I've decided to post this question on the rptv board because thats the technology im more leaning to. I want to spend under $2500, and have a tv that is between 40" and 50". I have been leaning towards the samsung hl-s5088w (or the 87w if it has identical picture quality and performance) due to its competitive price point, 1080p over component and vga, and because of the large amount of good reviews ive read online. After going to Best Buy and taking a look at the sets, I couldnt help but notice that several of the lcds and plasmas seemed to have a better picture. So im also interested in sony's 40" xbr2 and v2500, as well as sonys sxrd 50" rptv.

I'll be hooking up a 360 (+hddvd), ps3, and a comcast hd-dvr to the television. My main issues are picture quality as well as performance with videogames.

So with all that considered, what would be my best option (im open to other options other then the tvs mentioned above as well)?

Unfortunately, it can be difficult to judge PQ in stores due to poor setups, but you don't have other options. Make sure to look in several different stores. IMO, size is important, and I wouldn't go with a 40" display over a 50" display, depending on how far you are sitting from it (about 9' would be perfect for a 50" display). For the reasons you state above, the Samsung is a great match with the 360.

Before you decide on an LCD, please look at it from different angles. I too was shocked at how great an LCD could look and almost jumped. Head on that is. Walk off to the side and the colors totally change, and the already weak black levels turn to a milky gray. This was VERY prominent on all LCD's except I will say that Sharp's did it the least. But you pay for them. And if you have a bright room, which I do, I would also be careful with plasmas due to the annoying CRT like reflection and glares.

Oh and regarding the Samsung, I unfortunately cannot comment because I see the rainbows pretty bad on DLP's thus have to rule them out. My technology of choice is LCOS.

Alright so i'm definately leaning more towards the samsung 50" dlp. The question is should I get the 87w or the 88w. Comparing specs it seems the only difference is cable card, firewire, and pip on the 88w, though I hear the 88w has is 10-bit while the 87w is 8-bit. Is that true, and if so does it make much of a difference?

Alright so i'm definately leaning more towards the samsung 50" dlp. The question is should I get the 87w or the 88w. Comparing specs it seems the only difference is cable card, firewire, and pip on the 88w, though I hear the 88w has is 10-bit while the 87w is 8-bit. Is that true, and if so does it make much of a difference?
There isn't much price difference between the 5087W and the 5687W. I just got the 5687w simply because of the value. As far as the 88W vs the 87W IMO if you don't need the extra features like the PIP and cable card slot I wouldn't bother with it.

The 5688 also allows you to turn off overscan.

Something else to consider which bumps up against the top of your price range is the Samsung 5679 with the LED light engine.