Which hdtv would you recommend and why?

It seems like now that Pioneer is not making their top-rated Kuro line, Panasonic is the one to go with if you decide on plasma. That is what I will do when I get enough money, and I have low light in the living room and the seating is really spread out. I think those are the main contingencies as to which type to get. If you have a lot of light and maybe one couch, go with the lcd/led. Samsung seems like a good start for these.

panasonic plasma --have the pioneer engineers working for them now --good reliability --if not plasma look at the vizio LED

Samsung plasma 450 series (42") is what I picked up a year ago, and it's been killer. The advantage of the Samsungs over the Panasonics is that they have more picture control, which is useful if you are obsessed w/customizing your viewing experience. There are a ton of 450 owners who love them...check 'em out.

I have a Samsung 58" 850 series plasma an I am extremely immpressed with the picture. Few standard def channels are ok, high def is very good. I don't watch dvd's as much as blu ray and 1080P 24 FP is just astonishing. Best I've seen. Only 8 months old and still impresses me....gives off a lil heat but at 12+ feet away it isn't noticable...

Regards Bacardi

Samsung LED
best value