a HDtv is an investment, you should buy one that will last you a long time, and you should future proof your self...so buy a good 1080p HDtv and it should last you 5+ years if not 10+ years....just remember that Sony and Microsoft next consoles will be 1080p native for sure....not only that but all HD movies are 1080p, and tv stations and such are moving to 1080i it not eventually to 1080p.

1080p sets these days are fairly cheap, I my self got a Panasonic 1080p 42" plasma tv, I got the 42PZ800A model, and I got it for $2300 with 3 year warranty last year December.

In my opinion if your gonna get something, then get something good and spend the money, otherwise save and then spend the money.

It depends on the Screen size. If its over 50" go 1080p. if not you need to decide for yourself. 1080p looks slightly better than 1080i. Another thing to consider is next gen. I gaurentee you that consoles will natively support 1080p so it might be a good investment.

GT5 prologue its a 1080p 60fps game thought, it downscale to 720p so u wont see a difference.

btw: all panasonic vieras LCD OR plasma have  3 year warranty.

most of sony LCDs = 3.

LG , samsung= 2.

for me yh. things just seem that much sharper to me when using 1080p

but saying that i am a pc gamer who has the eyes of a hawk.

At what distance? 1080p was worth every penny on my 46", but I sit all of 2m away from it. Also, how good is your vision? People with better than 20/20 vision can definitely get the benifit of the higher resolution at normal viewing distances on smaller screens. At around 2m, I can tell the difference between 1920x1200 and 1280x800 content (16:10 equivilents) on my Dell 24" monitor, even if my eyes can't resolve the detail down to pixel level. My laptop is 17" and has a resolution of 1920x1200 and with my crude test now, I can still read the 12pt font I'm typing in at around 2m away (though I wouldn't want to do it normally).

@ OP. Go to a store and compare for yourself. Get them to run 1080p content through their sets. You'll probably find most stores are doing this anyway, and are also feeding the same signal into the 720p sets. Now stand approximately the same distance from the screens as you are planning on sitting from them. If the difference to you is worth the extra money they go for the 1080p.

As others have mentioned, a TV is a long term purchase. Is the few hundred of dollars you are going to save now going to be worth it when in 2-3yrs time you decide that you want 1080p and need to drop another thousand or two to get a 1080p set? Sure, most console games aren't output at 1080p (and many that do are only upscaled anyway), but when the next gen rolls out, I'm sure that there will be a much larger base of games that render over 720p.

As every one else says the bigger the screen the more you will notice. But it's well before 50 inches as some here have said. More like 42.

Also because of bandwidth issues 1080 P TV won't even be the standard for another 5-15 years. It's nice to get a TV that you know will still be rockin' out to 'till like 2030.

I have seen deals for 720p TV's mega cheap. So as long as you plan on getting something smaller then 42 inches then you might as well cop that.

Me? I got a 52 incher 1080P. GLORY.

I Personally recommend a 50-inch 1080p HDTV, i connected my gaming rig with that TV, just amazing...

And you should think about future-proof, PCs can do 1080, next-gen systems (at least from MS and Sony unless Ninty surprise us) will do 1080, BR movies come in 1080, a lot of TV shows come in 1080, it won't be something only for now, but for 5 years or more...

Most people that have posted look to be noobs when it comes to HD.

Once you get to 32" you begin to see the pixels from a good distance. 37" is the highest I would purchase a TV in 720p. Starting at 42" 1080p really is noticeably better.

26"-37" get 720p
40" and up 1080p

And you shouldn't be thinking about just today. Think about tomorrow, with more and more content going HD buying a 1080p TV is future proofing yourself so you won't need/want to upgrade in a few years.

Several people have quoted as fact, the various TV sizes at which the difference between 720p and 1080p is noticeable, you must also consider, as alluded to by several people, viewing distance.

If you sit 1m from your screen you are going to see a difference even at small screen sizes. If you sit 4-5m you may not notice a difference unless you have a huge TV.

Sure this may vary from person to person according to how good your eyes are but assuming normal eyesight, the distances and TV sizes at which the differences are noticeable are determined by physics and what the human eye is capable of resolving.

So to answer your question, have a look here.

http://www.engadgethd.com/2006/12/09/1080p-charted-viewing-distance-to-screen-size/

To me I cannot tell the difference between the two in anything under 50". And anything under 40" is just a rip off. There is no way that you can tell a difference under 40".