Good point CaptK. The lives have extended some. However, with age, the picture quality goes down.

We (well, my parents) have two 36" LCD that serve their purpose. Both are entry level units in bedrooms.

By the time the PQ has been noticeably diminished, the TV will be obsolete. Both LCD and Plasma will be obsolete in 5 years.

LCD and Plasma both have their strengths. Which is best depends on usage, conditions, and preferences.

I have two 37" plasmas, and one 32" LCD. IMHO, the plasmas kick but on the LCD, especially with non-HD content, but do suffer from glare.

If the TV will be used by kids, video games, on all the time, or in a bright room, LCD may be the better choice.

If the TV will be used for movies, in a light controlled room, or with non-HD content, or larger than 42", plasma may be the better choice.

The larger the TV, the more difference HD makes. On my 37" plasmas, HD vs regular def is not a large difference.

Whatever you get, make sure it is 1080. This will be worthwhile when most future content is 1080.

Plasma or LCD. Both look good and will provide you with wonderful television viewing. I prefer LCD for 2 reasons:

1. Weight - As mention above LCDs are not as heavy as Plasmas.

2. Power Consumption - Plasmas use much more power then a comparable LCD. This causes plasmas to run much warmer.

In the end it is really up to your taste. Look at several different units in several different stores. Ask the salesperson for the remote so you can play with the screen adjustments. When playing with it ask yourself:

1. How easy is it navigate the menus using the remote?

2. Are the functions you will use the most easily accessable either with buttons on the remote or through the menus?

Look at the picture from off angles to determine how clear/bright the picture is when viewed (Plasma will rock here, but LCDs have come a long way in this area).

Don't forget DLP. While you can't mount them on the wall you get alot more bang for your buck. We have a 63" Samsung 1080p DLP and the picture it great. They have really come down in prices. Have seen 63" going for $1500 & up. Unfortnately we paid about 2 times that 3 years ago.

Don't tell me about that! Paid $2,700 for a 32" Samsung 720p LCD in October 2003. Now a 1080p LCD from Samsung can be had for under $800 and the 720p's are even less...

we have both plasma an lcd, 50" plasma in family room great tv
have 37"lcd in our bedroom an kids have 32"lcds in thier rooms and i really like how clear the lcd picture is. also cda boater is right the plasmas run very hot. we have 52 lcd at work an we are very disapointed in the picture an also the viewing from the side is limited. so is viewing from front if the tv is not at eye level u must tilt it down. stick with lcd in smaller tv sizes...

Oh you would hate me then. We got our 50" Plasma 1080i for about $800.

Anyway, we have 3 flat panels in the house. A 50" Plasma, 42" LCD and a 27" LCD.

The 42" is 1080p and looks sharper though it might be an illusion since we don't have anything to play at 1080p.

In reality, I would go either way based on size that fits your needs and price.

I would not be buying anything right now. Wait anothe couple of weeks until the holiday sales start. Word is that the best prices will be end of October to Mid November. Then after Christmas.

There should be some good deals out there that you don't have to wait in line all night for.

we just went thru the same thing. setting the lcd vs plasma debate aside for a moment, you need to consider what else needs to be upgraded to get the most out of your new tv. for instance, plan on a digital cable box. better yet, get one with a built in digital dvr. as far as dvd's go, if blue ray is out of your price range (or you don't own a gaming system that can accept blue ray disks), consider an upconverting dvd player. they're only about $50 and while they won't play at blue ray resolutions, they will play at higher resolutions than older dvd players and if you've got a collection of dvd's, the newer ones will look fantastic because they're recorded at a higher resolution than the older dvd players could manage. older dvd's however, were recorded at the maximum resolution of the older dvd players so they'll look the same. also consider a universal remote because you'll have so many remotes it'll drive you bonkers. check with your cable provider to see if they supply hdmi cables, which are used to connect the high def components (tv to dvd player and tv to cable box, for instance). These cables are insanely priced in any store and if you need to get some, purchase them on-line from amazon.com in advance and get them MUCH cheaper. now that we're in high def, I cringe watching tv shows that haven't converted to high def yet. the reason is that they actually look WORSE than on your old tv because your new tv will try to do some kind of digital enhancement and none of them do a good job. finally, and this is no joke, now that we're fully in high def, i either need new prescription glasses or eye surgery as I'M now the weakest link in the chain.

www.crutchfield.com is a great resorce for information as well as pricing. They have lots on areas that give you comparisions and explain what is what.

My only joy is having been able to watch HDTV for 5 years, even though there wasn't much programing back then. Just like thumbing through the DVD's on a single carasell at Hollywood Video in 1997 trying to find one that I hadn't rented yet.

Keep talking gentlemen. I'm learing here. My wife and I are buying ourselves a flat screen tv with a surround sound stereo for Christmas this year. I started down this route 4 years ago and got confused and scarred off by the prices and bought a tube television. Today's pricing is more in line with what I am willing to spend on a TV.

Beware of the connections when you go to view HDTV's in the store.

HD trivia/ramblings:

High Definition signals are only available through Component (separate R/G/B) connections or through DVI or HDMI connections. (look behind the set and see what's connnected). (e.g. Circuit City, Best Buy, Costco will probably be connected RGB. Target, Walmart will probably be connected F-Type (likely SD), not doing them justice for what the connected sets can really can do.)

If you see a HDTV connected via a F-Type (coax) connector it is quite possibly not showing HD content UNLESS it is picking up (internal ATSC Tuner tuning in) a local Digital OTA (Over the Air) channel broadcasting HD content/programming (Digital channels can also broadcast SD content).

Connections over S-Video or composite (yellow plug) video are not HD, although S-Video is better than composite in capable SD resolutions.

HD is a spec, basically 720P and higher, wide screen (16:9) and Dolby 5.1 (AC-3) sound.

Just some thoughts....

You want to hook up DVI (which is HDMI, HDMI just also includes audio). Ken makes a good point. Component video uses three cables for video, 2 for audio. HDMI is one cable for both video and audio but it's digital format thus a clearer picture.

I don't like the internal tuner cards much. They're not as clear and fast at translating, IMHO. Most seem to be built with cost in mind, not power to produce a good image.

Unless you're needed 50' cable run, definitely go with HDMI. Also, I forget who said it (running short on time this morning) but LCD generally do provide a more crisp image, especially if viewing up close.

It basically comes down to the size you want and the room you put it in. If it's a bright room with full sunshine you want the LCD. If the room can be dimmed slightly or does not have direct sun then plasma is the way to go, especially if it is going to be 50" or bigger.

Then if you are a movie nut like me, cosider an HD projector. With a new surround sound system and a 120" screen it's better than the theater. Prices for these systems have come down as well so figure a decent picture can be had for about $2500.00 for the projector and screen, although they can go over $30,000.00

Last year I bought a 50" panasonic plasma around the holidays and paid about 40% less so your timing is great. Between thanksgiving and Christmas is usually the best time.

What's the word on Laser product coming out?

Any of you videophile's hear early word, good or bad?