I'm shopping the 50" right now too...
am leaning towards either:
* the Pioneer PDP-5070HD, which CNET ranks as one of the best.
http://reviews.cnet.com/Pioneer_PDP_...7.html?tag=pop
OR
* Phillips 50" Ambilight. I've seen a few of these in stores and that light show behind the TV looks too cool to pass up.
SB