Help with a new TV.

I have a 60" Sony GWIV and a 42" NEC ED plasma. I can honestly say HD vs ED is not very obvious unless you are sitting too close to the screen. Especially in a 42" or smaller screen, ED vs. HD is even less obvious.

If I can afford a 60" plasma, that will be my first choice. PQ on plasma is in a different league, nothing come close right now (except maybe the new Sony Qualia 005...)

I have a feeling that the first generation plasma TV's will be regarded as were the first generation CD players and discs in the near future. There are still plenty of bugs to be worked out with the plasma system.

Jond,
I went through the exact decision process approx 6mos ago. I moved into a condo with an oddly-shaped family room that would not accomodate a floor-standing set of any size (while still maintaining ideal conditions for the 2-channel system, of course). Thus, I was looking only at wall-mount units, at this time, LCD vs. Plasma. I opted for a 42" Panasonic EDTV plasma for several reasons. First, the family room has a lot of ambient light, so it was important that the set look good in close to full daylight. Plasma has a BIG advantage here. Second, plasma was more forgiving from wide viewing angles - so it can be enjoyed from anywhere in the room. As to ED vs. HD, I primarily watch DVDs, which are actually slightly better on a ED set. Also, EDTV was more forgiving for standard def signals - the other primary use in my case. Currently, I only have 4 HD channels available, and it accounts for less than 5% of my total use. Besides, ED looks exceptional with a HD signal and the improvement with an HD set was slight. With the slow implementation of HD by the television industry, HD signals will comprise only a small amount of my viewing.
Thus, you really need to balance price with an honest assessment of your viewing practices. The Panny plasma that I picked up is the latest generation commercial version that can be bought for under $2k, delivered to your door. While I also have little regard for Panasonic audio gear, in the world of plasmas, they are very respected, and considered the benchmarks at their pricepoint. No problems/concerns with my set, and the picture is stellar. Good luck in your quest, hope this helps.

Given your budget, placement and aesthetic constraints, a small LCD sounds like it fits your needs. If it is your opinion that the picture is excellent, that it has the necessary ins and outs, and your significant other likes it, then all systems are go for the Sharp. I would add two caveats. First, LCD's are not as good when viewing off angle. When you look at the store's model, adjust your viewing position so that it is similar to the position you will be in at home, especially if it's off-axis. See if you still think the picture is good enough for you. That usually turns me off of most LCD's right away. Second, I would repeat Swampwalkers's point. Observe the TV with motion to see if the motion artifacts are distracting. A tennis match is a good test. If the ball looks like a comet, although novel, it gets old really fast. For little LCD's, I am rather partial to Sony. They make a 26 inch widescreen LCD which should be around the same price point as the Sharp. It's a bit smaller, and Sony tend to charge a premium for their products, but it's pretty good. I was in a store which had three small LCD's. One was a Sharp, although not the model you mention, and one was a Sony. I forget the third one. The credits at the end of a film were rolling by on all three at once. Although none had the reproduction of continuous motion that you would get from a CRT, the Sony was head and shoulders above the others. Of course it cost more, but you could see what you were getting for the extra money.

FWIW, i was at soundtrack audio checking out the 42 inch version of the EDTV plasma, and it was right next to the HDTV plasma.
Standing 8 feet back watching a high def singnal, i couldnt tell a difference.
in fact, i couldnt tell a difference unless i was 2 feet away really looking for it.
edtv looks just as good as HDTV in my view.
i heared it was very similar but i diddnt believe it untill i saw the panny HD and ED side by side. After seeing them together i cannot juistify the price of the HDTV model.

Too bad on your experience with pannys, everything ive bought from em was a good deal and lasted me damn near forever.
Just rememver, when it comes to plasma, Panasonic is on thier 7th or 8th generation models, so far they are leaps ahead of other similar priced models.