1080p an issue for now?

"a related question - if plasma has better picture quality than rear projection (to my eyes it does), will that continue to be true if the source is 1080p and the rear projection handles 1080p but the plasma doesn't?"

Yes...unless the "foundation" of rear projection is further developed and upgraded. 1080p will remain 1080p; Plasma will just do a better job of showing it than RP, until RP is upgraded and developed. Meaning, since plasma does a better job at showing the media, be it 720p or 1080p, the plasma will produce a better picture than RP because it can do the job better...until RP is further developed. When this happens, RP can take the place of plasma because the "foundation" is stronger and development has taken place. Its a huge claim to say now, but it can happen; should RP be further developed and upgraded. Its actually taking place now; DLP is incorporated with RP. The more DLP is developed, the better RP gets, and so on.

i've never even heard of a video scaler (i'm mostly an audio guy, totally new to video stuff). what exactly does it do? can you actually 'upscale' a 720p or 480p signal to 1080p? or is for the reverse (i.e. taking a 1080p signal and making it viewable on a monitor with lower resolution by 'downscaling it')?

True 1080P displays can accept a native 1920 x 1080 deinterlaced signal. The only widely available content that is 1920 x 1080 are Hi Def DVDs, which have nothing to do with SACD or DVD-A by analogy, and are here to stay as a resolution. Cable/Sat HD is 1240 x 1080 and so the display will upscale the signal to fit the fixed pixel display- not desirable even with the best quality video scaler.

So the choice on what to buy could be matched to a buyers viewing material-- if Hi Def DVDs are not a part of the current landscape-- perhaps another less expensive resolution display makes more sense. Over the next two years, the 1080Ps will come down in price and maybe there will be more content out there with equipment that even allows us to hear the " lossless" hi def audio on the high def DVDs!

LCD is not as good as plasma becuase contrast ratios are lower; so shadow detail is lost in darker movies and scenes such as " Sin City". This makes an LCD display unacceptable for me on this basis alone. IMMV

Scalers actually take the 480p, 720p, 1080i or whathaveyou signal, processes it (de-interlace for XXXi signals and progressively scans the signal), then outputs it to the specified resolution. You are correct, they upscale the signal.

Check out DVDO.com. They offer scalers in the $1200 to 2K range. I was thinking of the iScale HD+ in particular, which scales up to 1080p. The MSRP from DVDO.com is $1500. Play your cards right and shop around, you probably can find it a little cheaper. Plus they have liturature for scalers in general and how DVDO scalers work too.

The VP20/30/50 are a little more expensive the higher you progress but they also offer 1080p and are better processors. IMO, they have a scaler that might fit your budget and offer the performance you're looking for.

thanks folks for the info on scalers. looks like a 1080p plasma and a video scaler are not in the budget right now. i'll probably just go with either the panasonic 50 inch (60u) or the hitachi 55hds69. i seem to be getting a new tv every 7 to 8 years anyway, so i guess that'll be the plan. i think the panasonic is supposed to have a slightly better picture quality, but the hitachi is probably a better size for me (12 to 14 feet from the screen). thoughts?