Which plasma would you choose?Panasonic 50'' 1080p plasma or a 58'' Panasonic 1080i plasma?
Answer:
I presume your thought is "bigger is better". I agree (although personally I went with a front projector so I can get a REALLY big (110") "immersive" picture).
So the question is really, other things being equal, is 1080p going to make a bigger difference relative to 1080i than the 8" larger screen? The answer is somewhat dependent on what other equipment you intend to use now and in the next year or so, and your perspective on screen size.
As an aside, 1080 is the vertical resolution and "p" means progressive (while "i" means interlaced). At 1080 resolution on a screen under 50-60" there isn't much visible difference between "i" and "p". You may not see a significant difference.
To "future proof" your purchase consider another factor, particulalry if you plan to watch movies . the frame rate the 1080p input accepts. For reasons I won't get into here (Do a google search on 1080p/24 and 3:2 pulldown) for movies, support for 1080p/24 frames per second signals is highly desirable. Given a choice choose an HDTV that accepts 1080p/24 signals over HDMI.
Now to the question. What are you going to use to feed it? If regular DVD or Cable/satellite HD the picture on a 1080p HDTV is going to be insignificantly different from a 1080i HDTV. If you plan on Blu-ray or HD DVD you can probably take advantage of a 1080p HDTV.
But, some HDTVs that claim to be 1080p models don't accept a 1080p signal (they upconvert 480i/p, 720p or 1080i to 1080p), and many don't handle 1080p/24 fps. The thing you want to aim for in the long run is equipment that outputs/accepts 1080p/24 fps ... if you plan on HD DVD or Blu-Ray.
So, consider the tradeoffs. I suspect the 50" will accept 1080p/24 (verify this). While the 58" 1080i model plainly won't. It doesn't matter if you only plan to watch HDTV and DVDs ...so go for the larger screen. If you plan on HD-DVD/Blu-Ray now, or before you replace the HDTV you are about to purchase, consider carefully. Either model will give an excellent picture, but the 50" will be slightly better. So ultimately you need to consider how important a slightly better but smaller picture is to you vs. a larger slightly inferior picture. Note, the picture on the 58" model is 6.5" wider and 4.8" higher (40% larger area) than the 50" model.
This should give you the information to decide based on your priorities.
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