What would you do on a budget? (1 Viewer)

[Rob.melone]

In general, if you had a single choice between buying a 42" 1080p or a 50" 720p (both Plasma), which would you choose today and why? Your viewing distance is 10 feet. Thanks. R

 

[Alon Goldberg]

Optimal viewing distance for 42" 1080p: 5.5 feet
Optimal viewing distance for 50" 720p: 10 ft

At 10ft viewing distance you won't benefit from the added resolution in 1080p as your eyes won't be able to resolve these details. From a distance stand point, the 50" set is your best bet.

What are your sources? (e.g. hd player, dvd player, gaming consoles, dvr, etc)

Is this tv primarily for sports, movies, sdtv, hdtv, gaming?

 

[Patrick Sun]

I would suggest going to the store, and staring at the 42" 1080p LCD set and the 50" 720p plasma set at 10 feet away (with HD content playing on the sets). If you find that your eyes can't really resolve much difference in details between the 2 sets at that distance, I would vote with going with the larger set (about 30% larger screen area going from a 42" to a 50").

Personally, I went with the larger 50" plasma set since I sit about 9.5 feet away and the smaller 1080p sets (keeping the budget the same) weren't blowing me away when compared to the 50", and I knew I'd regret going smaller. If I were viewing from 7 feet or closer, then I'd have a harder decision to make.

 

[Rob.melone]

Follow-on response/questions:

My lighting conditions: Basement
Viewing Angle: Straight on
Sources: SD TV and upconverted SD DVD via Oppo to start, then HD TV via FiOS and DVD via player
TV Content: Generally movies

While viewing SD TV, is there any diffence in the picture quality between an 720p opposed to 1080p. In other words, would a 1080p HDTV display SD TV better? I understand that SD TV is 480i.

Thank you for your responses. R

 

[Aaron Silverman]

I don't think there would be any difference when viewing SD TV based on the set being 720p or 1080p, but different sets use different stretching algorithms on 4:3 content.

At 10' I seriously doubt that you'd be able to tell the difference between the two sets in terms of quality. The 42" will look much sharper because the screen is smaller. Personally, I'd go with the 50" at that viewing distance.

 

[Craig]

Another vote for the 50". I have a 50" 720p plasma, and the picture is great with hi-def sources. I use a Sony upconverting player, and again, a great picture with sd-dvds. My standard def cable channels are all digital, and they look good overall, although not up the level of the hd channels. I have a 56" 1080P dlp rptv in the basement, and on sd-dvds there's not much difference in picture quality. I wouldn't go down in size to a 42" just to get 1080P on my plasma.

 

[Jim Mcc]

If I was on a budget, I certainly would not buy a plasma.

 

[Aaron Silverman]

Jim makes a wise point.

When people mention buying plasmas or LCDs, I tend to automatically assume they want a flat-screen for aesthetic (furniture) purposes and have already ruled out an RP set.

 

[Jeff Gatie]

Agree about the plasma. If it were me on that budget, I buy the biggest 1080p DLP I can get.

But if you are married to the flat panel, go with the 50".

 

[Allen W]

I have been debating the same question for about three weeks now, while also throwing in a third possibility of waiting until 2009 and getting a 50"/1080p. My viewing distance is also 10 feet, and I have pretty firmly decided on a Panasonic Plasma.

After some online research and trips to Sears, Costco, Best Buy, and Circuit City I think I have a pretty good grasp of the market right now (the week before black Friday).

42"/1080p is +$100 over the 720p version. Easy slam dunk decision, I would take the 1080p.

50"/1080p is +$900 over the 720p version. Amazing how much the difference is in the 50" market right now. After watching sports on them side by side, I don't know if I see a $900 improvement at 10 feet to justify the additional expense.

50"/720p is +$300 over the 42"/1080p. A lot harder decision, but for me I think I am leaning toward the bigger set. The 50" display is 1068 sq. inches of viewing area vs. 753, which is a 41% increase.

The 42" would be a nice improvement over my 36" SD CRT, but I also think I would get upgradeitis pretty quickly with a 42". For movie watching and sports I think I will get a lot more bang for the buck by going with the bigger picture.