What if you like to watch TV and movies, which is just about everybody?

None, waiting for laser tv :thumbsup

You can pickup a Sony KDF-50E2000, 50-Inch for under a grand these days. Just bought one yesterday while I send my 55 inch in for repair.

It's great so far, no complaints and I've tried HDTV, DVDs and Wii games on it.

However if you go for a more expensive tv, I'd choose LCD over Plasma. Plasma parts bur out more frequently and for video gaming the refresh rate usually sucks.

My ex just bought that exact TV last month. He got it online with free shipping and no tax and it was less than $3k. I thought that was a pretty good deal compared to what I paid for mine (Samsung but smaller size and contrast) over a year ago.

I don't have anything to compare by, but I was planning to buy a plasma and literally every place I went told me to get the LCD.

I had 50" plasma, currently have 47" lcd. I prefer the lcd.

I bought 3 Samsung Plasma screens from Circuit City.. The first one blew out in 1 week. The 2nd one got burn-in after a week (side bars from 4:3 shows). The 3rd one is upstairs in the bedroom.. it's fine, but burn-ins exist.

The living room now has a 1080p LCD. Looks great.. no burn-ins.

If plasma didnt suffer from burn-in.. i'd go with plasma, since it does produce a more vibrant picture. But newer LCDs have much higher contrast ratios now.. and you wont ever have to worry about burn-ins.

I'd go with:
Movies only?: Plasma .. wont have to worry about side-bar burn-ins.
a lot of TV?: LCD... no burn-ins.

I would say plasma..
I bought a Panasonic 50" full hd plasma and it rocks! even on SD content..
I dont have cable tv, i have a Topfield 7710hdpvr tuner and it upscales SD perfectly. I compared LCD to plasma and i think that plasma wins in every field.. color is very natural, viewing angle is superb.. i have no ghosting effect at all..but i guess all next generation plasma's don't have this..
Games look super, i have 360 connected trough hdmi and my ps3 as well. the only console that doesn't look good is my Wii... but i guess thats coz i have it connected analog trough scart.
LCD is like looking at a computer screen.. i don't like it at all..colors are not natural and black isn't black..

Plasma all the way!

Check what your credit cards offer as bennifits. I know on one of my cards which I purchase my high end items through automatically adds a year of extra warranty at no extra cost if you buy it with that card. Though they will also add a year to an extended warranty as well. Either way it is another free year.

Go for new models of Panasonic Viera. They are much superior then older (Viera 127cm / 50" was Tv of year 2007). They are real fullHD, that means they can play vids in fullHD resolution (most of fake "fullHD" TVs got fullHD resolutions but can't play videos in such (weak electronics).)

LCD is like large TV, Plasma is like cinema. LCD looks horrible on cable (in my country).

Comparing power consumption is f*****n ridiculous, cause LCD is measured in gray and Plasma in maximum contrast and brightness.

Plasma have 4Giga colors instead of LCDs 16Mega.

Go for better.

I prefer an LCD..cheaper and last longer

thats old old news..

plasma lasts as long as LCD.. and prices for big screens are cheaper for plasma than lcd

Besides, who cares if a TV lasts 15 years.. i never ever had a TV that long..
Laser TV is coming..

When buying a plasma, you go for Panasonic Viera, not for Samsung ...
The newest Full HD models last 100,000 hours, min. risk of burn-ins, home cinema ... :thumbsup

UGHH... this debate is so old and boring.... here's the scoop:

LCD is more expensive for larger screens.
LCD is SLOWER than Plasma.
LCD can't produce the color BLACK very well.
LCD color isn't quite as saturated as Plasma.

So:
If you want watch your favorite movies without being distracted by blurry ghosts on fast moving images, or GRAY nighttime or space scenes that should be black, or boring unreasitic colors, get yourself a Plasma. They're cheap, they're great. Panasonic Vierra's are fantastic.

If you need some help shopping for a TV, bring your favorite DVD to the store and ask for a side-by-side comparison of any TV's you want.

Happy Shopping!

m

LCD for the win! :thumbsup