[Jeff @ Mar 29th 2007 8:16PM]

"Just wondering, but would a 42" 1080p plasma show any "real world" difference to a 720p/1080i version at that size? From many reports I've read, you would have to be inches from the screen to see the difference,"

BS. I have a 42" 1080p LCD and I can quite clearly see the difference between 1080i and 720p from 7 feet away. And that's 720p on a 1080p panel; the "720p" you're talking about in a plasma panel is likely 1024x768. So it's still a couple hundred pixels short of real 720p.

When you're talking 1920x1080 vs. 1024x768, that's a dramatic difference in resolution. That's literally three times the resolution on the 1080p panel. Anyone who says they can't see that just needs glasses.

Add in to that the fact that *all* content needs to be scaled on a "720p" plasma with 1024x768 res and you're losing even more quality. A 1080p panel can do 1:1 pixel mapping with no scaling; you're getting a pixel-perfect image (assuming you're either showing 1080p content, or 1080i with proper deinterlacing).

Bottom line is yes, there is a noticeable difference between 720p and 1080i/p even at 42" and even at a normal viewing distance.

btw, plasma's black levels these days are really not much better (if any) than LCD's, and they still have big problems with false contouring in shadow detail, so whatever black level advantage they do have is often wasted anyway. If you want the best black level *and* the best shadow detail, you still really need to shop around, and the choice you make even on that criteria is not automatically going to be plasma.