Which hdtv would you recommend and why?

I have an older Vizio 50" (3-4 yrs old) and it is nice but quirky. On occasion it will loose the picture or sound and I will have to turn it off and on again to restore whichever one stopped working. This makes me nervous, I do not recommend Vizio for that reason.

As you can tell by the variety of responses here, there are many good choices. I think the technology has progressed so much, that the choices are huge, and you don't have to spend top dollar to get great performance.

I used to only buy Sony XBR displays, then Panasonic Plasma, then Samsung LCD, now they all look, to me very much alike. With such similar performace, I would check out Consumer Reports and some of the electronics websites to see which companies/models have the best least problems.

Good luck, lots of choices.

Mmike 84 brought out a very good draw back of the Plasma : reflective glass pannel and also a bit of heat generated. So if you have high ambience lights, move on to the LCD/LED.

That's the first question anye salesman should qualify the customer for. LCD/LED flat pannels, especially the LCDs come with the non-reflective screen.

Do not worry too much abt the 600Hz sub-field motion of the Plasma and the 120/240hz of the LDC/LED unless you spend time after time staring at the fast moving objects.

Trust your own eyes, period. I have customers would not want the LED because its " cartoonist" color and they prefer the Sony with subtle "white and black" level. Others just WOW at the LEDs higher contrast ratio. The beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, indeed. Good luck.

If you're in a very bright room or are into gaming I'd go with LCD/LED. If light is not as much of a concern and you're into movies and sports I'd side with plasma for better blacks and less motion blur. Plasmas also have a much wider viewing angle if that's a concern.

I've had a Panasonic 50" plasma under heavy use for 2 years and it's been fantastic, and you can get them very cheaply these days. A buddy of mine has a Samsung 55" LCD and it also looks very good, but I noticed as we were watching a soccer game I saw the motion blur that I don't get with my plasma and it bothered me quite a bit. His LCD is about a year old and is not top-of-the-line so maybe the newer/pricier ones are better in this regard.

It's like others have said, assess your priorities and choose the technology accordingly. Once you've got that down you probably can't go wrong with a Panasonic plasma or a Samsung LCD/LED -- they're both great. Best of luck.

Another vote for the Panasonic plasma from me too.
I have been very happy with my Panasonic 58 inch THX certified plasma HDTV. It has a great picture with deep dark black backgrounds

FYI: I am actually surprised that the heat output is not more than it is. My father has an older 42 inch Panasonic Plasma that pumps out the heat, whereas my 58" barely seems warm. (Especially in comparison to the Lamm M2.1 monoblocks that are in the same room!)

My two cents worth.