When will a 60"+ true 1080P plasma be available?

i have a panasonic 50" (th-50phd8) which accepts 1080p. at 1366x768 resolution, its not true 1080p.

if u r looking for picture quality (given your search for 1080p), i suggest using an external video processor/scaler (dvdo vp30 @ $2000) with a 60" plasma panel that accepts hdmi/dvi-d input. all panasonics have hdmi/dvi-d as an optional board.

i'm upgrading my video processor (kramer) to the dvdo vp30 and have tested the dvdo hd+ model with stunning results (on 720p & 1080p). i mainly watch satellite tv and very little dvd. i'm told hdmi (digital) is a step up from component (progressive analog). my equipment should arrive in a few weeks...

its amazing what difference an external processor will do for picture quality and this gets better with quality input (in your case 1080i).

panasonic's latest internal video processor doesn't come close to what the DVDO is able to do. i would suggest you at least test it on a plasma. my take on this is that plasma and other display devices do not have advanceed image processing capabilities (noise reduction, color management, sharpness, detail, etc).

the difference is very clear on live sport. my sattelite feed to the processor is RGBs (the equivalent to component).

thats a definite yes on video processors going beyond scaling.

i've tested this with panasonic and lg plasmas only and in both cases picture improves handsomely. pioneer and nec are very good plasmas and i suspect pioneer to have better video processing. nonetheless, when you plug in a video processor, you should get a much bigger improvement.

check out dvdo's website for a dealer in your area (www.dvdo.com). local dealer here brought an hd+ to my home for a test. if you want to go big on this you should try faroudja. but this is not necessary as dvdo's latest top model (vp30) should come close.

definitely don't buy one - as i'm sure a dealer would be very willing to demo the stuff first.