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Quoting Addicted2DVD:

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Quoting pauls42:

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Quoting Addicted2DVD:

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yup... just a standard 20" 4:3 TV. They are still very common in the US. The widescreen TVs are still to much on the expensive side. In my area I haven't seen one under $1000.00 yet.

I've just gone on to Amazon, and a good 42" Plasma, 1080P is less than $900. (and that includes free delivery up to the room you want).
(not that I'm saying you need to go to Amazon).

Thanks for the heads up. I hope to be able to upgrade in the next year or so. (I want to upgrade my computer first.)

But question... Which is better Plasma or LCD? I heard you can easily have problems with a Plasma screen.

If you are a purist, go with a Plasma. The colors are richer, skin tones are life-like, blacks are truely black and the overall picture quality is awesome. If you just want a widescreen and don't care too much about picture quality, then go with LCD. LCD colors, in my opinion, are exagerated, skin tones look plastic, blacks are not truely black, there is too much pixelation and motion blur. Granted, Plasmas are more expensive. A 42" 1080p Plasma will run you around $1,000.00, while a 42" - 46" 1080p LCD will run from $700-1,200. While there is a possibility of image burn-in with Plasmas, Anti image retention technology today has greatly reduced the chances of that happening. I own a 42" 1080p Panasonic Viera Plasma and simply love it.

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If you are a purist, go with a Plasma. The colors are richer, skin tones are life-like, blacks are truely black and the overall picture quality is awesome. If you just want a widescreen and don't care too much about picture quality, then go with LCD. LCD colors, in my opinion, are exagerated, skin tones look plastic, blacks are not truely black, there is too much pixelation and motion blur. Granted, Plasmas are more expensive. A 42" 1080p Plasma will run you around $1,000.00, while a 42" - 46" 1080p LCD will run from $700-1,200. While there is a possibility of image burn-in with Plasmas, Anti image retention technology today has greatly reduced the chances of that happening. I own a 42" 1080p Panasonic Viera Plasma and simply love it.

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Quoting widescreenforever:

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Anamorphic widescreen videos with aspect ratio of between 1:66 up to 1:95 should fill the 16x9 screen comfortably.. BUT films such as 2:00 all the way up to 2:89 will display black bars regardless of being anamorphic widescreen..  and What I'm  discovering these days on HDTV ( NOT DVD)  is the Panavision films shot in 2:35 are being 'downgraded'  to 1:78 (anamorphic),.. so as pleasing as they are on your eyes..,and senses this  anamorphic 'butchering'  is going unnoticed by most viewers,(unconcerened by the actual aspect ratio) , as they prefer No black bars... on their Hi-Def sized screens . 

I have my Sharp HDTV set to Automode for the screen format.  If the signal is anamorphic, it automatically adjusts to fit.  It isn't uncommon to see it switch back and forth between widescreen mode and full screen 1:33 mode when commercials play.  I'll see black bars on top and bottom depending on the WS mode, and on the sides in FS.  On TV programs that don't contain formatting info, the TV stretches 1:33 to 1:78 to fill the screen, which has the effect of making everything slightly 'fat' horizontally, but after a couple years of watching, I don't even notice anymore.

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Quoting pauls42:

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I have exactly the same - a 42" 1080P Panasonic Vierra Plasma. And it blows away every LCD that I've seen. I left my neighbours (who have a 42" LCD) in tears.

It's true, isn't it? Plasma rocks .  I have the 42" 1080p Panasonic Viera 42PZ85U. When I saw it side-by-side with comparable LCDs there was no doubt that it was the way to go. While it's true that in brightly light rooms Plasmas suffer from glare, my room is dimly lit with one window that has both louvered blinds and dark curtains...so I'm good to go .