43" Pioneer Plasma (PDP-4360).  Great TV, tried gaming on my buddies LCD and it didn't come close to my Plasma, especially when it comes to black levels.

Figured I would reply since there is a whole lot of nonsense being spewed here, and I'm sure you would like to make a purchasing decision based on good information.  First off, about the whole resolution debate here, most plasmas under 50" are 1024x768, while most 50" plasmas have a 1365x768.  While these are not pixel for pixel the same exact number as "1280x720", the interal scaler in the TV will scale all resolutions it accepts to its native resolution, which is what every TV does.  Most non 1080p TVs will accept both 720p and 1080i  HD signals and scale them to the native resolution, and 1080p TVs do the same thing when they recieve a 720p signal (scale it to their 1920x1080 pixels).  The difference between the native andscaled images is negligable.  Also, for who ever said Plasmas use rectangular pixels so they have more issues, this is not true.  Hitachi used to do this, so you would see their TVs have resolutions like 1024x1024 due to the pixel shape, but I don't think they do that anymore.  No other major Plasma manufacturer does this.  for another thing, there are 1080p plasmas already on the market.  Pioneer has the PRO-FHD1 which is a 50"  1080p set and probably has the best picture of any HDTV on the market.  CNet has it as their highest rated TV at an 8.7 rating, while the highest rated LCD they have is the Sony KDL-40XBR2, a 40" 1080p set, which has a rating of 8.3.  Panasonic also has some 1080p sets.  For the record, I would say, as would many experts, that the difference between a 1080p set and a 720p/1080i set is minimal at screen sizes under 50", and you would have to sit less than 2 feet from the screen to really how the pixels are different.  So in my eyes, the whole 1080p/ non-1080p debate is null for most TVs, especially when you consider the only 1080p material out there right now is from PS3 games and Bluray and HD-DVD discs.  There are no television programs broadcast in 1080p, nor will there be for a long time, as cable/satalite companies hardly have the bandwidth for their current HD programing.

Now, getting to your dilemma, I would choose LCD vs Plasma based on the size you are looking at.  For less then 42" I would go LCD as they are cheaper at said sizes and Plasmas at those sizes are few and far between.  For 42-60" I would go Plasma, and for 60+ inches I would got for DLP/ rear projection.  I personally prefer Plasma as they generally have deeper/richer colors and much, much better black levels when compared to LCDs.  That being said there are only a few manufacturers I would recomend for each technology.  For LCDs I would recomend Sony, Samsung, and Sharp, in that order, and for Plasmas I would stick to Pioneer and Panasonic.  Now I know these are more expensive than the bargain Vizio and Westinghouse brands, but I feel it is worth it to wait and couple months, save some more money and buy from one of these quality brands.  Besides, I I'm buying something that I want to last for 10 years, I would rather spend a few hundred more dollars and not regret being cheap a few years later.  That said, its all up you on which technology you prefer, and like another poster said, if you want better and more in depth information check out avsforums.com.

You can "teach" any IR command to a Harmony remote. You should already be using one if you have a home theater.BroweChisox

Actually, the PS3 doesn't have an IR receiver, only Blue tooth.  Sony is said to be making a Blue tooth remote for the PS3 which will probably be the only one compatible with it for a little while.

I've been saying this for a long time, but here is a pretty good article on why 1080p is not worth the price increase over 1080i TVs, especially at screen sizes smaller than 50 inches. 

http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-6449_7-6661274-1.html?tag=cnetfd.mt

As the article points out, the more important factors to consider are contrast ratio and color reproduction.  Don't buy into Sony's (as well as Sharp's and Samsung's) crap about 1080p being "Full" or "True" HD.  720p and 1080i is HD also.

Is my 50in plasma good for playing on my PS3?
Pioneer 50" Flat-Panel Plasma HDTV
Warranty Terms - Parts 1 year

Warranty Terms - Labor 1 year limited

Product Height- 28-1/4" (without detachable speaker)

Product Width - 48-3/16"

Product Depth - 4-1/2"

TV Type- Plasma flat panel

Screen Size - 50"

Aspect Ratio- 16:9

Display Type - Flat-panel plasma

Built-In_DVR - No

Digital Cable Ready - Yes

Digital Capabilities - HD built-in DCR

Maximum Resolution - 1365 x 768

Vertical Scanning Lines (Native Mode) 768

Media Card Slot- No

USB Slot- Yes

Digital Convergence - Yes

Picture-In-Picture - Yes

HDMI Inputs - 2

DVI Inputs- No

S-Video Inputs- 2

Component Video Inputs - 3

Composite Inputs- 4

PC Inputs- Yes

RF Antenna Input - 2

Video Outputs- 1

Audio Outputs- 2

Watts/Channel- 13

Speakers - 2

Simulated Surround - Yes

Language Options - English, French, Spanish

V-Chip - Yes

Sleep/Alarm Timer - Yes

Remote Control Type - Glow-in-the-dark TV Guide and standard remotes
-UnlimitedZero-

I'd say it would be pretty good.  I would make sure you try and break the set in a bit (100 to 150 hours) before gaming too much just to prevent IR.  Also, make sure to adjust the picture and turn down the contrast.  The sets usually come preset to "Dynamic" mode which can cause IR easily and just looks terrible compared to a properly calibrated set.  I actually have the previous model of the 42 inch version of this set (4260) and games look great on it.  Even my PS2 games, which everyone says look pretty bad on most HDTVs, look good to me with component cables.  Your set should look even better since it has improved color processing.  You are also lucky because you get seperate inputs for HDMI and component, while I have to choose between the two.  But anyways, I love my Pioneer and I'm sure you will too, just try to limit gaming to a reasonable level (less than 6 hours in a row) and vary what you watch and you should be very happy with the results.

I didn't say 1080p isn't worth the investment, I just don't feel people should freak out about it for a set less than 40 inches.  It is very difficult to tell the difference between 720p and 1080p on smaller sets.  I did say there is a difference between 1080i and 1080p, which people were falsely saying there wasn't.  On larger sets it is definitely worth it to pay for 1080p (even though these sets will be getting cheaper in the near future).  Also, no, there is no 1080p broad casted content and there is no plan to be.  It is way too expensive for the cable and satellite companies to compress 1080p content so it won't happen for a long time (past 2010 at least).

This thread is good for people interested in HDTVs, but there is a lot of false info being stated as fact.  People keep saying that "unless you have a (fill in whatever size TV) and up, you can't tell the difference between 1080i and 1080p.  This simply is not true.  When it comes to i and p, the general rule of thumb is that 1080p is better than 1080i when it comes to fast moving images, ie video games.  This is why 480p looks so much better than 480i when you buy PS2 component cables and play a game capable of progressive output like Shadow of the Colossus.  This will pretty much hold true for any size TV.  What is actually hard to tell the difference on smaller sets is the difference between 720p and 1080p intputed material.  On anything smaller than around 40 ot 42 inches, maybe even larger, it is almost pointless to spend the extra money for a 1080p set, since you get just as good of a picture with 720p.

And also, THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS "TRUE HD".  This is just a marketing slogan ,made up by companies like Sony and Sharp to convince people to buy more expensive 1080p TVs.  720p, 1080i, and 1080p are all officially recognized HD resolutions.  That is why all broadcast, cable, and satellite HD programs are broadcast at either 720p or 1080i and still considered HD.  There are currently no programs in 1080p nor are there any plans to in the future.

If you want some really good in depth info about HDTVs or anything else audio/visual, I suggest you check out the forums at avsforum.com.  I hope this helped clear up some misconceptions people might have.