Every Full HD panel can do 1080p, also plasma.
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I know, the point was that there were no Full HD plasma screens at the time. The LCD ones had only been around for a half year or so. I expected that they're available now, but didn't know for sure as after I bought my set I stopped following the developments.
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HD Ready panels could only display 1080p at 50"+ I think, smaller panels could only display 1080i.
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Most HD Ready panels can still only show true 720 resolution HD and downscale 1080. It is only sets with Full HD physically shown as a feature that can display 1080 at its true resolution. Plasma was stuck with lower overall pixel dimensions until very recently.

Plasma does have some advantages over LCD such as the fact you don't get abrupt changes in the image between two adjacent pixels. Due to the mature of plasma technology it is always a bit smoother. However that is something you definitely don't want for video games. And Full HD LCD screens now have the total physical pixels needed for a Full HD 1080 resolution image, so in my view they are now my preferred choice because you will see each and every pixel of the Full HD image, whereas with plasma it will always be a slightly softer image.

Until recently only TVs of 50"+ offered full HD, but I've noticed that nearly all of the new 42" sets are now Full HD, and some 32" ones are too.

I was in a store the other day and they had a lot of HD TVs running proper HD broadcasts (most stores still just stick SD broadcasts on their TVs and makes them all look a bit crap). I was especially interesting in seeing how well the smaller sets could handle full HD compared to the larger ones and I was quite impressed. The Samsung, Philips, LG, Panasonic and Sony sets all showed it very nicely on the larger sets and you could clearly see the difference between the Full HD image quality compared to the HD Ready sets that were downscaling the images.

However on the smaller 42" and 32" sets I could still see the difference between the Full HD and the HD Ready sets. Therefore even the smaller Full HD TVs are now worth getting over the HD ready ones because you can see the difference. I would however still see the 42" sets as a minimum for Full HD if you were watching films a lot. But in smaller rooms a 42" is still quite large, so a 32" set is going to be a much better option, and a 32" Full HD set is still going to offer more than any HD ready TV can.

I've seriously been considering HDTVs lately and due to the size of the living room and the location of the TV the maximum size would be 42", but I think a 32" set might be better. Will have to measure up and consider it properly once I can afford one.
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I'd recommend 42" any day!
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Too easy!!!!
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I've always thought plamas looked better than LCD for TV viewing, even when LCDs were capable of much higher resolutions. It's the way things move on LCDs that doesn't quite sit right with me. But at the end of the day it's personal taste/preference.

We've got a 37" Panasonic plasma too. It's a.. um *checks* PX600 from 2ish years ago. I love it . It's not a 1080 set (but can accept 1080 signals and downgrade them to fit) but I run my stuff at 720p anyway and it looks marvellous.

As for 400GB BDs being good for games. Don't you feel games take long enough to make and are costly enough already? Having to cram in hours of superHD prerenders, textures etc etc will really push this up. Also, what're the 'seek times' and data transfer rates like with a disc like that?

I maintain that DVDs are a long way off dead. They will be surpassed, but it's going to take time. And I'm sure we've been round this track before.....
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It is a similar situation to VHS. When DVD came in everyone knew they were better and much easier to use than VHS. However as everyone already owns a VCR initial DVD sales were very slow. I think the same will be true of BluRay. Everyone has a DVD player. However the difference is that DVD and BR basically work in the same way so there are no instant usability benefits in buying into the new format, unlike the move from VHS to DVD where instant access, no rewinding, no degradation of image quality, much smaller compared to tapes etc were all big plus points.
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Some films are already cheaper on Blu-Ray than on DVD, that shows that they're pointing in the right direction.
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Really? That is good to know. To be honest I've not been looking at the prices of current DVD or BR releases. I tend to buy DVDs when they have been out a few months. The local Supermarkets often then have then for sale for £3-5.
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