This isn't an LCD vs Plasma troll...just genuinely interested why everyone appears to be chasing 1920x1080p resolution in the LCD forum, whereas on here people are getting wood over the latest Pannys which have (on paper) an equivalent 'pants' resolution? (1024 x 720)

So why is resolution important in the LCD world but everyone is cool about the lack of it in the Plasma world?!!

Because the only thing LCD has going for it is resolution. So they have to focus on that.
On all other counts Plasma beats it for PQ.

(and to show I have no bias I have both a HD Ready LCD and a HD Ready Plasma)

Thanks for your responses.

initially (before going to the shops) I was focussing on resolution & started researching LCDs in earnest. I then thought ok, I better take a peek in a shop to get an idea of the styling in the flesh, then I saw a Plasma next to an LCD & the Plasma picture hosed the LCDs!

Then I thought ok, so maybe Plasma is the way to go, but I stil have a bit of a stumbling block over the resolution...what happens with blu-ray (1080p) aren't LCD gonna start coming into their own then or does it still mean diddly squat?!

I'm after a 37" or 40" panel.

My brother-in-law has a Panasonic 42" (it's about a year old) & he reports some ghosting on the footie...so which panels have response times as low as 1ms? The Panny 37" PX60 sounds a likely candidate but I'm alarmed at the green fringing reported by some on here.

bumpety bumpage.

because in real 'pic quality' terms resolution means diddly squat - I saw many of these leading LCD screens (such as the Bravia) and they looked average to awful playing DVDs or SD content. Plasma gives a much deeper, more natural relaistic looking picture.

You are not looking for a troll fest but the way you posted the question looks like flamebait.
Plasma TV's have been around for a while now, some manufacturers are on the 8th year of producing panels. Right now Plasma's have a few key advantages over LCD technology and that is:

Little or no colour banding (one reason is the use high bit DAC's giving them a large pallete of colours to choose from).

Extremely quick response times resulting in almost zero ghosting (1ms response time has been quoted).

No back light to give the appearance of a non-uniform black and bleeding on the edges.

Newer Plasma's have very good blacks, approaching CRT standards

High Contrast Ratio's giivng more gradient in the greys and darker colours (also helped with the high bit DAC's)

Large sizes, upto 65" and very soon beyond that too (100+ inches are available in the far east)

Now pixel resolution is where the Plasma's are far behind the LCD technology. You can easily buy an LCD screen with 2560x1600 resolution which is beyond 1080p at 30" using DUAL DVI-LINK but for watching normal TV or even SkyHD Plasma's may look better than LCD#s to many peoples eyes due to the above advantages.

LCD's really shine when hooked up to a computer and being fed a high bitrate, high resolution stream not when watching SD TV...

So that could be a reason for the wood and a reason for why pixel resolution isn't always best - it is what you do with it that counts.... just ask any young lady.