Thoughts on Plasma, LCD, DLP and which way to go

Plasma. Prices have dropped considerably to the point you can buy a quality 50" set (Panasonic, Samsung, Philips) for under $4000. Rear LCD and DLP projo's are great, but you'll be replacing the bulb every one to two years at about $250-$300 each. It won't take long to make up the difference in price with the savings in no bulb replacement. Newer plasmas won't burn in like the older models and should last 10-15 years before they reach their "half-life".

If you need flat, I'd look at LCD or Plasma. If you want a "flatter big-screen", old CRT still beat up on LCD/DLP for pic quality...and they're WAY CHEAPER!
You don't do computer or video games on CRT though,ideally, and they're a bit heavier.
Still, what are your requirements?

I live in Tokyo, the land of doodadegadgetry, and have recently undertaken The Quest For The Appropriate Large Flat Panel Display. I chose a 50" plasma (Pioneer 535) because while the HDTV picture on the Sharp 45" LCD is good for high-definition video of snails crawling up a leaf, for sports events it does not cut it. For those who want a 50" screen and can afford to wait another several months AND afford to get products when they come out, I would wait for the Pioneer and Panasonic full-HDTV-capable 50" and 50+" plasmas coming out at or near year-end.

My personal decision was based on the expectation that at some point a few years from now, I would probably need a second one so would go for LCD then when they get the latency issues sorted out.

I did not even consider DLP because the picture always seemed a bit bland to me.

Hmm. Ok. A very general question;

1. If smaller, then 37 inch screen-- LCD definetly.
2. If 42 inch or larger Plasma definetly.
3. At 37 inch, its a toss up.
4. If DVDs in the dark or minimum light- Panasonic 42 ED Plasma.
5. IF HD content is primary- them a wide selection of plasma brands including Pioneer, Pansonic, Fujitsu, and Hitachi; this assumes ambient light and size 50 inch or greater.
6. DLP is a substandard video technology, and there are already interesting new alternative technologies just now coming out. Rainbow effect is a problem. The foot print is too large as well. Used to be called a "Poor Man's plasma"- but with authorized online plasma reseller pricing at 1500 now for 42 inch, even this isn't true anymore.
7. LCD pics these days are razor sharp and good color too. COntrast ratio still not great- I want a set with good black levels so I can see the shadow detail in darker scenes, in movies like Sin City for example. Cost isn't competitive at larger sizes due to sheet glass size production cost issues.
8. The comment about plasma lives and throw-aways is misleading. Panels these days are 60,000 hour to half-brightness; and thats with the picture setting at max. Most of us have that setting way down. But calculate how many hours a year you spend on viewing and do the math. The result may surprise you.

Dont bother with regular TVs and RPTVs. Go and buy a HDTV (no, not HDTV Ready, or EDTV). I recently bought a Pioneer Elite 50" PRO-1130HD Model. In my opinion, there are only three plasmas worth getting. On the top of my list was the Pioneer 6G (6th generation plasma), followed by Fujitsu and then a less expensive Panasonic. The best blacks that I have seen were on the Panny. But the Pioneer Elites and Fujitsus offered a better, detailed picture and superior color rendition so I was willing to live with the trade-offs. The Pioneer also came with a tuner and removable speakers. The theoretical life of most plasmas today is between 30,000 to 60,000 hours. This is comparable to the theoretical tubelife of the regular CRT tvs. This is theoretical life but the technology is so new that there isn't enough statistical data to back it up. As far absolute quality goes CRT is still king, followed by LCD flat screen, then Plasma. CRTs are huge, LCD is more delicate though and limited in size. LCDs also require bulb replacement which can be expensive. I investigated plasmas for years before taking the plunge and am very happy with the purchase. IMHO