping for a 40 to 50 inch TV and happened to look at the Panasonic range today. I was given the following 'best' cash prices (without any negotiation):
42U30 : 45,000
50U30 : 65,000
42X30 (Plasma): 39,000
50X30 (Plasma): 56,000
Placed one above the other and playing from the same source (a BD player), the picture on the 42U30 looked very much brighter and more crisp as compared to the X30 series Plasma TVs.
The salesperson was pushing the Plasmas - he said an LCD always looks brighter if compared side by side, but Plasma is easier on the eyes if you watch TV for long hours. The LCD models are full HD, and the Plasmas are HD Ready. In fact, the salesperson said that SD channels from a source like Tata Sky will look better on Plasma - not sure if this is correct. Given that most of our viewing is going to be SD channels with only an occasional HD channel or movie, I am too wondering whether it is worth paying the extra for the LCD TVs. Also very comforting is the 3 year warranty on Plasma TVs as against 1 year on the LCD models.