Flat screens?

Haven't looked at TVs in the last few months but when we were shopping for a smaller Sony flatscreen LCD ...I'd rate technology options (50"+)as: Plasma, Sony SXRD, DLP, LCD...that was my impression anyway. The Sony LCD we got is fantastic with high def content but conventional broadcast content can look very grainy and there is some "blurring" on fast motion stuff due to the slow refresh rate of LCD. Sony gets their LCD tech from Samsung. It's not a shot at Sony but a limitation of the technology. Sony's proprietary LCD technology SXRD has a much faster refresh rate and I fell in love with a 60" rear projector using it. Not flat screen, however. Plasma looks great...almost 3D but I've been concerned about the life-time of the screen. Had heard it will fade out over time and can't be repaired. Interested in comments about plasma reliability that I think would be informative to Raquel as well.

Haven't looked at TVs in the last few months but when we were shopping for a smaller Sony flatscreen LCD ...I'd rate technology options (50"+)as: Plasma, Sony SXRD, DLP, LCD...that was my impression anyway. The Sony LCD we got is fantastic with high def content but conventional broadcast content can look very grainy and there is some "blurring" on fast motion stuff due to the slow refresh rate of LCD. Sony gets their LCD tech from Samsung. It's not a shot at Sony but a limitation of the technology. Sony's proprietary LCD technology SXRD has a much faster refresh rate and I fell in love with a 60" rear projector using it. Not flat screen, however. Plasma looks great...almost 3D but I've been concerned about the life-time of the screen. Had heard it will fade out over time and can't be repaired. Interested in comments about plasma reliability that I think would be informative to Raquel as well.

What 55dok says is absolutely spot on. I own BOTH plasma (Panasonic) and the latest Sharp Aquos (LCD) both in 42".

The Panasonic plasma is by FAR the most realistic (even though it is TWO years older than the Sharp). I heavily regret the Aquos purchase. LCD manufacturers are LIARS. It claimed a 10,000 to 1 contrast ratio for the Sharp....clearly this is pure and utter BS!

I wish there were more honest people around like 55Dok - it would have saved me learning the hard way! But, as usual the reviews all gave Aquos a high rating....complete BS.

BTW: I also owned Sony Vega 36" XBR HD CRT tube TV and it was BETTER than both the new flat screens for natural colours and contrast. The new flat panels however have the edge in terms of accurate geometry (especialy towards the corners) and brightness however.

For a sleeper LCD check out Olevia - highly rated by Consumers Reports and IMHO gives a picture quality second only to the Sony Bravia series at 2.5x the cost.

Although I think Rlwainwright is correct that you will want 4" greater than you actually buy, you'll also notice that it really doesn't matter all that much because the picture is soooo much clearer than a convntional CRT TV that you'll find it easy to watch and generally pretty satisfying.

Remember that the TV is only half of the equation...an HD source, either over-the-air, cable, or satellite is the other half...standard cable or even satellite is going to look about the same as it does on your old TV. A good quality progressive scan DVD player hooked up with component cables or one of the newer upconvert DVD players is an inexpensive way to get great picture quality for movies. Blu-Ray and HD-DVD player prices are dropping rapidly and will also upconvert your current DVD discs to look great on an HD TV. I agee that Plasmas are the way to go right now. I have two, including a Pioneer 43" that looks great with my HD Directv.