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I just bought a new Panasonic 50" plasma with 720p resolution (TH-50PX77U). Is it worth upgrading to Blu-ray with a 720p plasma of that size? I guess I'm asking if anyone else has a Blu-ray or HD-DVD player hooked up to a comparably-sized plasma with 720/768 resolution. If you do, have you hooked up a regular DVD player to it and compared the picture quality between the DVD player and the next-gen (current-gen?) player?

I bought the TV for gaming and movies, and don't really watch TV shows. Yeah, I know, I *should* have gone 1080p, but the price jump in plasmas is pretty prohibitive (currently around 30%-45% more). I spent several months reading reviews and comparing technologies/brands/prices. I decided I wanted plasma, and sort of came to the conclusion that--for me, at least--for that technology, 1080p was kind of a waste on anything smaller than 50", required for anything larger than 50", and that you could essentially go either way at 50". As much as I'd like to think I'm a super audio/videophile, I'm just not, and figured the extra $700 wouldn't be worth it for me. In fact, with the difference I saved by staying at 720p, I was able to buy an Onkyo receiver and a small, but decent, Infinity surrround-sound system, so I'm pretty happy with my choice.

Perhaps the larger question is, is it worth upgrading to the next-generation at all, or should I wait for the "Netflix box" to come out?

Whether it is worth is is a personal question, but I'd say that yes you would notice the difference between SD and HD movies quite clearly. Since you are a gamer, why don't you look into getting a PS3 to do both gaming and Blu Ray movies? I quite love my HD movies as I own both a stand alone Blu Ray player and a 360 addon for HD DVD.

I have watched a few Blu Rays with my ps3 on my 50" plasma and it looks great. I've also watched some on my friends 42" 1080p plasma and there isn't too much difference if you sit back far enough.

Looks A LOT better than SD so definately worth going for

Mormakrabork wrote:

I just bought a new Panasonic 50" plasma with 720p resolution (TH-50PX77U). Is it worth upgrading to Blu-ray with a 720p plasma of that size?

Yes, absolutely. Feed that set 1080i from the Blu-ray player (or 1080p if it will take it) and you'll be in heaven.

Sikthskies wrote:

I have watched a few Blu Rays with my ps3 on my 50" plasma and it looks great.

Thanks for the info. What's the resolution of your 50" plasma?

Mormakrabork wrote:

Sikthskies wrote:

I have watched a few Blu Rays with my ps3 on my 50" plasma and it looks great.

Thanks for the info. What's the resolution of your 50" plasma?

FWIW, I owned a 50" 768p plasma for a while and it looked great with HD. Cnet has stated multiple times that they can't really tell a difference between 1080p displayed at 768p on a plasma and 1080p displayed at 1080p on another TV.

Vrock wrote:

Mormakrabork wrote:

Sikthskies wrote:

I have watched a few Blu Rays with my ps3 on my 50" plasma and it looks great.

Thanks for the info. What's the resolution of your 50" plasma?

FWIW, I owned a 50" 768p plasma for a while and it looked great with HD. Cnet has stated multiple times that they can't really tell a difference between 1080p displayed at 768p on a plasma and 1080p displayed at 1080p on another TV.

This is what I've heard as well. I am considering getting like a 42 inch plasma for my upstairs office for watching while I'm on the pc. From what I've read a good quality plasma has things going for it that outweigh benefits of JUST getting the additional res of a 1080 tv