[bummrush]

plasma Hitachi,killer pic,from a great company,,42 in,still 100 % satisfied 5 yrs later.

[roymail]

I've had a Samsung 42" 720P plasma for about a year now and have no regrets.  My son-in-law has a 55" LED which is also very nice but cost nearly 4 times more.  Both have great pictures.

[django11]

After watching the 50 inch plasma with some hi def cable stuff the spouses' 27 inch crt in standard def looked pitiful.  I just couldn't enjoy my tv with her watching that thing so I went back to BB and got her a 42 inch LG plasma for 399$.  Happy wife...

[bummrush]

Nice

[ctviggen]

How much you notice the difference between 720P and 1080P depends on three factors:

1.  Source material - you need 1080p sources (bluray, SAT/FIOS, etc...)
2.  Size of the screen
3.  Distance from the screen

The closer you sit to the screen, the more you will notice the difference.  Also, the larger the screen, the more you will notice the difference.

So if you have a larger screen 50"+ and sit reasonably close, you can easily see the difference.

If you are like me and have a 110" screen, it is very obvious that there is a difference between 720P and 1080P.

George

I have a 92 inch high power screen and a 720p projector and think the picture looks fantastic with good source material (like bluray).  Perhaps I'd notice a difference if I did 1080p, but I can't see spending money to upgrade something that looks great (until the projector dies, of course).  Now, if I was buying a projector today, I wouldn't buy 720p, but I'm thinking of buying a 720p plasma in the 42 inch size instead of buying a 1080p LCD/LED TV.  But I actually sit about 9 feet from my 92 inch screen and about 14 feet from my TV. 

As for dark levels, once you get used to having good dark levels, you can't go back to bad dark levels.  For instance, you lose tons of shadow detail with bad dark levels. 

[ctviggen]

Yes. The two models I am looking at are Panasonic Viera Plasma vs. Sony Bravia LED.

I'm bummed they quit making the Viera Plasma in the 42 inch size.  My wife won't let me go bigger than that for the living room (when there's a 92 inch screen/projector and 7.2 downstairs).

[Doublej]

I'm bummed they quit making the Viera Plasma in the 42 inch size.  My wife won't let me go bigger than that for the living room (when there's a 92 inch screen/projector and 7.2 downstairs).

The Panny website shows 6 Viera 42"ers...

[Rclark]

Why don't you just get a 1080p plasma? They make them now.

[ctviggen]

The Panny website shows 6 Viera 42"ers...

Are those 720p or 1080p?  I only see 720p, and the original style was 1080p.

Anyway, I bought a 43 inch Samsung plasma.  When I went to Best Buy, they had the 43 inch Samsung plasma 720p sitting next to a 1080p LCD TV.  Standing a foot away from the screens, I could see more smoothness in characters for the 1080p and also see the screen door effect in the plasma.  I bought the plasma regardless. 

Compared to the LCD TV I currently have, the Samsung plasma has an incredible picture.  Much, much nicer.  My only knock is the bezel is too reflective.  And, considering even with the 43 inch TV (from about a 31 inch TV), I can still barely read the characters on the screen, 720p/1080p is immaterial. I sit about 14 feet away from the TV.  I'm just happy to actually be able to read the score of a game, the time, the temperature, etc.

Now, I just need to determine how to have two modes for the Samsung, the normal mode and the movie/calibrated mode.  If I can do that, I'll consider the TV to be perfect (other than the reflective bezel, which I may find a way to cover). 

[ctviggen]

Why don't you just get a 1080p plasma? They make them now.

Not in the 42 inch range size.  Or if they do, I can't find one.  (And I don't think I need it anyway, given how far I sit from the TV.) 

[Doublej]

Not in the 42 inch range size.  Or if they do, I can't find one.  (And I don't think I need it anyway, given how far I sit from the TV.)

I am not sure I understand the exact question you are asking. From the Panny web site it appears that they make 42" 1080p plasma sets.

Here's two:
http://shop.panasonic.com/shop/model/TC-P42S30?t=specs
http://shop.panasonic.com/shop/model/TC-P42UT50?t=specs

Does this meet your requirements?

[jarcher]

I own a 42' 1080P "THX" Panasonic Plasma that's about 2 years old (don't recall the model #).  Paid $375 a year ago for it as a dealer demo.  It has incredible picture quality - better than the 50' Panasonic 720P I had previously.  Perhaps not because of the 1080 vs 720, but better nonetheless.  I use it as a "reference" set for picture quality.

All that said, I can't help being bewitched by the higher end Samsung LED sets (think 7000, 8000, 9000 etc) I see at Best Buy.  The 240HZ models do seem to make motion look "cartoony" and with some material such as Avatar the whole movie definitely looks like it was all CGI.  So for those looking for "cinema" look, not the best choice. 

It does seem at big box stores that the plasma always look muted and drab vs the LCD / LED's - perhaps because they don't have them set up right.  But ultimately even today the plasma's do seem to have "richer" images once you get them home & set up properly. At least that's been my experience of a 37' 1080P LG LCD vs a 42' 1080P Panasonic plasma I own.