LCD's last longer. yeah plasmas have the best ultimate picture but they'll die out on you once the plasma burns up. you wanna look for something that has a high contrast ratio.. something like 18,000:1 i believe is more than decent.. the higher the contrast ratio, the better the picture.

1080p is great but unless youre watching it on a 50+ screen, you wouldnt be able to tell the difference between 1080p and 1080i on anything 42 and under.. not to mention most over the air signals only go as high as 1080i.. im not sure what digital cable is broadcasted at..

but then again once you hook up the blu-ray to the 1080p, you'll be glad you went with 1080p..

you're gonna wanna get a sound system as well.. even the speakers on the best tv's are average.. if you're not an audiophile, those home theaters in a box are decent... its always good to buy the same brand as the tv for easy syncing.. i got a bravia in the room hooked up to a sony bravia sound system and its beautiful..

blu-ray.com has some helpful discussions. you'll find that most go with LCD.