1080p an issue for now?

hang on...the premium for 1080p is actually quite high for plasma. i didn't really like rear projection, which can be had with 1080p relatively cheaply. you can't get it in plasma for under 5 or 6k at least.

i have been wondering if 50 inches isn't going to be big enough. the panasonic 58 inch is at least 3500, and the hitachi 55 inch is around 3k. but, neither has 1080p. does anyone know of a plasma with 1080p that's not going to cost upwards of 5k? thanks. -dave

mark, any idea on what we can expect for lcd prices in the 50+ inch range?

thanks for looking those up. it looks like 4 grand for a 52 inch lcd with 1080p and just over 2 grand for a good 50 inch plasma. that's a heck of a premium for 1080p and a slightly better picture. at 57 to 58 inches, it's also about 2 grand more for the lcd vs. plasma. i can't really spend 5500 (best price on 57 inch lcd). so back to my original question, is 1080p a real issue at the current time? is it worth an extra 2 grand? if we won't see 1080p broadcast for 5 years, then i'd rather get a new set in 5 years that will presumably be even better and not spend the 2 grand now. if the broadcast is coming soon, or if the bluray / hddvd war will end soon and movies will be broadly available in 1080p, then it might be worth having. a related question - if plasma has better picture quality than rear projection (to my eyes it does), will that continue to be true if the source is 1080p and the rear projection handles 1080p but the plasma doesn't?

thanks everyone for continuing to respond on this thread. it has already been very helpful and hopefully will continue to be. -dave

i've never even heard of a video scaler (i'm mostly an audio guy, totally new to video stuff). what exactly does it do? can you actually 'upscale' a 720p or 480p signal to 1080p? or is for the reverse (i.e. taking a 1080p signal and making it viewable on a monitor with lower resolution by 'downscaling it')?

thanks folks for the info on scalers. looks like a 1080p plasma and a video scaler are not in the budget right now. i'll probably just go with either the panasonic 50 inch (60u) or the hitachi 55hds69. i seem to be getting a new tv every 7 to 8 years anyway, so i guess that'll be the plan. i think the panasonic is supposed to have a slightly better picture quality, but the hitachi is probably a better size for me (12 to 14 feet from the screen). thoughts?