1080p Plasma should I wait?

[G-force]

I'm getting ready to pull the trigger on a new Toshiba 50hpx95 Plasma display which supports 720p. I am getting a great deal on it new for around $3200.

Rumor has it the 1080p wave will be hitting within 6 months to a year and now I'm wondering if I should hold off and get a 1080p Toshiba when it is released.

My main question is how much of a price difference will there be from 720p to 1080p and do you think there will be many flat panel Plasma screens that can support 1080p within the near future. It seems the majority of 1080p capable displays out currently are not flat panel plasmas and I am already set for a wall mounted unit so it needs to be under 6" deep.

I will definitely be picking up the PS3 when it is released and to get the full potential of it's 1080p outputs it would seem I'd need a monitor that could display it.

I guess I'm just looking for opinions or views of the horizon for 1080p displays.

I just dont want to drop 3k on this display and next year wish I had waited, I'm pretty set on getting this Toshiba now so I guess I'm just looking for some words of encouragement to help me drop down the cash.

Thanks!

 

[Audioholics]

Maybe you coudl get a smaller screen that coudl then be moved to a bedroom and you can pick up your big 1080p display once they are the norm and prices have come down.

1080p is the bar - you won't see higher resolution in the home (practically-speaking) for another decade, so it may not be a bad thing to hold out and get it if you are the type of person who buys something and holds onto it for a long time.

You also want a native 1080p display with 1920 x 1080p/24/30/60 input support.

 

[Emusica]

Buy it! I got my Panasonic 50" a month ago and I'm glad I did. When the 1080p's are the norm, then I will just keep the "50 in my room and get a new set.

 

[westcott]

I'm getting ready to pull the trigger on a new Toshiba 50hpx95 Plasma display which supports 720p. I am getting a great deal on it new for around $3200.

Rumor has it the 1080p wave will be hitting within 6 months to a year and now I'm wondering if I should hold off and get a 1080p Toshiba when it is released.

My main question is how much of a price difference will there be from 720p to 1080p and do you think there will be many flat panel Plasma screens that can support 1080p within the near future. It seems the majority of 1080p capable displays out currently are not flat panel plasmas and I am already set for a wall mounted unit so it needs to be under 6" deep.

I will definitely be picking up the PS3 when it is released and to get the full potential of it's 1080p outputs it would seem I'd need a monitor that could display it.

I guess I'm just looking for opinions or views of the horizon for 1080p displays.

I just dont want to drop 3k on this display and next year wish I had waited, I'm pretty set on getting this Toshiba now so I guess I'm just looking for some words of encouragement to help me drop down the cash.

Thanks!

I doubt you would notice any difference in resolution with a screen size of 50 inches with current content available for the foreseeable future.

Save your money and get a good 720p display. This should provide all the HD enjoyment you could want at this screen size.

 

[Carl]

I,m in the same situation with a Sony 60 sxrd,do I wait until summer/fall for the 70 inch with 1080?
I may have to buy a 37" lcd to tide me over.

 

[andy sullivan]

Many earlier 1080p advocates are beginning to doubt the overall advantages of 1080p over 720p. Is it mostly marketing or are the advantages there for the average consumer? If you are watching a 60" display can you tell a PQ difference from 10 ft away and beyond?

 

[nujra]

From what I have read thus far, the 1080p 50 inch plasma are going to be priced in the $9-10k range which is significantly higher than a 50 inch 720p plasma so the cost might help resolve the issue for you.

 

[westcott]

Many earlier 1080p advocates are beginning to doubt the overall advantages of 1080p over 720p. Is it mostly marketing or are the advantages there for the average consumer? If you are watching a 60" display can you tell a PQ difference from 10 ft away and beyond?

There seems to be a geat deal of evidence pointing to no advantage for the average consumer at these smaller screen sizes and with todays lack of content in native 1080p. Where 1080p would make the most difference is in front projection because of the large screen sizes and extended viewing distances. And even then, very little perceptable difference was provided except in native 1080p over existing 720p projectors.

