You should also be aware that most of the 1080p sets now available will not take a 1080p signal. I forget which, either the new Hitachi or Mitsubishi 1080p sets is the first that will actually take a 1080p signal. Not a big deal right now because no-one is broadcasting in 1080p. In the future this will not be the case with HD dvd and Blu-ray formats coming out. It still remains to be seen how all this will shake out as well as broadcaters moving to 1080p signals. Kind of the chicken and the egg question. Why broadcast in 1080p when no-one can display it, why make the sets when no-one produces the signal? So we are still not really getting this step fully implemented. If you are really waniting the best display you will probably be looking at upgrading again in the next year or three.
Beyond that there does seem to be some improvement in picture quality with the new 1080p sets from the review I read of the new Mitsubishi 52" set. It will depend somewhat on screen size and viewing idstance as to how much benefit you see.
For my money none of the technologies has matured sufficiently. With the large scale production facilities for flat panels (plasma & LCD) coming on line this year prices are expected to drop steadily and I've seen predictions of the end of rear projection sets alogether. Nothing yet really beats in all respects, the quality picture of the best direct view CRT displays which only go up to 34" in size. So for me, I can get past the likely upgraditis I would experience from almost the day I bought anything on the market today.
