For anything under 50", 1080p is a complete waste.

Marketing fluff. I sincerely doubt if on a 60" set if you did a blind test that anyone could really point out the difference between 1080p or 1080i or even 720p.

Resolution is a simple measurement of the number of dots. The more dots, the more point detail. Diagonal lines look smoother, but most of what you watch on TV is a picture.

Color Gamut and contrast ratio will affect your perceived overall image quality lots more than resolution by itself.

I would much rather have a 720p set that has a good contrast ratio and a wide color gamut then a 1080p set that has crappy contrast and mediocre gamut. If you didn't tell anyone the specs of the two sets, size for size the 720p set would look leaps and bounds better.

The best advice I ever received from AVS Forum was to get a set from a place with a liberal return policy - i.e. take back with no questions asked and no restocking fee. If you aren't going to be playing video games with lots of static displays and primarily watching movies, plasma is still a much better looking picture then LCD.

Cheaper sets have cheaper electronics. Vizio sets that Costo sells? 14 bit color. Much shallower color depth then the Sharp Aquios or Sony sets.

Bottom line, don't get hung up on resolution alone Pay attention to all the specs - but most importantly, test it out in your house.

People swore up and down rear projection CRT (seriously old school) was simply not watchable in a room with bright light. I have two stories of south facing windows that only have light filtering shades, not room darkening - and my CRT TV is just fine. It's not as nice as it is at night when it's dark, but it's definitely watchable - to me.

I have also had a DLP set in this room and it looked fine. SDX will have to chip in with the make and model if you are interested - I don't remember.

Take advice given in Internet forums with a grain of salt and be willing to try stuff. If I would have believed everything I read and people who offered their opinions (well intentioned as they were) me buying a CRT RPTV was a huge mistake. They couldn't have been more wrong. $800 for 56" - it makes a gorgeous picture that still has a higher contrast ratio then any other display technology. Wider color gamut then most as well too. For the money, I couldn't beat it.

Picture is highly subjective - don't get too wrapped up in specs and enjoy looking and watching sets until you find one you like.

EDIT: If I was buying today, I would be buying LED based DLP set. Much higher color gamut, and the LED's last practically forever. No expensive bulb changes. Also, no color wheel, greatly reducing the complexity of the set (and no rainbow effect, which I never saw anyway - some people see 'em, some people don't). LCD's filter light, DLP's reflect - DLP will almost always spank LCD for brightness. But again, you can get the picture too bright. That's also something you need to be aware of, stores crank the birghtness because we naturally gravitate towards the brightest set - don't fall for that trap. Also the store has much harsher room lighting then (I hope) your house. Again, it's imperative to evaluate in your home.

Watching the Redskins/Philly game right now, and the HD is just amazing....