krazyscotsman

First post here, but I see a lot of questions being asked about LCD vs. Plasma, 1080p vs 720p, etc. So, I want to help. First $2800 for a package set is NOT a good price. Price shop. You can get a 50" set for $1200 or less, a blu ray player for $250 or less, and a box home theater for less than $500. 1080p vs 720p. 1080p is 1920 pixels x 1080 pixels and a 720p is 1280 pixels x 720 pixels. Whether you can see 1080p vs 720p is a matter of how far you are from the set. The closer you are to the set the more likely you will need higher resolution. A good rule of thumb is 8 feet away from the set and 1080 is good for a 50 inch set, any smaller sets 1080p will not be detected by the eyes (so 1080p on a 42" set at 8ft away is going to be a waste). When buying a set, remember these stores have the sets on what is known as torch mode. It is the peak brightness and contrast settings. LCD has all the news now, however, plasmas are by far the superior flat panel technology when it comes to the most accurate color representation and no smearing of fast action. If you look at plasmas, they ALWAYS have the best color and video representation. The only time this will not be the case is if you are comparing a cheap brand say sanyo plasma to a high end sony bravia. Remember this too, when you see the contrast ratios listed for sets, except for Pioneer, all these numbers are dynamic contrast meaning from the brightest location on the set to the darkest. Only Pioneer lists static contrast which is more accurate to what a person perceives. So saying all of this, I would highly recommend buying a plasma over an LCD set all day long. Plasmas in real world use (not in the lights of the store), are much more contrasty and DO NOT suffer motion blurring. Personally, I'm hoping to see a good price on a 42" plasma for the bedroom preferably a Samsung or Panasonic or Vizio (on the low end). Hope this helps. David