What ever tv you buy, spring for the 1080P set. 768P sets are hard to come by now escpecially if you are looking at 50/60 inch set, 1080P set are dominating the market in this size. Regardless of the distance you are veiwing from, remember this, a 768P set often refered to as a 720P set only has a pixel display of 1368x768. 1080P sets have a pixel display of 1920x1080. Technically, when watching an HD signal from say CBS(1080i) your display will be able to reproduce the image better than a set 768P set due the additional 1,000,000 pixels.
C&R
Shot mine with a twelve gauge pump and never looked back!
Stop over at AVS Fourms , all the info you will ever need for any av purchase can be found there. They have great reviews, calibration settings, and any thing else you could need for picking out a new tv. There is a ton of info there to help you make an informed decision on, LCD vs. Plasma, 1080i vs. 1080P, and which brand.
Good luck and have fun picking out your new TV!
Plenty of 50+ inch plasma 720P sets around and at far better prices then the LCD sets at that size. While you are correct about the pixel count of 1080P having more if you can't see it it doesn't matter and an interlaced 1080i signal only uses 540 lines INTERLACED and is well within a 720P sets capability. The only native 1080P available is Blu-ray and there is no plan for a 1080P broadcast standard.
What ever tv you buy, spring for the 1080P set. 768P sets are hard to come by now escpecially if you are looking at 50/60 inch set, 1080P set are dominating the market in this size. Regardless of the distance you are veiwing from, remember this, a 768P set often refered to as a 720P set only has a pixel display of 1368x768. 1080P sets have a pixel display of 1920x1080. Technically, when watching an HD signal from say CBS(1080i) your display will be able to reproduce the image better than a set 768P set due the additional 1,000,000 pixels.
C&R
I've found Tiger Direct to have some great prices and specials. Or you could wait for Black Friday.
The extra 1,000,000 pixels help regardless of what signal you are watching.
C&R
What do you like to watch? Do you play video games?
Not if you can't see them. The whole point of resolution vs distance is that you have to be close enough to physically be able to discern those pixels. If you are set in location for the screen and seating AND are past the point of visual acuity for the higher resolution it is just a waste. If you aren't and are seated within 10' (for a 50"set) then there may be an actual benefit to the higher resolution because you may be able see it. It all comes down to size, distance and how certain you are of the mounting location. One can always buy more then they need but it isn't a requirement.
The best example I can give is to put a pin head on the wall. At 10' you may not see it or if you do can't tell what it is. Put a thumbtack on the wall at the same distance and you can see it and tell it is a circle. At lessor distance you can see the pin head and discern more detail.
Of course, the way to get around any of this is to buy a front projector which you can size to give you whatever resolution you wish to watch at whatever distance you need. However, that is more expensive then the LCD/Plasma screens we are discussing.
The extra 1,000,000 pixels help regardless of what signal you are watching.
C&R
Then I'll take and recommend the 1080P(pin head analogy) because the of the densely packed pixels create a nicer looking image regardless of distance. I am not watching tv/movie/sporting event to see pixels, but to see an image reproduced as best it can be.
Not sure if Wasy's seating distance is sitting 10' or further, which may change over time, rearrangment of a room, ect.
C&R