here's barrister's take on the 50x50 (page 5 of this thread)
I just saw the Panny plasma 50X50 (lowest-end 2012 model, 720p) at Abenson's Makati this afternoon.
I previoulsy posted that the 42X50 and 50X50 are both available at Anson's Makati in front of Landmark. Well, I just found out that that isn't entirely true ---- they have one 50X50 demo unit on display, but no 42X50 on display; you can buy the 2 models, but they're on order-basis only, since they they don't have any stock.
Unfortunately, the resolution is unacceptable to me.
My Panny plasma 50C10 (purchased Jan. 2009) has a native resolution of 1366 x 768, and the native pixels are not visible to me at a distance greater than 5 feet.
On the other hand, the 50X50 has a native resolution of 1024 x768. I was expecting the resolution difference to be insignificant ---- NOT.
On the 50X50, I can see the native pixels from a distance of about 7+ feet. At 10 feet away (my home viewing distance), the picture still has portions that are slightly jagged. At 5 feet away, forget about it.
I noticed that the 50X50 has a physical pixel structure that's very different from my present TV. Maybe the difference in pixel structures results in a picture that still isn't clean enough even at a 10 foot distance.
The 50X50 was playing some Panasonic demo material. According to the sales rep, content resolution was 1080p, and it looked like 1080p content, judging from the Panny LCDs nearby playing the same material.
I was wearing my trifocal eyeglasses while looking at the 50X50. I'm far-sighted without glasses, but I assure you, once my glasses are on, my vision is perfect.
I can't buy this TV at any price, since it's much worse than my present TV. So it's back to waiting for the 50UT50 for me.