I'm going in for surgery next week :eek: and figure I might as well have something to do during the healing process. What brand and model would you recommend in the 40 - 42" size? This is the max size for the area I am putting it in. Would like to stay under 2k. This will be my first HD tv let alone the first TV I have bought in years. I plan on going out this weekend to make the purchse. Thanks,

Matt

Depends on your situation and what you do, really.

If you plan on doing a lot of gaming, or watching a lot of 4:3 content, you might think about an LCD. Samsung A550 is nice and should fit your budget.

If you plan on watching a lot of movies, the Panasonic plasma 42PZ800 would be a very good choice, imho. Plasma provide the best picture, but they aren't without problems. Burn-in is mostly not a problem, but can still happen if you keep static images on the screen for a long time (like gaming, with a HUD display for example, or the Windows taskbar).

Mostly watch movies and tv, but I will be connecting my computer up to it. So looks like I'll be looking at LCDs.

Mostly watch movies and tv, but I will be connecting my computer up to it. So looks like I'll be looking at LCDs.
if you mostly watch movies and tv, it won't be a problem.

If you use your tv primarily as a giant computer monitor, yes it can be a problem.

But as I said, mixing the content shouldn't be a problem with burn-in. If computer usage is 70-80% of usage time, it can be a problem. If it's 10-15%, not a problem.

I plan on using my computer to watch DVDs as it has a hdmi port until I get a blue-ray(possibly a ps3). I will look at both this weekend. Thanks

get a plasma it has better PQ better blacks better motion and speed just great for movies.... a panasonic then a samsung . if you willing to spend more then get a pioneer kuro regardless if its an 2007 or 08 it will beat most other brands (panny/sammy)

Get a plasma, Panasonic 42pz800u which will be under your budget.

If you want a plasma, and want to save some serious ching, go for the pz80u. You can get your PS3, and any other toy you want :)