50" & 42" Plasma in 1080p? (1 Viewer)

[Norm]

I've been out of the tv market for a while. Are there any 50" & 42" Plasmas tvs in 1080p yet?

 

[Alon Goldberg]

Pioneer Elite 50" PRO-FHD1, $8,000. This set has been available for many months now, this is easily the best picture I have ever seen on any set.

Fujitsu Aviamo 50" P50FT00AUB will be released second quarter, no word on pricing, but I would expect it to be more expensive than the Pioneer. Early reviews describe the picture as breathtaking. I believe Fujitsu also has a 37" and 42" planned.

Panasonic 50" TH-50PZ600 will be available for around $5,000

Hitachi displayed a 42" 1080p plasma at CEDIA last year, should be released around second quarter

Samsung 50" HP-T5084 will be available in the second quarter for around $4,000

If I recall, Runco has 1080p plasma's planned

I'm not certain what LG and Vizio's 1080p plasma offerings will be.

 

[SethH]

If you really want 1080p then plasma is not for you right now. Stick with LCD if 1080p is a high priority.

 

[Norm]

I was told 1080p is a must for 50" or bigger.

 

[Alon Goldberg]

Hi Norm - that's not always the case, see these articles to determine optimal viewing distance for 1080p:

http://www.carltonbale.com/2006/11/1080p-does-matter/

http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/tip...esolution.html

 

[Patrick Sun]

Maybe if you sit within 6 feet of the screen.

I sit 9 feet away, and a 720p unit will be fine for my eyes since they won't be able to resolve a 1080p image detail for a 50" plasma any better than a 720p image detail of the same size set. YMMV, obviously, depending on eyesight and seating arrangements.

"1080p" is the latest and greatest in TV marketing buzz words. It's great to have, but it shouldn't be the final word if you are counting your pennies because the 1080p plasma sets will cost 1.5x to almost 2x what the current 720p plasma sets cost from the onset of their release in a few months, but the prices will invariably go lower for the holiday sales at the end of the year and into the next winter.

I did see a 50" Pioneer 1080p plasma at Best Buy and it did look good, but as I stepped off 9 feet from its screen, it marginally looked better than the same 50" 720p plasma set on display in their room. Best Buy had an interesting promotion: Buy the $7600 50" 1080p plasma from Pioneer and get a 50" 720p plasma from Pioneer for free. I chuckled at the promotion, but perhaps some folks with big pocketbooks will be able to take advantage of the deal, but they are still paying about $4600 for the 50" 1080p plasma set (if you consider the 720p Pioneer plasma is about $3000).

Now, if you are looking at a larger sized set, like a 58" or 60" or larger, and still sit within 9 eet or closer, then the 1080p set will look better, but you still have to weigh the image improvement with the cost of that improvement in image quality.

 

[Brian D H]

Ok, so first I spend $5,000 on the Lasik surgery and THEN I spend another $8,000 the 1080P. Now I understand.

Got it. Thanks!