Not sure where you saw that Panasonic 'fixed' the problem. I've been following the anal retentive AVS threads and tech blogs on the floating blacks issue (among a few others) that have been reported. The only response from Panasonic is that they acknowledge the issue and that the new 2010 models slow the rate of the increasing brightness, but it'll still happens.
http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/10/panas...+%28Engadget%29I'm sadly aware of this because I too want a new plasma but I can't really put Panny on the list until this is addressed. There is a rumor on AVS that the 2011 may have a solution, but that'll take time to confirm. Yes, I'm kicking myself for not getting that NOS Kuro 50" for $1200 last November.
Not an LCD fan and though Samsung and LG make good plasmas, I still prefer the Panny PQ (before the 1000 hours).
