Choosing a plasma 42" 852*480 or 1024*768 ??

OK now that I have a nice HTPC with this wonderful piece of software that MediaPortal is I'm decided to buy a plasma TV as my current TV is really of poor quality. After researching the web (and the MP forums) I have narrowed my choice to a Panasonic monitor (I currently live in the US but I will be moving back to Europe soon so I really don't need a tuner and I need a TV that is able to handle various TV format NTSC, PAL, SECAM even if it will be mainly fed by MP).

So the choice is between a Panasonic 852*480 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16824187012 or 1024*768 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16824187025.

As the main drawback of my current TV is its poor resolution which makes reading text quite difficult, it seem sthat the high resolution choice is better as it matches a common computer resolution. However I have read some posts touting the 852*480. There's also a big difference between the two for me: $1000! My understanding is that the MP skin is designed at 768*576 so how does it look on a screen with only 480 lines of physical resolution?
Another question is that the pixel is square on the 852*480 but it is not with a resolution of 1024*768. I think that this can be corrected with the ratio correction in UI settings (is that true) but then will the aspect ratio of 4:3 and 16:9 video be correct?

So if you have a plasma screen can you please share your experience? Should I go the HD route despite the additional $1000 or will an EDTV give me good results?



Thanks!

 

Log in or Sign up to hide all adverts.

I had a 42" plasma at the lower res, and loved it.

Depending on how close you are too it, you wont be able to really read text at the 1024x768. But then again, I was about 8' away from mine.

really. I ran it at 800x600 and it just looked awesome (it interpolates it).

However, shop around, while I love newegg, I find them to be a bit pricy on the high end stuff.

After all most of my video was not above dvd res (720x480) and even HD will look great at that res.

Again, I used my 42" for games, HTPC, web surfing and other general comp stuff....loved it.

best of luck,

dave