If you are like me and are undecided on which series of Panasonic to get here is the skinny.
1st. If you are swayed by THX certification don't be, THX certification costs money for Panasonic so they only got it for their top two series televisions, the VT and GT. The certification doesn't mean much anyways, only that THX took that specific preset and set the levels to their own specifications. You can do the exact same with custom. The ST has the exact same picture panel as the GT and using custom settings you can achieve 99% of the picture quality as the GT, the only difference is the gray scale level settings in the pro menu, 2 point vs 10 point I believe, which to the naked eye will be negligible to most viewers anyways, even to most videophile snobs despite what they say. I personally never used the THX settings anyways on my past Panasonics preferring to use my own settings with custom.
2nd. Truly, the only real difference between GT and ST is the design of the TV and the dual core processor for graphic speeds while using the browser on the GT, which I use a laptop for anyways but if you want to use this as your monitor, which I don't recommend using plasma screens for monitors, then perhaps the processor speed is better for you. For aesthetics, it's clearly a personal preference but if you like the look of the GT over the ST and it's worth the money to you go for it but don't spend the extra cash thinking it's going towards better picture quality.
3rd. Buzzing. Don't let another person's over sensitive ear turn you away from these sets. This also depends on the individual though so go to a store and turn the sound off a set and listen up close. I can understand some people are plain sensitive to sounds, sights, smells and all other manners of disturbances but the buzzing on these tvs is way overhyped. When people hear the word buzz they tend to think of a fly in their ear or metalic rattling or vibration sound but on the plasmas its more of a low humming. I can really only hear it when I have the set muted during commercials. ALL plasmas do this and if you never heard it and are nervous once you hear it you will no doubt be in disbelief what others are complaining about, it's nothing. I don't know if some sets are more "buzzy" than others but my two sets absolutely, positively can not be heard with even low volume on and even when muted and humming during muted white background scenes it's very hard to hear from in front of the set and it doesn't bother me in the slightest. If it was more of a rattle, or vibrating metalic sound I think I would be annoyed but its just a low hum during screenshots with high white levels.
4th. Image retention/Burn in. I have read that the ST's suffer from burn in more easily than past models and I think this is false based on most of the complaints seem to come from people who open up the box hook up their ps3 set the tv to vivid or game mode and start going to town only to turn off the console and switch it over to the game. That is a surefire way to have your health meter or the score of your favorite team permanently scorched into your set. If this is your first foray into plasma and have been reading about burn ins and are nervous about it just follow the advice of every site that tells you to let your tv settle in for the first 100 hours or so. Yeah that means for about a week after you got your living room Ferrari you can't really put it into full throttle yet but it's worth the wait. I always turn all my settings way down below 50, especially brightness, for the first week or so and zoom in on any game or news channel with a ticker or bug(channel logo). Image retention shouldn't frighten you, it's normal and goes away quickly if you have broken your tv in properly. These sets get better over time. These newer model sets are head and shoulders more resistant to burn in then the first models of plasma anyways. You almost have to try to burn in an image after the set is broken in but with that being said, 100 hours is the recommended time but really take it easy for a good month of regular viewing before you start gaming hardcore on it and even then it's best to use the whitewash scroll bar every hour or so while gaming. Respect the tv and it will treat you well. Don't fall asleep in front of the tv while watching netflix or blu rays, these sets have off timers and if you think you are going to crash then set the tv to turn off in 60 minutes to be safe because it's just best not to ever let a static menu or any image sit on any plasma for hours on end but even if you do it's still highly unlikely you'll get permanent burn in but the image retention will probably last awhile before it goes away, usually the amount of time it was static on screen is the amount of time it takes to disappear with regular viewing. I generally let the scroll bar run every time for a cycle before I turn off the tv at night, it takes a minute and is like getting the oil changed in your car to keep it running efficiently.
5th. Glare. If you have it right in front of a window close the curtain. If you have a lightbulb dangling in front of the screen turn it off. It's a glass screen and there will be a little glare but unless you have a light source shining directly at the tv it will be fine. Regular lighting won't bother this set at all, i.e. floor and end table lamps, most overhead indirect lights won't be picked up on screen. If you have it underneath a chandelier I guess it might pick up some glare but otherwise don't worry about the glare this tv handles light like a champ and really this set will drop your jaw in low to dark light anyways but for those sunday football games don't worry you can watch the game without being worried about seeing the sad look on your face in the screen when your team fumbles it at the goal line. This set handles glare way better than what we're used to with plasmas. And in bright daytime light the screen is more than bright enough to not get washed out by indirect sunlight like some older models.
Lastly, Calibration. Right out of the box people that have never had an hdtv before will be impressed but others who have had hdtv's may not. The preset settings, imho, have always been junk and even on tube tvs I always tinkered with the settings to my liking. There are many sites that offer calibration settings and I recommend DNice's settings but don't be afraid to dive into the custom mode and set it up exactly the way it looks perfect to you. Also, every room has different lighting so settings that may look good on one set may not exactly look the same on the exact same set in another room. You won't ruin the tv tinkering around so make it perfect for you. Advanced videophiles accept under 3 color error calibration, basically tweaking the color settings to be as complimentary and natural as possible, is the acceptable picture quality setting and with this set you can get it calibrated to below 1 which is almost reference quality, meaning this would be the set experts would reference to compare all the other brand's sets picture quality too if it wasn't for the VT. It's that impressive and you can't just do that with any brand set by adjusting the settings, not many tv's can get subtle shades and hues just right no matter how many hours you spend futzing with the settings but this set is as close as it gets. Only the VT series can offer a better picture and it's because it offers many more settings to be controlled and adjusted and you will feel those extra contols in the wallet.
Overall, the ST provides all kinds of bang for the buck. It is a vast improvement even over last years flagship model VT series. What made last year's VT so enticing was it's black levels which have been improved on with this years ST, GT and VT. You are buying plasma for it's inky blacks and deep colors that pop on screen and the black widescreen bars practically disappears into the bezel and the colors are vibrant but natural and not over saturated like they were on my G25. It handles fast paced scenes really well but I turn off the motion smoother to get rid of the "soap opera effect" and action isn't stilted or juttered at all. The detail in darker scenes and the popping of the colors is what sets this tv apart from other brands. Watching nature documentaries in blu ray on this set is jaw dropping. Even Netflix HD looks killer on this. If what you are concerned about is picture quality and believe the extra money for the GT is going to give you a better picture then save your money and get the ST. Even cnet recommends the ST over the GT based solely on the price vs picture performance. If you are on a budget but want a top tier tv ST is it but if you truly have money to spare then skip both ST and GT and get the VT and have it professionally calibrated and you may end up with the best hdtv ever made yet just ask any Kuro owner who has seen this year's VT.
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