also, I went into the gateway store and saw the plasma in action, it's not bad....also, the resolution for dvi is 1280x1024...so this is very good I think.
This is not accurate. The Gateway is a 852x480 plasma. For DVD, HDTV, and a HTPC, it offers only 852x480 resolution; see
the specifications on Gateway's site. It does accepts signals up to 1280x1024, but it downconverts these signals to 852x480; most low-end LCD displays do the same thing. Text, of course, is virtually impossible to read when doing such scaling.
Plasmas that can do 1024x768 and 1280x1024 cost a good deal more than $3000. For a 1024x768 plasma, you are looking at $4000-$6000, and for a 1280x1024 plasma, $6000-$9000. As someone else noted, you should really check out the
AVS Forum, as it is the Anandtech equivalent for HDTV, HTPC, and HDTV.
The Dell 3200MP isn't really meant as a home theater projector; it's meant as a portable projector for presentations with Powerpoint, Excel, etc. You can read a review of the Dell 3200MP
right here at ProjectorCentral.com. You can also find several end-user reviews of the 3200MP over on the AVS Forum, like
this one
I have never seen a plasma screen that had a better picture than even a decent CRT based TV, no matter the cost. Based on that experience, I can't imagine a $4000 plasma TV looks like anything but junk. If you want to spend $3000 on a display (free stand included, plus free in home delivery), buy one of these:
KV-40XBR800 40" FD Trinitron WEGA XBR Hi-Scan TV
Clearly you haven't seen any of the good plasmas then. The better plasmas are widely regarded as superior to directview/tube sets.