In the market for a plasma.........suggestions?

Right on, Bradz! Since you have Maggies, you're obviously an audiophile, so you "look before leaping," and you're wise. The surge protectors with advanced line filtration, like the Monster, clean-up the picture quality because they eliminate AC line noise and stabilize voltage, either of which can have negative effects on picture quality (and of course sound in a good system). I use the Monster surge protectors with "Clean Power" when I do a system, because they work and I can get a decent price on them. Regarding the Oppo 971, I haven't tried that combo, so I'd go with the recommendation from the folks who have. The 970, as you've read, is a very nice unit for the money. Though Toshiba typically builds good, reliable products I don't think I'd invest in an HD-DVD or Blu-Ray player yet. They're still in the "teeth-cutting" stage.

Confessions first--I'm a HD junkie. I've had HD in my house for 6/7 years. Even after all that newness I still watch "whatever" in HD as a first choice.
I had the Monster 2000 near 5/6 years ago. I had the Pioneer Elite pro 119 at the time. The Monster helped it and made the purchase worthwhile. (Back then I had front projector for HD.) When I got my present Mits. the Monster did't do jack;period.--So I'm only stating what worked for me, and what didn't--.As far as pure PQ; I'll bet the Toshiba HD DVD player (hd disc) will beat any SD player. Sure I know this is un unfair comparison. Right now my AV spending habit is in remission. To bad these guys couldn't get together and share the market,instead of mucking it up. They had this kind of debacle just before DVDs came to market. As far as plasma goes--I can't go smaller than my 65" I already own.

Tvad - I've worked for ABC (in NYC & Hollywood), channel 11 in NYC, CNN and several multimedia/post production companies in NYC, LA and ATL with full blown recording and editing studio departments. I can tell you the decision to purchase plasmas, cameras, speakers and a myriad of other studio equipment is rarely based on best of breed performance criteria. It's all about the business deal. What manufacturer can supply the studio with the broadest range of equipment at the best package price. It's about leveraging economies of scales and lowering the number of vendors you have to manage. See Procurement 101 for further details. Basing an equipment purchasing decision on what the pros use is not always as compelling as it seems.