One of the coolest features of the Plasma is the HD in my opinion! I had stand definition for so long and I never really minded to much until I got a position with Dish Network and began seeing the differences "right away" with High Definition. I had one of the first HD ready TV's that came out before flat screens and before I knew anything about it and I was so frustrated when I got one and everything looked the same. I just pouted and stuck with my standard definition and figured I'd be ok. Well, that was then and this is now! I got a new flat screen HDTV and knew I needed to upgrade my receiver to HD so I could enjoy the HD feature. I decided that with what I had learned from my naive days long ago I had better get some HD programming as well which currently is offered free at Dish. I was so NOT sorry, I have been enjoying a lot of channels especially the ones that teach me something or take me to another galaxy at a visual level that exceeded my earlier expectations. I feel like I'm there, flying around the cosmos or sitting front row to Titan's ice geezer fountains. It's intense!