Looking for a new TV, need advice.

Ridiculous.

Quote from handyguy : It's still 2012, we don't know enough about sales for this year yet, Ah, something more recent? 'Call it a comeback: Plasma HDTV sales continue to increase' By Sean Portnoy | June 23, 2011, 5:34am PDT' http://www.zdnet.com/blog/home-th...ction/5014

Well now, that is truly interesting, as it contradicts the info I was quoting.
So it's like this, going back to the beginning of this thread as I briefly explained the common 3 classes of TV's, hoping to guide the OP towards a model of TV that I deem to be the best for the dollar, and I mentioned Plasmas being on the way out, based on the info I had at the time and now, after reading the info from the link you just sent, I am no longer convinced, one way or another and I don't have that much interest in the TV market or even TV's themselves, apart from being glad that I have a good one, so we can hope that puts an end to this deviation away from the main topic of suggesting a good TV for the OP.

I'm not a fan of the SmartTV's I've tried. The beautiful graphics on the box usually aren't matched by the software.

Mostly, SmartTV's deliver services such as Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, and home videos. In my tests, both AppleTV and Sony PS/3 vastly out-perform the Smart TV software and hardware. They aren't just easier to use, but the video decoding quality, in my tests, was very noticeably better.

If you're an Apple user (if you have an iPhone or iPad), the AppleTV is really great. The only downside I have with it is they don't offer Hulu; the same shows are available through iTunes, but not for $7/month. But if you have cable or satellite TV, you probably won't pay for Hulu.

Otherwise, the Roku box is excellent as well, and worth considering. Roku includes Hulu and other services which Apple lacks, such as CinemaNow and Vudu. You won't be disappointed. Both Roku and Apple cost about $99

Whichever you choose, you'll pay much less than the SmartTV premium, and you'll get better results, and, of course, you'll be able to upgrade easily in a few years when a better box comes out.