Nick,
The thread Tom provided has some good info. Let me just drop some points here I have picked up over time and by doing some research when I was shopping for my plasma.
Sony has decided to discontinue the SXRD/LCOS technology. Great PQ, but controlling consistency with their colors has been problematic. Don't know much about the JVC.
LCD/LCOS is better for a room with lotsa sunlight (plasma screens are more reflective).
Plasma burn-in is pretty much a non-issue. They manufacture in technology that causes the individual pixels to "wobble" to avoid the burn-in. You won't see the wobble with your naked eye. In fact, to get burn-in, you will need to work to get it.
Pioneer and Panasonic are the best plasma TVs (electronics, glass, reliability). In fact, they OEM plasma glass for most other sellers. Those other folks then use their own electronics.
Search the internet on "720P vs 1080P". What you will find is this - 1080P is nice, but only comes into play if you will be sitting really close to the screen. Otherwise, a TV that does 720P/1080i is good enough. This comment will likely cause a sweaty discussion, but see if you can find a 720P and 1080P TV sitting side by side showing the HD stuff. Stand back 8-10 feet and see if you can tell the difference. Then look at the price difference and determine if it is justified for you. The above is pretty much general consensus and the battle rages. Not quite as severe as the debates about speaker wire, but spirited nonetheless.
Panasonic vs Pioneer. From what I have been reading, the new Pio Kuro ("kuro" means "black" in Japanese). achieves better black levels than Panasonic. I honestly don't know since I haven't gone to look. Hopefully it's not one of those things that a dog can appreciate with their senses, but a human can't appreciate. Take your eyes for a test ride with these two brands if you are doing plasma.
Hope it helps.
Ray
