First and foremost TV size matters. Consider Plasma a "high end tech spec." Such tech specs don't really come into play unless you break 40" and moreso 50". In TVs of 37" and smaller you just aren't going to see the advantages of those features, so its not worth the money paying for them. Hence why you don't see any of the major brands releasing small sized Plasma sets. Other tech features that fall into that category are 1080p (vs 720p), 120Hz/240Hz refresh rate (vs 60Hz), and LED backlit LCD (vs CCFL). All of these require you pay a price premium for them. And you're not really going to get much from them unless you're looking at bigger sets. In a 37" or smaller set a 720p 60Hz CCFL LCD will do you just fine. All LCDs (even LED LCDs) suffer from motion blur (ghost trails) when playing back fast motion. This is why you have the 120Hz and 240Hz refresh rates. These are meant to help compensate. They do help a lot for sure, but they aren't 100%. And you have to pay a very steep price premium for this feature. CCFL (traditional) LCDs will have weak color, less true blacks, and reduced contrast. LCD manufacturers compensate for this with the advent of the LED LCD. This helps tremendously. The LED LCD image is far superior. But again you pay a massive price premium to get such a set. Plasma, inherently out of the box, has a near instantaneous refresh rate (like a CRT). That means it can play back fast motion flawlessly (the 480Hz or 600Hz things you see on Plasma are more marketing than anything else, just know they rock on fast motion). Plasma will deliver, out of the box, better color, truer blacks, and deeper contrast. Its just inherent to the technology. There is no price premium for the superior image. Right now its still even stronger than an LED LCD in these regards (and WAY cheaper). Plasma's are glossy screens (because they are glass), and LCDs are typically matte finishes. So if your room has a large amount of uncontrollable light bleeding in, sometimes an LCD can be the better choice. But Plasmas now have better anti-reflection coatings, and well if the light is too bad, even the LCD's matte finish might not be enough (you might have to find ways to block the light). Plasmas mainly only suffer from myths and misconceptions based upon their problematic early days. They used to be more expensive, suffer from burn-in, not work in high altitudes, have short life-spans, and be energy hogs. This is not the case anymore though. In the larger sizes they are often cheaper (Because of the price premium on 120Hz and LED). They no longer suffer from burn-in, and major brands even include anti-image retention features (above and beyond the technology advancements). The better models are rated at 100,000 hours which is equal to or better than any LCD. And modern ones are now energy star rated. If you go with a Plasma, I recommend going with a Panasonic Viera. They are the leaders in the technology (now that Pioneer has decided to leave the game). They have very good pricing (and do go on sale at like Best Buy and such). If Panasonic just isn't for you, then you can settle with either a Samsung or LG Plasma. If you do go LCD, in smaller sizes, I prefer Panasonic again. This is purely for aesthetics. I prefer the blacks and colors they deliver over other brands. Otherwise, or if you go into bigger sizes, look to the big 3 S's.... Sony, Samsung, and Sharp Aquos are all your friend there. LG and Toshiba make some good models too, so are worth your consideration as well.