I still prefer the current plasmas over flat panel LCD's for several reasons including slightly better black level, color accuracy, off angle viewing and no motion blur (better for sports...new LCD's are much better but not equal yet). LCD's are generallly a little brighter (not needed in most situations) and lower power drain (neither a deal maker for me). I feel that the plasma has a natural film like realism for movies that is not quite matched in any LCD's I've seen. Set life projections in the top brands are way beyond normal use. The burn-in issue in the latest generation plasmas is virtually non-existant short of gross abuse. All the newest and best plasmas have several features that pretty much eliminate burn-in and image retention. Use the stretch mode ("just" in the Panasonic) and you won't have any problems with burn-in (caused by the black margins on the side of the screen on 4x3 sources). That Panasonic has the new anti-relective screen.

I don't think the considerably lower priced Sony LCD projection unit you list is in the same class as the Pioneer or Panasonic. Check out the off angle viewing on the Sony. Build and picture quality wise, both the plasmas are superb. The Pioneer is at least $1000 more and 2" larger than the Panasonic. The Panasonic TH-58PX700U is very close if not equal to the Pioneer Kuro and a no brainer choice for me especially with the lower price.

RR6