So, I've been living in the dark ages with a 20" CRT style TV for a while ago, and its in such sad shape I'm ashamed to admit how badly it currently works. Time to modernize, and hoping to take advantage of a Black Friday sale in a few days. So now I am trying to figure out exactly what features I need and ultimately which model to invest in.

My budget is roughly $1000. If there is a really compelling reason to, I can go higher, say to $1500. My main concern is that I want a set that's going to last me a long time... like I don't want to buy another TV for at least 5 years, and more like 10 years, so I want something that is not likely to break or wear out for at least that long, and although there are no promises, something that is hopefully technologically not a complete dinosaur 5-10 years from now either.

So first a few questions - LCD or plasma? For me I am hesitant for Plasma for two reasons - a) I hear that they lose some of the brightness after a few years, and b) the viewing angle - I would guess that I'm usually going to be within 25-30 degrees of the screen. Will the plasma look good at that angle? Will LCD? On the other hand, I hesitate on LCD due to the refresh rate etc - i.e. that motion doesn't always look so good, and I've yet to see an LCD that really blows me away with the picture the way a plasma does.

My other consideration is that the room where this will go gets a lot of glare during sunrise and sunset - I'd like to be able to watch without to much difficulty even during those times.

As far as size goes, pretty much anything 30" or above is going to be great for me - bigger is better up to a point... 42" would probably be ideal, 50" too big, willing to go less than 42" though. The room where this is going isn't that large.

And 720p vs 1080p, this is where I'm also a bit hesitant deciding what to do. Currently, besides wanting to watch cable / broadcast TV in HD, the only other thing I'll be doing that's at all high def. is watching DVD's and maybe plugging in my laptop or digital camera (if possible?) to view photos. Down the road, blu-ray might be in my future - probably at least a year away though. No plans for any sort of video game console.

If anyone can help me out with any advice as to which features I should look at, or any specific models, or just a good site to go to to get more info without this turning into researching for a PhD thesis, I'd really appreciate it.

IMO...go with 42- 52 depending on viewing distance...as far as 720 - 1080 if you have a future with bluray go with 1080 if not 720 will be fine depending on viewing distance usually greater than 4 ft.....i have a Sony DLP ( 720 ), my dad has 46 sony 1080 my brother has a VIZIO 37 and 42 my father In law has a sharp 1080 all will be fabulous in picture detail compared to what your watching...I like Somy , Sharp and Vizio...you can get alot of bang for your buck from Vizio and thy're in your price range....there is alot of good info on this site ...but be careful most have something to say about everything use you eyes and read up a litte good luck and welcome to the high def world

With your budget I would get a 42" Panasonic plasma.... That will get you the most bang for your buck at the largest screen size available...

So first a few questions - LCD or plasma? For me I am hesitant for Plasma for two reasons - a) I hear that they lose some of the brightness after a few years,
This is something that's based in reality but isn't actually a real concern. Plasma screens do get dimmer with usage - currently Panasonic says the "half brightness" age for their sets is 100,000 hours. So after 100,000 hours of use, the screen will be half as bright as it was when you bought it. That's equal to watching it for 10 hours a day, every day, for 27 years. So I don't think you'll notice any dimming to worry about over the 5-10 years you're hoping to use it.

and b) the viewing angle - I would guess that I'm usually going to be within 25-30 degrees of the screen. Will the plasma look good at that angle? Will LCD?
Plasmas have essentially perfect viewing angles. LCD on the other hand does not. Some LCDs are worse than others, they're all worse than any plamsa in this regard.

As to your other questions, a lot of sunlight in the room can be a reason to lean towards LCD. They are generally brighter and most are available with a matte finish screen that hides reflections. That said, there are glossy finish LCDs that are terrible with reflections. Panasonics generally have pretty good anti-glare screens.

At 42", the benefits of 1080p over 720p are largely theoretical for most people at normal viewing distances. Go to a store and try to see any difference, resolution wise, between the two at your viewing distance. I doubt you'll notice anything.

That said, 720p is generally seen in the lower-end sets, so there may be other picture quality benefits in the middle and upper end models that will be 1080p.

The reviews at CNet.com are pretty good.

$1,000 will get you into any number of really nice TVs, 720p 42" plasmas for sure, maybe some 1080p plasmas, plenty of LCDs.

jeff