I work in the industry and would be happy to help you with any questions or opinions you may have!

man, did i fuck that up...i meant to post a comprehensive response for you to read...sorry for the double post. anyways, lets see if i can help you with your purchase.
1. LCDs and plasmas use two inherently different technologies. LCDs use a constantly backlit screen, meaning there is an actual active light source behind the screen. this light passes through the lcd crystals, which gives you your picture, although the light passing through the crystals takes time, which is why you hear of LCD panels showing lag or "blurring" during periods of fast action (video games, sports, etc). this results in a brighter picture, although black levels never reach the darkness level of a quality plasma display because of this. in laymans terms, the picture is brighter at the cost of color accuracy, although this is definitely a matter of opinion. some people are attracted to the brighter picture and dont mind/notice the areas of the picture that should be darker (black) yet appear as a very dark grey. plasma displays create their picture by exciting small gas-filled cells with electrical currents, with no constant backlight and with minimal lag, giving them a darker, more natural-appearing, motion-friendly picture. This becomes a coke-or-pepsi debate in the end, as it really boils down to your personal preference and what you will be using the set to view the most. one important point to consider is that because a plasma display uses glass for its screen while an LCD does not, LCDs perform better in well-lit rooms (lots of daylight, etc) because the glass of a plasma is much more reflective in these environments.
2. all flat-panel displays on store/showroom floors are set to what is called "torch mode" out of the factory and the box. this is why these displays seem so bright in the store, as basically this is a combination of settings that pump the brightness/backlight settings at or near their peak levels. this is done simply to catch your attention...as your eye will instinctively be drawn to the brightest picture, flies to meat, so to speak.
3. most LCDs these days, and also higher-end plasma displays, are moving to the much-ballyhooed 1080p resolution level. this is where your shopping really becomes a matter of opinion, concerning the amount of money you want to spend, and how discerning your eye is (videophile). this breaks down to a few simple, misstated and misunderstood facts about the technology and its "benefits." the two things you must understand about 1080p are these: A) anything under 60 inches it is almost impossible to notice the difference in the increased level of resolution, as the 1920x1080 pixel structure is so tightly packed that there simply insnt enough real estate for you to notice any extra detail. anything under 52 inches and you wont notice a difference at all...1080p doesnt automatically make any display "better" than a well-made 720p set...there are plenty of shitty 1080p sets out there trying to make a buck on the name, trust me. B) there are only two sources actually encoded in 1080p to make use of the extra resolution anyway: blu-ray/hd-dvd discs, and certain video games on ps3 and xbox 360...and even these are mostly 720p material "upscaled" to a 1080p resolution...and dont even get me started about the whole "upscaling" garbage....basically, this means that your HDTV broadcast is only being transmitted to you at a 1080i or 720p level, and even these are heavily compressed. no matter what the resolution of your tv, it is the level and quality of your source material (the channel you are watching, the dvd you are playing) that plays just as much a part in overall picture quality as the resolution level of your display. 1080p is truly beautiful (and useful) when viewed on a $10,000+ projector (of which there are also a few differnet technologies) on a 100+ inch screen, watching 1080p-encoded blu-ray discs. this is truly where the 1080ps extra resolution will knock your fucking socks off. dont know if youre budgeted for that, but if you are, i can help you there, too.
3. i read a post up there about HDMI, and how it is the latest and greatest and that you want it. this is not necessarily true. the main advantage of HDMI is that it combines your high-definition picture and digital surround audio into a single cable, and it is also the only connection type that will let you pass a 1080p signal. This can be of use if you are simply connecting a source (HD cable box, ps3, etc) DIRECTLY to your display. if you are using a home theater reciever for a surround sound setup, then HDMI may present you some problems. HDMI is known in the industry to have synching issues when running them through a surround reciever. i dont know how much you know about home theater, so i apologize if i am talking about things you already understand, but ill throw it out there anyway. lets say you have a surround reciever. youd connect an HDMI cable to each source you are using (HD cable box, etc.) to an input on your reciever. then, youd have to run another HDMI cable to your display. the surround reciever handles all your switching, so HDMI 1 would be your cable box, HDMI 2 would be your ps3, and so on. what happens (often, unfortunately) is a nasty little thing called HDCP. implemented at the behest of hollywood studios, is basically a digital copyright protection scheme that requires all machines connected by HDMI and trying to pass an HD signal to perform a digital "handshake" with each other to certify they are compliant with the HDCP protocol. if at any time on piece of equipment doesnt perform this handshake, or doesnt like each other, or WHATEVER the fuck happens in the bits and bytes, you will get video with no audio, audio with no video, or sometimes, nothing at all. the shitty part about this is that its completely unpredictable if and when this will ever happen to you. ive set up systems connected with HDMI (against my wishes) where the system will operate flawlessly for months, yet on the day of the Super Bowl, bam, no audio. this happens often, and is widely acknowledged. my advice is fuck HDMI, use component video cables for all of your HD hookups. the people who will tell you that the picture quality is superior through HDMI dont know what the fuck they are talking about, trust me. they always end up being these technophile snobs who throw phantom specs and numbers at you that have no scientific meaning behind them (contrast ratios being one of them). there may be ultra minute differences that no one of sane thinking will notice, but it once again amounts to a matter of opinion. all im saying is dont be suckered by someone trying to get you to buy $120 cables that you dont have to have. also, dont be suckered into spending the extra money on a 1080p set if you dont have to have the "latest and greatest." think about this...if 1080p was so groundbreaking, you wouldnt be able to buy a budget 1080p set from brands like Vizio or Olevia, trust me. sorry for the huge, wordy post everybody...just trying to help someone enjoy their video games and movies to the utmost. this shit is too expensive these days for someoen to make a purchase with their hard-earned dollars and not be satisfied with what they got! if this was any help to you, please let me know and i will share my own personal opinions on what you should get. if not, just tell me to go fuck myself and i will slink away in obscurity, no questions asked.

