Re: lcd or plasma?
I strongly suggest LCD
LCD:
- Better / Longer Life
- Sharper image at higher angles (Plasma fades as you move away from center)
- Cheaper (usually)
Plasma:
- Better preview of "black" color than LCD (v.minor issue with new TVs though)
- Crispier MOVING images
I agree do not pay insanly high amount for 1080p , but do try to get 1080.
DON'T get Sony. Too many recalls on them.
Apparently SHARP is the BEST to get, because they are the only one that assemble their TV all by themselves (and not get parts from different manf and put it together and call it Sony) :)
Although SONY LCD lineup has some hiccups, they are generally known for having (at least) decent quality. Sony DOES NOT make Plasma - this should tell you somefin about Plasma technology reliability.
Features to look for:
- Most of the time you will need to stretch the picture one way or another to fit into TV (most big screen are widescreen of different ratio than TV / DVD signal). Big brand name does AMAZING job of stretching image to fit TV , yet things will not be stretched / cut off from screen. Sharp seems to have "BESTEST" implementation (better than Panasonic and Sony as well).
There is a Sharp propriety method of stretching called "S.Stretch" and it fits anything on the screen and keeping things in persepective.
I have a 52" SHARP LCD and I have to tell you I am more than happy with it!