Why Not 720p?
 

I am thinking it might be time to upgrade from my old 32" tube TV. :rolleyes:

After some 'searching' I think I should buy a 720p plasma.

Why?

- Cheap cheap cheap, at least $200 cheaper than a 1080 (probably $300 less than a 120Hz LCD TV)

- My satellite service is only 720, and I won't be getting 1080 any time soon (at least five years)

- I don't watch many movies, I don't have a HD DVD player, I doubt I will buy one.

Am I missing something?

Just my opinion, but if you're not watching 1080 sports or Blu-Ray movies 720 is just fine.

Save the money.

Heck, HD looks good on my 720 50" Plasma Samsung. Movies are good too.

One thing about plasma, they do have a burn-in problem, if you watch a particular show each day, and it has a logo in a permanent position, you will get a ghosted image of that logo.

It's not a deal breaker, there are workarounds that have various degrees of success.

720p is fine for any tv smaller than 55" when viewing distance is about 10ft

u really don't get benefit of 1080p unless you're sitting really close or your tv's bigger than 70"

http://s3.carltonbale.com/resolution_chart.png

I won't have that problem.

The graph makes me lean to 720 even more... 12' x 42" TV.

720 and 1080 are different enough where you can tell but not different enough where you can care. I actually PREFER 720 because 1080 can be TOO REAL!

I'm in the "save the money" camp too... I have a 37" 720p, and I've never wished for a better picture.

When Manny Paquiao is fighting, I want 1080. I watched Avatar on 1080 Blu-Ray. It was pretty amazing.

Likely your set top box is not transmitting 1080p even on most "HD" channles so 720p is fine for most TV watching. At least for now. For watching Blu Ray, 1080p is a must, and you can tell the difference.

Why Not 720p?

HA! ... I thought this was a thread on cell phones! (read: time to get with the times)

Funny. Years ago, nobody ever looked at their 20" CRT TV and wished they had better resolution or Deep Color support. Until they started seeing it, and then they realize what they're missing.

My company sells equipment for HD video transmission, and we're starting to see demand in the security camera space. One customer told us, their security guards are complaining that the screens don't look right. Too blurry compared to the HDTV they are watching at home!

Question should be more like why plasma why not LCD?

Plasma does not do well in direct sunlight or in rooms with bright light. The colours will fade much faster than LCD. Unless, of course, there have been some major changes in the past year. LCD should be cheaper than plasma, again unless there have been some major changes.

We have a Sharp AQUOS (36") and bought one (46 or 48"?) for the in-laws and we all love it! We bought a Phillips 7XXXXX (36") for my mom and it looks GREAT! I also like the Toshiba.

Remember, higher end stores will likely have higher end sets. Don't compare just prices. Compare model numbers and make sure you are really looking model to model. It does make a difference!

Let me fix it: My Iphone records video in 720p ;-)

Ditto on the advice above... And plasmas have a higher failure rate than LCDs, I work for a big hotel chain that has tons of plasma/LCD screens all over the world, plasmas are killing us. Go LCD !!!

Go LED LCD - much more energy efficient! At least that’s the excuse I used but its true!

I only watch at night,at least 90%.

There seems to be very few 720p LCD, lots of plasma. Not sure why.

I think Greg has the best reasons for LCD: Total cost of ownership.

The issue is not when you watch, the issue is the sunlight interacting with the TV set. Plasma fades. If the room where the tv will sit during the day is bathed in light then the set will not last as long, significantly shorter lifespan on the picture quality. I believe the life of the screen on Plasma is shorter than the LCD as well for total hours watched. My in-laws keep their set on almost 24/7. Even when no one is home. No issues in over two years and still a lovely picture without fading (wife checked it against her Apple just a couple of weeks ago). Their living room is bathed in light all day long with windows on both the east and west.

I have not been looking for over a year. At that time there were several 720p LCD available. Could this just be an issue in your area? What is the price difference between 720p Plasma and 1080p LCD?

I just never understood the trade-offs between the two and why Plasma would be a better way to go for someone who keeps the equipment for long term. Like you, I kept a picture tube for years after the newer style sets came out. It wasn't until about 2007 that we bought an LCD and that was only because the picture tube went out on our 15 year old Hitachi. Same reason we replaced my moms 15+ year old Sony and in-laws ~7 year old Samsung.

All three of the sets we bought were previous year models that were on deep discounts.

I have 1080P LCD's and older nice CRT's both fed with OTA HD signals.

The pic quality on the CRT is beautiful. I see no reason to get rid of the old sets other than the fact that they are 2' thick.

I believe I need to go to 1080p 120 Hz LCD to get a sports image comparable to plasma. everyone says that 60 Hz LCD is choppy.

I think 1080p 120 Hz is a 50% premium over 720 plasma. Roughly. $600 vs. $900.