I'm not sure which one should I buy, I have read a lot about Plasma TV and my options are the Panasonic TH-42PX80 or the TH-50PX80, the only difference is the native resolution.

I'm an avid gamer and just got a 360 so that is the most use I will be doing the TV and also some movies, I don't watch much TV so what would be the best choice, I don't understand how much of impact would do the difference between inches and the resolution, should I go for the 1,366 x 768 or 1,024 x 768 set?

Thanks in advance for the help!

The size difference will have the largest impact. Disregard resolution as being a deciding factor. You will pull your hair out trying to find more detail on the 50". My vote is for the 50PX80.

Chris

I'm not sure which one should I buy, I have read a lot about Plasma TV and my options are the Panasonic TH-42PX80 or the TH-50PX80, the only difference is the native resolution.

I'm an avid gamer and just got a 360 so that is the most use I will be doing the TV and also some movies, I don't watch much TV so what would be the best choice, I don't understand how much of impact would do the difference between inches and the resolution, should I go for the 1,366 x 768 or 1,024 x 768 set?

Thanks in advance for the help!

"best choice" -- what criteria? price? image size? "wow" factor? Decide on what's important to you and what factors you can or can't compromise on. i.e., if price is important, you will compromise size (usually getting a smaller panel); if size is important, you will compromise cost (usually paying more).

Exceptions occur. I picked up a Panny 50px80 a couple of days ago for less than $100 more than a Panny 42px80. Less than $100 was no compromise -- it was a no-brainer.

My viewing distance is 10' -- and won't notice any difference in detail between a 50" 720p and 50" 1080p model. But I would notice a difference in panel size. So that was one critical factor for me. Comparing prices on 42", 50", and 58" Panny displays gave me the 'sweet spot' @50". Lots of bang for the buck. The jump in price from 42" was negligible, but significant going from 50" to 58".

In your case in deciding between the 42" or 50" px80units, you won't notice a difference in detail in spite of the difference in the native resolutions of the 2 panels. But you will certainly notice the size difference. The only question is whether the price difference between 42" and 50" is a factor for you or not.

I agree with creemail -- th50px80.

Your eyes won't be able to tell the difference between those resolutions....even if the difference were 768p vs 1080p you would be hard pressed for most sources. Go for the 50";)

Thank for your advice, well I will be watching the TV from 7ft of it and I am able to afford either one of them so I just want to get the one that gives me the best picture quality of these two, so I wondered if the difference in the native resolution would have a great impact on it besides the size.

Thank for your advice, well I will be watching the TV from 7ft of it and I am able to afford either one of them so I just want to get the one that gives me the best picture quality of these two, so I wondered if the difference in the native resolution would have a great impact on it besides the size.At only 7 feet you might be better off getting a 42" 1080p model instead of a 720p set. I see a huge improvement in detail and smoothness on my 42" 1080p set at my 8 foot viewing distance as compared to my 42" 720p set at the same distance. I even see the improvement as far as 10 feet away but it's not as pronounced as it is at 8 feet.

You owe it to yourself to go to a store with a good feed, measure off your 7 foot viewing distance, and really compare the SDE-riddled image on the 720p sets to the smooth image of the 42" 1080p sets. The image on the 1080p sets looks more natural, and the processing is better too. Look at how much cleaner and sharper the text looks and look at how the edges of things looks less jaggy on the 1080p set. If you cannot see the difference, then just get a 720p set, but i bet once you scrutinize the images on both TVs you'll want the 1080p set.

I'm not sure which one should I buy, I have read a lot about Plasma TV and my options are the Panasonic TH-42PX80 or the TH-50PX80, the only difference is the native resolution.

I'm an avid gamer and just got a 360 so that is the most use I will be doing the TV and also some movies, I don't watch much TV so what would be the best choice, I don't understand how much of impact would do the difference between inches and the resolution, should I go for the 1,366 x 768 or 1,024 x 768 set?

Thanks in advance for the help!

Depends on how close you will be sitting to the set, but I would always advocate getting the larger set with all things being equal. I'm not a gamer but I know a lot of gamers tend to sit close to their sets so this could be the case for a 42'' PZ(1080P) might making more sense to avoid the SDE effect of sitting to close to a 720p set as it will be more pronounced on a bigger 720p set. Anything beyond 7-8 feet shouldn't make a difference though.