"...but unless one has a very good eyes (not only highly critical viewing skills but also 20/13 or better visual acuity), I bet most people cannot tell them apart."
Unfortunately for me, I have good eyesight and extremely critical viewing skills. It's part of my job. I notice things in movies and DVD's that I just shouldn't be noticing. (I don't mean continuity errors). Slight color/lighting shifts from shot to shot drive me nuts. (It's called color timing guys...get with it!)
One issue I'm going to have with my BF is that he loves really bright, zero contrast looks. He has a flat panel LCD monitor on his computer and has it CRANKED up as bright as it will go. Mine on the other hand is good old fashioned CRT, and looks down right DARK compared to his, and we both swear each others looks horrible.
So he really likes Plasma, not only for its "cool factor" but the fact that it has that similar "hot" video look. I personally think it looks too bright, too edgy/sharp. The bright, vivid colors are nice, but it in NO way looks like film at all.
An example: I was at my bf's parents place watching Zorro on ABC as few weeks back. It was broadcast in HDTV. They have a small plasma tv. The picture was stunningly clear. I've never seen an image like that before - BUT it still looked like HDTV, not film. (and regular broadcast TV looks like complete poop on the plasma. Bleck!
I want my movies to look like film, not video. That is REALLY important to me.
