Thanks everyone for all the advice so far. I realized that I forgot to specify some important information. The $2000 budget is an arbitrary figure, and is in U.S. dollars. I really don't feel comfortable shelling out more than that at this time, as I have an education to pay off.
The main purpose of the new video display is mostly for movies. My roommate is the couch potato who likes to watch television (at very unreasonable levels of 50 dB or even less!). I have fallen head over heels for DVD movies, so I'd really like a huge widescreen image to really get into the flick. Screw the roommate.
I just returned from Best Buy (again), so I'll give a brief summary of my thoughts at this point. Plasma--too expensive, and not as good picture as other technologies currently available. LCD--better than plasma, but still too expensive. DLP--best imaging I've seen. Very sharp and sets are lightweight, but a little steep still. I do believe the Samsungs mentioned above use DLP technology. I simply can't justify to myself spending three grand on a television. Perhaps five or ten years from now, but not at this juncture. CRT--the widescreen sets just seem to be too small, not to mention the heft and lack of selection.
This brings me to the RPTVs. Most of what I've seen is incredibly enormous (I still need to have room for my speakers somewhere!) has poor picture quality, or both. I sort of liked the 46" Toshiba model and the 46" Sony, but they each have their drawbacks as well.
I think I owe it to myself to look into front projectors. My big hesitancy with the projectors is that I'm afraid if the image is too big, I'll be craning my neck and turning my head all over the place while trying to watch a movie. I will consider all suggestions as open-mindedly and objectively as possible, but it all really comes down to the amount of bang I can get for the buck.
Thanks for your help, and if you have any more ideas, please keep 'em coming! This stuff is addictive!