Remember, we are approaching a point in history where 35mm film at 24fps is no longer capable of generating a picture of higher resolution than the display technology is currently capable of displaying.

 

[jake51s]

I have a 37" 1080p display (Westinghouse LVM37w1) that I bought over a Panasonic TH-37PX50U (720p) compared side by side with a HD input. Even in the smaller size there is a distinct difference in the detail. I am waiting for the price to drop before I get a larger one, but I definitely think that 1080p is the way to go.

 

[Cosmo Kramer]

Honestly, what can you use a 1080p set for?

1. DVD's- Blu Ray players are coming out in 6 months and with the PS3, but is that in 1080p? I'm not going to spend $800 on a Blu-Ray player when HD-DVD may beat it out. 720p is definately sufficient playing DVD's.

2. TV Broadcasting- Look at DirecTv's HD programming- maybe 5 or 6 stations? Plus some primetime local channels? and that's in 720p/1080i, not 1080p. Imagine how long it will take the FCC until there is actual programming for 1080p sets. Right now there is NONE!!

3. Video Games- I've got an Xbox 360 and it looks SPECTACULAR in 720p. However, we'll have to see how well the PS3 looks in 1080p.

Bottom Line- is it worth the extra money just to say you have a 1080p set? Trust me, you will get more use out of a 720p set in the next 5-7 years than you will out of 1080p.

 

[Deathwish238]

If you plan to buy a lot of BluRay/HD-DVD movies when they come out and have the money to buy either player...then it may be worth getting a 1080p display. If however money is of concern...you'll be plenty happy with a 720p display.

Here's an idea...buy a 720p display from Costco now and whenever you decide it's time for a 1080p display...trade it in.

 

[ctribble]

I couldn't have put it better!!

 

[Duffinator]

If you plan to buy a lot of BluRay/HD-DVD movies when they come out and have the money to buy either player...then it may be worth getting a 1080p display. If however money is of concern...you'll be plenty happy with a 720p display.

Here's an idea...buy a 720p display from Costco now and whenever you decide it's time for a 1080p display...trade it in.

This advice is right on the money. I'll add how long do you tend to keep TV's? If it's 10 or more years then I'd wait. Within five years, if not sooner, 1080P will be the standard and I don't think 720P sets will be sold in that size. And HD/BD DVD is a good reason to buy a 1080P set even though they won't output a 1080P signal. It doesn't matter if the TV or DVD player is doing the deinterlacing as long as it's done well.

 

[westcott]

I think many of us tend to focus on the hardware capabilities and forget that we have reached a point where 35mm film at 24fps is no longer capable of providing content picture quality that our new display technologies are capable of.

We now have the technology but content will be slow in coming. The lack of HD cameras, editing equipment, etc. will all affect how long it takes for HD content to match or exceed the capabilities of 1080p displays.

It will be interesting to see if the movie industry can get digital content security that meets their needs and still provides us with the versatility in recording and playing content in a manner we are accustomed to.

 

[awesomebase]

1080p better

1080p is definitely much better, but the economic justification for it is weak. It will be a good three years before anything remotely significant can utilize it. Even the HDMI standard has not been completely ratified yet.
You are probably better off getting a good 720p set until there is enough media and content for a 1080p set. Having said that, as some have said, if you're interested in a projector, 1080p would be a good choice. I know Sony has a 1080p projector selling for $10K. I would definitely get that, but for me personally, I'll wait till it hits the $3K mark before making the purchase. By that time, cable/phone networks will start to deliver 1080p content and perhaps the Blu-Ray/HDDVD mess will be worked out.

 

[docferdie]

I seriously doubt that the PS3 will output worthwhile images at 1920x1080p 60 fps. The xbox 360 already has trouble maintaining 60 fps with quake 4 at 1280x720. I seriously doubt that the PS3 has double the horsepower of the xbox 360. Even current beefed up SLI gaming PCs have trouble cranking out 1920x1080 60 fps so there is really not much to look forward to as far as 1080p content is concerned. Until someone comes out with a TV set that does proper reverse telecine of 1080i then there is not much point in owning a 1080p set.