Avian wrote:

Burt Reynolds wrote: I didnt read all of Dump Mouth's post, but here's my two cents: If your playing games, check the tv's response time... I haven't looked in a while, but LCD's used to outperform Plasma's in this area. It's really annoying, (esp GH3) when you're playing a game, and there is noticable lag on the set. You gun adjust this on GH, but it still doesn't feel right, and you cant do this on a lot of games. I personally have a DLP tv. low latentcy, high res, cheap (relatively) no burn-in problems. My only gripe is the viewing angle is not the best, but whatever. Also, especially in larger tv's, you can tell the difference between 720 and 1080... change your monitor from 800x600 to 1280x1024 and see if there is a notable differance. that's less of a step in total pixels than 1280x720- 19xx by 1080 I was under the impression that it's the other way around......response time and lag is an issue for LCD's, and not Plasma's. That said, I also heard that you can't really go by the TV's listed lag time, because different manufacturers measure it in different ways.

yes indeed, mr. reynolds has it backwards....LCDs are the technology with the lag problem. although this has been largely remedied in terms of response time, the lag is still somewhat noticable in terms of blurring during fast action (quick cuts, sporting events, etc.). this is due to the internal mechanics of how an LCD display actually creates its picture. in regards to response time, there was a point a few years ago where input response was an issue in some LCD displays, although not as widespread s some would have you believe (thank the internet for making a mountain out of a molehill.) what it amounted to was that some LCD displays exhibited sometimes up to a 1/3-second delay from when you pushed a button on your controller to when the action would be registered and displayed correctly. i know that sounds minute, but if youve ever tried pulling off a 5-hit combo in super street fighter II turbo with fucking lag, then youd know that it seems like an eternity. new LCD technology incorporating the 120-hertz refresh rate definitely help the blurring aspect of the picture, although in my opinion still doesnt give you as fluid a picture as a well-manufactured plasma display. actually, its not an opinion, but again, its up for debate whether you will personally recognize the difference, so there is room for debate.
answering your question above, some of the budget brands do actually give you a decent picture for minimal coin. vizio and , in particular, LG, make very nice sets for less money. what you lose in these cheaper brands is functionality (less inputs, less choices in customization, less options, etc.). in these situations, you really have to train yourself to ignore the brand on the tv and just look at the picture. i cant stress enough the importance of ignoring outside influence, message boards, technology reports, and the like....the most important thing for a consumer of HDTV is simply to be able to look at any given set and say, "does this look good to ME?" I know it seems much more complicated than that, but it really just boils down to if you will be happy with this set in your living room, and to hell with everything else! places like best buy and circuit city push certain sets due to inventory, manufactuerer incentives, etc. and most (but not all) salesmen there are not truly proficient in being able to explain the pros and cons, or even much of anything about these competing technologies. my advice to you is to try to seek out a home theater specialty shop in your area, and bring some movies or video game systems with you. pick your favorite content and ask to have it set up on a set youre interested in. the smaller establishments are much friendlier, more knowledgable, and MUCH more receptive to actually helping you make a good purchase. people who work in best buy just see it as a job....but employees at a true custom home theater shop HAVE to be knowledgable (educated) to get that job, therefore are more inclined to actually CARE about their job, hence giving you better service. you dont have to buy anything at these places, so dont be worried about the somewhat higher prices and higher-level displays that they showcase....but it is a good idea to get to spend some time with a set youre interested in, with someone who actually cares about it as well, instead of just buying some tv off a shelf because an 18 year old kid told you it "rocks." i hope at least some of this info is helping you in your own personal version of "decision '08!"