When will a 60"+ true 1080P plasma be available?

Unclejeff - Thanks for the helpful response!

Yes, I did check out avsforum, but I find it very scary over there. The threads are enourmous, the color scheme is not what I would call inviting, and the page layout is not what I would call simple... but regardless...

Does the NEC 61XR4 accept a 1080P signal via DVI? What about the 61XM4? I'm having trouble finding this out, and also having trouble finding out what the difference between these 2 models is.

I could see how my comment could of come off bad, im sorry. I just assumed if you had room for a 60" plasma display you might have room for a projector. I wasnt thinking a 110" screen but somthing smaller. I second the look at NEC's, they are the best plasma i have seen. Once again i apologize, i just dont like plasmas.

Jlind325is - No worries. Certainly there are tradeoffs between the plasmas and projects, and I can certainly see a projector based system as being applicable at some point. But to do a projection system well, you need a room with very controlled lighting, which I don't have. The other thing is that the use of this potential plasma is just as much for casual TV watching and playing video games as it is for movies. Given the necessary periodic bulb replacement for the projectors, it doesn't make sense to leave it on all day to watch the price is right and maury, when really their intended use is for movies.

So while I will agree with you that plasmas can't touch a high quality projection system in terms of absolute picture quality, the logistical situation that I am dealing with mandates a smaller, simpler solution.

As a photographer I read over and over about projectors and how superior they are. I have seen dozens of them and to me, they are all lacking in brightness when compared to LCD or CRT direct view (and even LCD projection).

Are there models I've missed or does everyone just accept this limitation and enjoy as is?

Goat, go back to the NEC thread where you just posted and ask that question. I can say that the difference between the 50XM5 and the 50XR5 in terms of inputs is that the 50XM5 has a DVI input that right now could at least accept the 1080p while the 50XR5 has two HDMI inputs, neither of which can at this time accept 1080p. I can't speak for the 61 inch, but they can over at AVSFORUM in 'The New NEC Thread'. The 50 inch was what I bought as it fits to the same proportion of most HD Movies and I didn't think the extra 5 inches on either side was worth the disproportionate cost. As I said earlier I am first more into audio and I care not at all for HDMI, even though this seems to be the upcoming thing.