^ Better contrast and colour reproduction are likely with a better backlight (50k dynamic contrast)

Also it has a slightly faster response time at 6ms (grey to grey BS yes I know)

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=9235142&type=product&id=1218064394100

Actually this ones in the price range too, excellent contrast ratio. Im sorry I just hate black crush, its the one thing that kills me with compressed video and cheap LCDs!

How much do you have? The Vizio's are actually a very good TV. I am very happy with mine, they give you comparable picture quality, and are cheaper than the one in your OP. Also, they have a few neat little features that to my knowledge, other TVs don't have (believe me, I researched a ton when I purchase my TV). Black level seems to be OK on the Vizio LCDs. If you want top of the line, go with Toshiba.

Link? I own a Vizio and it works great. Offers a lot of features that you can't find for under $1,100. If you have never owned a Vizio, then you and Leo-J should stop hating. Maybe you are stuck on brands, but I am not.

OT: The best thing to do is go to your local Best Buy, Wal-Mart and look at the TV. You see what you are getting. Buying something based on the recommendations of folks can be expensive. Say you get that plasma - don't like the picture and take it back. It's subject to a 15% restocking fee. For me, I went to Best Buy, saw the TVs and still bought my TV from Wal-Mart. I wanted the 120hz refresh that the Vizio had.

I've had my TV for over a month and love it. The 120hz gives a *live* effect. It makes everything look a lot smoother. Again, I'd advise doing some research on it, because it's a feature that you can live without and some folks find annoying. I love it - and, of course, you can disable it.

No bias here - I wanted a Samsung, but didn't feel like saving up the cash for it. I did research on the Vizio and so pleased with the purchase. Even though I could have went with a cheaper model, I wanted the 120hz model and haven't stopped watching it. 1080P and this both look great on it.

EDIT: I played a lot of games on my old big screen and was concerned about burn-in. Plasmas are notorious for it. After doing some serious research, I opted to avoid plasmas for the time being.

This.

Hey, LCD is better for gaming. You don't get motion smear, you don't get burn in, and now, the black levels are actually very good. Also, as an added bonus, the LCDs last much longer, (you don't have to replace the lamp as soon) and you don't get horrible reflection.

@ OP

Question: What is the Difference Between an LCD TV and a Plasma TV?
Answer: Outward appearances are definitely deceiving when it comes to LCD and Plasma televisions. Although both types of televisions are flat and thin, they employ different technology in an attempt to deliver similar results.

Plasma TV Overview

Plasma television technology is based loosely on the fluorescent light bulb. The display itself consists of cells. Within each cell two glass panels are separated by a narrow gap in which neon-xenon gas is injected and sealed in plasma form during the manufacturing process. The gas is electrically charged at specific intervals when the Plasma set is in use. The charged gas then strikes red, green, and blue phosphors, thus creating a television image. Each group of red, green, and blue phosphors is called a pixel (picture element).

Although Plasma television technology eliminate the need for the bulky picture tube and electron beam scanning of traditional televisions, because it still employs the burning of phosphors to generate an image, Plasma televisions still suffer from some of the drawbacks of traditional televisions, such as heat generation and screen-burn of static images.

LCD TV Overview

LCD televisions, on the other hand, use a different technology (see also question #1 for this same explanation).

Basically, LCD panels are made of two layers of transparent material, which are polarized, and are "glued" together. One of the layers is coated with a special polymer that holds the individual liquid crystals. Current is then passed through individual crystals, which allow the crystals to pass or block light to create images. LCD crystals do not produce their own light, so an external light source, such as florescent bulb is needed for the image created by the LCD to become visible to the viewer.

Unlike standard CRT and Plasma televisions, since there are no phosphors that light up, less power is needed for operation and the light source in an LCD television generates less heat than a Plasma or traditional television. Also, because of the nature of LCD technology, there is no radiation emitted from the screen itself.

Plasma vs LCD

The ADVANTAGES of Plasma over LCD are:

1. Larger screen size availability.

2. Better contrast ratio and ability to render deeper blacks.

3. Better color accuracy and saturation.

4. Better motion tracking (little or no motion lag in fast moving images).

The DISADVANTAGES of Plasma vs LCD include:

1. Plasma TVs are more susceptible to burn-in of static images.

2. Plasma TVs generate more heat than LCDs, due to the need to light of phosphors to create the images.

3. Does not perform as well at higher altitudes.

4. Potentially shorter display life span - this used to be the case. Early Plasmas had 30,000 hours or 8 hrs of viewing a day for 9 years, which was less than LCD. However, screen life span has now improved and 60,000 hour life span rating are now common, with some sets rated as high as 100,000 hours, due to technology improvements.

LCD television ADVANTAGES over Plasma include:

1. No burn-in of static images.

2. Cooler running temperature.

3. No high altitude use issues.

4. Increased image brightness over Plasma.

5. Lighter weight (when comparing same screen sizes) than Plasma counterparts.

6. Longer display life used to be a factor, but now LCD and Plasma sets both have at least 60,000 hour or higher lifespans.

DISADVANTAGES of LCD vs Plasma televisions include:

1. Lower contrast ratio, not as good rendering deep blacks.

2. Not as good at tracking motion (fast moving objects may exhibit lag artifacts) - However, this is improving with the recent implementation of 120Hz screen refresh rates and 240Hz processing in higher-end LCD sets.

3. Not as common in large screen sizes above 42-inches as Plasma. However, the number is growing fast, with 46 and 47-inch screen sizes becoming more common, and some LCD sets having a screen size as large as 65-inches also available to the general public.

4. Although LCD televisions do not suffer from burn-in susceptibility, it is possible that individual pixels on an LCD televisions can burn out, causing small, visible, black or white dots to appear on the screen. Individual pixels cannot be repaired, the whole screen would need to be replaced at that point, if the individual pixel burnout becomes annoying to you.

5. LCD televisions are typically more expensive than equivalent-sized Plasma televisions (although this is changing), especially when comparing EDTV Plasmas to HDTV-LCD Televisions.

Source:
http://hometheater.about.com/od/lcdtvfaqs/f/lcdfaq2.htm

Check Slickdeals or Fatwallet for good prices on HDTVs. Anything probably 37'' or below you should be fine with 720P unless you sit really close to the screen or plan on using the TV as a computer monitor. 42'' and above you may want to start looking at 1080p, but even then, a bad 1080P HDTV can and often does look worse than a better built 720P one. Vizio is a lower end brand but they do have models that are higher in quality.

If you play a lot of rhythm and/or fighting games, you may want to do extra research on the TV you want. Some TVs will lag even when they're in gaming mode, which can mess up 1 frame links and junk like that.

Get this:

http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-UN55B6000-55-Inch-1080p-120Hz/dp/B001UHMVDQ/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1246168033&sr=8-2

How in the hell can you judge the qualiy of an LCD by looking at pictures via another LCD?

That being said. we have a Bravia, and it's really nice.

It all depends on the size you want and the cash you can spend really. Also, what kind of HD sources do you have/plan to get.