Looking for a 50inch 1080P (Under 2k)

Ok here's the deal, are GWIII sony 50 inch Lcd rear projection is having problems with the light engine. We have a warranty and they will either give us a 720P mits tv(LCD as well) or $1,200 cash or something along those lines. We rather upgrade to a 1080p tv, but this all came out of nowhere so we can't afford much of an upgrade.

Any suggestions on a good set, doesn't matter the technology, but i'd like to stick with a good brand like Samsung or Sony.

I went to Best buy and Circuit City last night to check out the Sony and Samsung sets. I liked both alot(The cabinet on the Samsung is very slick).

I'm a little burned right now that my Sony has this problem(Red blotches getting worse and worse all over the screen) but i love the picture Quality. So i'm not sure if i wanna go sony again, i hear alot of praise about Samsung Dlp's.

Can anyone give me unbiased pro's an con's on the sets? I know when i first got my set it was between the sony and Samsung, at the time the sony just seemed to have more "pros" for my taste. This was over 3 years ago though.