^Contrast Ratio no way...contrast ratio is a marketing tool to make it seem like so and so TV is better. Well this Samsung has is 2000 to 1 contrast and the LG here is only 1500 to 1 so you can tell it's significantly better... NO just plain no http://www.hometheatermag.com/advicefromtheexperts/0806specsmythsandlies/
read this site. Contrast Ratio is a lie do not buy into it completely! Sony Bravias? Look at my Newegg links from before they point to Sharp GPU1 series, a HDTV with 1080p with a vyper drive that no one is quite sure what it does. But it is the LCD for gaming at that size and newegg has it under 1000.
I have no idea how LCD TV prices are going to do, because it depends on when OLED starts becoming the standard LCD. I would suggest a Plasma again, because they are cheap. Despite Plasmas having more realistic colors and being better overall they aren't as popular as LCDs. As a result Plasma prices are a lot cheaper than LCD even though they are better. For your under 1000 price you can get a lot bigger plasma tv.
edit: However if you are bent on going LCD than I suggest a Phillips they have TV models that are around 3-4 ms lag. Most tvs are 8 ms most sharp tvs are 6 ms. Phillips are also cheap and good tvs for their price, if you want a TV for gaming make sure you get the least amount of lag possible. The hard part is finding a someone who still carries the model you need.
