Re: Burn-in - don't beleive the hype.
Just be careful about how you view. I have my computer hoooked up to my plasma, and ocassionaly, I get careless and leave a window open for too long (read: hours) and I woudl get image retention at the top and bottom of the screen, where the windows bars are. They go away in a matter of minutes, though, with some other active viewing (motion and color changes across the whole screen).
With regard to image quality - these days, the pictures are all getting so good that it is hard to really make a choice. A few years back, a couple of brands were more advanced than others (Sony, Pioneer and Panasonic) among them. Others have since caught up. I have a Pio ("older" (circa 2006) 720p version), and think the image is smooth, clear, bright and just down right awesome. A buddy has the 1080 Panny and he pretty much thinks that it is the tits, too.
Tough choice, only because you can't go wrong nowadays. Think price, form factor and functionality as your main considerations. All of those sets will display HD beautifully and will do a really greaty job with DVD. With standard def cable going digital in a lot of places, even SD TV looks really good, too.
Enjoy
