Zingerhill

I was in a very similar situation recently when I was replacing my secondary TV. My main TV is a 50" 1080P Kuro. My secondary TV had been a 4 year old 42" Vizio Plasma. I buy most of my electronics at Costco because of the return policy so I restricted myself to their inventory. Because of space restrictions, the maximum size I could get was 47". So I was looking at a either a 42" 720P Panny Plasma or a 42" or 47" Vizio LCD.

I ended up getting the Vizio 47 " (Vizio E470VL) for $750 vs ~$500 for the plasma. For me, the 5" was the big difference maker. Plus, if I didn't like it, I could bring it back. It is much easier to carry an LCD than a plasma. When I initially set the LCD up, I did not like the Vizio's picture. After tweaking the settings I like it a lot.

Bottom line-- it is ridiculous to make a blanket judgment about 1080P being better than 720P. Resolution is just one factor you should take into account and its way below size and color. That being said, the 720P LCDs these days are really pretty crappy because they have skimped on other stuff. So the real question is should I get a 720P plasma or a similarly priced and sized 1080P LCD. There is not an easy answer. It's also worth noting that the 720 Plasmas are the low end of plasmas these days so they are more prone to reflection than the higher end models.

Good luck and happy hunting.

I had the TurboExpress (just sold it a few years ago). While it was better than the GameBoy in many respects it was more than just high price and marketing that killed it. First, the thing was very big. It was much less pocketable than the Gameboy. Secondly, the battery life was awful. You basically needed to have it plugged in all the time. I found myself using my GameBoy much more despite the far superior graphics on the TurboExpress.

@(Unverified) I switched too. I don't mind the 30 day window so much but my top 3 movies have all had very long wait. When I switched to BBlockbuster they were available. I rarely used the watch now feature and the wait for movies was driving me crazy. If you don't use watch now, there really is no reason not to switch to Blockbuster especially if you use Blu Ray.

Beginning users shouldn't have XP any more. Windows 7 is way more secure. It's too easy for a novice user to get in trouble with XP. 7 is also easier to use. It's embarrassing that HP would try to foist XP onto my grandma.

@johnw248

Thanks. I've been looking for an excuse to buy a new computer and monitor, but I guess the more rational thing to do is to buy a card and borrow a monitor. I'll run the advisor when I get home.

@BenD

Hmmm. I don't have an HDCP video card or monitor. I was planning on using the PC as a server to Xbox 360s, but it might be nice to use it on the PC sometimes.

Ben,

What are the specs on the PC you are using? I'm trying to determine if I would need to purchase a new PC or would need to upgrade. The minimum specs Centon lists are pretty low end (I meet those). I can watch and record OTA with no problems now.

I recorded the 3D Rangers vs Islanders game on the Tivo HD tonight just to see what would happen. You get 2 images side-by-side. I'm very curious to see what would happen if I fed this to a 3D HDTV. I suspect that TivoHD is fully 3D ready. Maybe just wishful thinking.

I got about an hour and KMTTG is showing 8.26GB at 18.45MPS. The video is protected so I can't transfer it to my PC.

I am sad. I canceled my pre-order of the Premier XL.

I'll get cheaper stuff that is not 3D ready. I'll never be in a position where all my TVs are 3D. High-end stuff I would only get as 3D ready.