Plasma TV have:
Possible burn issues.
Lower brightness.
Bigger, Thicker, Heavier, More fragile to different kinds of damages.
Low reselling value.
Consumes more electricity.
High repair costs, if repairable.
Plasmas look better than LCDs though. And I think they improved alot on their life-span which was the biggest issue of plasma. I think you can expect 3-60,000 hours which is enough for like 20 years... And they're cheaper as well.
I would still go for LCD because plasma is really a diminishing technology.
I don't think it'll be around for too long.
You can get LG 47" Scarlett 1080p with 120Hz refreshing rate for around $2000+tax. LG and Samsung definately have better pictures than other brands.
You can go with even larger screen if you give up 120Hz. It doesn't really make too much difference in my opinion compared to lower refresh rate TVs. You can tell the difference when you see it but I wouldn't spend $700 more for that much of improvement.
Also, even 1080p might not be needed depending on your usuage.
HD TV service only support 720p, and 1080p won't happen for a while. So 1080p is only good if you play Blue-ray discs including games like PS3.
I bought a LG 42" 720p few month ago for $1150 including tax. I don't play games, and I have no interest in collecting/renting Blue-ray movies. I usually download all my movies, and those 720p avi or mkv files are spectacular enough for me. I'll be happy for at least another 5+ years with this. And when times comes I'll just sell this for few hundred, invest another few, and get a much better TV that is equivalent to the ones that go for around $5000 these days.
I personally find buying a high-end tech electronics is always waste of money as prices drop dramatically every year. There's always a best compromising price range for any electronics, and for TVs I would say around $1000-1500.
At Bestbuy.ca
LG 47" 1080p = $1299
LG 47" 1080p 120Hz (Scarlett) = $1999
LG 52" 1080p = $1999
LG 52" 1080p 120Hz (Scarlett) = $2499
I would without hesitation go with the first one and buy a blue-ray player or decent surround speakers with the remaining $, but if budget was high enough I'd go with any one of next two. But I'd never go for $2499 one because it's over the price:tech compromise range. That price will drop to half in a year or so and I'd feel like shite unless I were rich...
Another word of advice... Don't forget to get a decent surge-protector. Salesman will scare you to get an over $100 ones and tell you it's a must, or they'll try to sell you an extended warranty plan that covers surge damage(Surge damage can cause dead pixels). But you can just go to Source by Circuit City and get just as good ones for half price or less. I would say protectors that can take 2000-3000 Jouls is enough and some of those are like $30. I went to Visions when I was shopping for mine, and the salesmand tried his ass off to scare me that I need to get a high-end surge protector and showed me $250 ones... I thanked him for the info and walked out...
Lastly, If you buy with a credit card. It'll give you another year of warranty on top of the original 1-year manufacturer's warranty. So 2 years manufacturer's warranty without extra cost. Any credit card offers that these days. So buy it with credit card and just pay it right back on your way home or within the grace-period, unless you have enough budget to purchase extended warranty at the shop.
