Need a new TV

I've seen a few threads on this topic, but I thought I'd present my particular situation, and get some advice...
I bought a 52" Toshiba DLP about 6 or 7 years ago... and after a few blown lamps (one the night before the Superbowl) and other issues, I think the thing finally died altogether. Blown ballast.

So... I'm done. I need something new. But... we just had our first kid and my wife stopped working, so our budget is tighter than it was back when we got the Toshiba. Paid well over 3 grand for that one... need to stay as close as possible to 1 grand or under for this one.

Needless to say, I feel like I made the wrong purchase last time... so I;m hoping to be smarter now.

Thoughts? I'm looking for any and everything here... LED? LCD? Plasma? 3D? Smart TV? Brands? 1080? 720?

We have a big living room, but there is a fairly large window, so I am a little worried about glare. But I'm also a movie guy primarily... moreso than a gamer. In store, I'm always attracted to the plasmas... but I'm afraid of those glassy screens.

Thanks all!!!

It all depends on what you want to do with it. If its for mostly watching movies, Plasma has a better white to black contract. If its for mostly watching TV the LED is cheeper and dosen't put out as much heat. I've got a Samsung plasma that I mostly watch movies on. And a Visio LED for regular TV. The Visio was so cheep from my local Wal-Mart that when it goes bad, just throw it away and buy another. Sorta like disposable TV.
LED technology has come a long way. LED has what is called White and Black crush. No true white. No true black. But with the new engines LED are far better than just a few years ago. Plasma has true white and true black, thats why they are better for highdef movies.
If you go with LED get a back lit LED TV. They have a little better picture than edge lit. Back lit are little more money.
As far as 720I, 720P, 1080I, 1080P. I always buy 1080P. 1080 resolution is the best you can get, and the I or P means how the image is put on the screen. I means interlaced. P is progressive scan which is suppost to be better, even though I admit, I can't see the difference between I and P.
I hope I've rambled enough to help you some...
Doing research on this stuff is very over whelming.

I'm in the same boat, but looking for a 40" to put on the wall in my small living room. I have eliminated plasma from a cost standpoint and am curious what more I get from a LED LCD over a regular LCD. This looks like a hell of a deal from Costco:
http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product...hse=BC&topnav=

I don't need any of the internet TV stuff as my BlueRay player already has all of that. Everything in my house is Samsung, but I have heard the Sony Bravia line is going to be better.

Like Rich I am also scared of the glare from a Plasma.

Also, 60Hz compared to 120hz? Is this the refresh rate? I NEVER play video games and rarely watch sports, so do I need a 120Hz?

Thanks guys!

I love my 60" Pioneer Elite Kuro Plasma television. It is the best tv that I have ever viewed. With that said, I bought the kids a 42" LED for their den. It has such a deep picture that at times, it doesn't seem "real". Movies like blu ray Avatar look amazing on it, but I'm not a fan of daily viewing non animated type of shows. Most times on the LED, I feel like I am on a movie set and I am in the director's chair or the camera man. For me, the depth of field takes away from the movie watching experience. Plasma all the way for me!!
my brother has a Sony LCD that looks pretty darn good....I still like my KURO

I have the following and will rank as best I can for a living room setup:
65" Mitsu DLP 1080p - has been awesome, 4 years no bulbs no issues but viewing angle can be an issue
55" LG Plasma 720p - currently in the living room (with a lot of windows) and glare is rarely an issue - awesome for games and sports and honestly at 720p I think it looks better than any of the 1080p sets I have (LEDs with 1080p and video interpolation certainly look better though)
40" Samsung LCD 1080p - currently in the bedroom - honestly I like the LG more for everything movies/games/tv/everything... bought because someone had it on craigslist for $250 ... could really pass it up
37" Olevia 720P .... workout room - oldest of all the TVs (like 7 years old now) and still looks great... not as good as the others, but still better than a CRT style.
Optoma 1080p Projector + 110" screen - AWESOME... huge, sharp and just awesome.... its in a theater room so its always dark, but used it in our college house's living room for a year and even with the windows it was still great

Of these the projector is my favorite, but not practical for most.... after that the Plasma as by far my favorite. Local best buy had some open box items (maybe worth checking in on - they had a 60" internet apps LCD 1080p for like $950)... seemed like a pretty sweet deal.

I just ordered a panasonic 50 inch plasma 3D 1080p. I got a great deal on it from amazon. Right now you get a free 3d package that comes with avatar 3D and two free glasses. With a panasonic bluray player I got the pair for 1200 and some change. I did a lot of research before ordering and this definitely seemed to be the best bang for the buck. I was on the fence between the panasonic and the sonic bravia 46 inch 3d lcd 1080p that was on sale for 1200 at tiger direct, (after Coupon Code: CBK34585 . expires today). For a brighter room I would have gotten the sony bravia, but the plasma is going in my bedroom which is darker and will outperform the lcd in that setting.

http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-VIER...9048306&sr=8-1

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...0JzNiUweq4CDEw

Check Newegg.
last year i bought a 50" LG plasma 1080 shipped to my door for 780$ with a Panasonic Blue Ray tossed in for free.
I have three huge french doors and southern exposure and honestly glare can be problem in the day but......... i rarely watch TV in the day and am a movie / football guy.

Thanks guys! All of the responses were helpful... helped me narrow down my research a ton. Ended up going with a 51" 1080 Samsung plasma PN51D6500. Got it with the 3D starter kit, 2 pairs of glasses and a 3D Blu Ray player for just under 1200.00.

Thanks again!!

Nice! I got the 40" LED Samsung 6000 from Best Buy for $819. Bought it online then picked it up at the store for $80 less than the store advertises it for. Can never go wrong with Samsung. This is my 4th TV and I have 2 blu-ray players and never had a single problem. Enjoy your new TV!