The Untamed Land

For quite some time now, I've been thinking about upgrading my television to HD. Being a big fan of video games, I spend quite a bit of time with my television and really want my games to shine the best they can. The big barrier the past few years for me have been the money, but as the prices on the nice 42 inch sets have been going down I've been getting more and more tempted to take the plunge.

Some of you bigger gaming fans might be aghast that a dev doesn't have a great display for his game consoles, but I just don't. San Diego is an expensive town. Anyways, I'm shopping for a new tv.

Generally I know my hardware. I build my own computers, I actually understand what all of the specs mean on video cards and game systems, but I am at a loss when it comes to television displays. I've done my research though, and I'm getting closer and closer to the decision.

Those of you that know the different types of big screen tvs don't really need a lesson in how the display things. I've done enough research that I understand it but it's the pitfalls that worry me.

LCD: I worry about refresh rate and the price.
Plasma: I worry about burn-in because I play alot of video games.
Rear Projection: I worry about the viewing angle, weight of the unit, and replacing the projection units.

The television I am currently most enamored with is the 40 inch Sony Bravia. I'm sorry if it sounds like I'm shilling for the parent company, but screen just looks fantastic to me. I also am able to slightly mitigate the Sony cost thanks to my employer, which makes the machine even more attractive to me.

There are a couple brands out there at interest me as well, namely the Panasonic line of plasma televisons, but I'm not sure if I am getting more for my dollar when it comes to price/size ratio. I generally want to stick around the 42'' range just because I don't really want something HUGE, so I'm trying to get the best tv for the price.

Suggestions and experience in buying tvs would be much appreciated though. I would especially like to hear about burn in and burn in prevention progs onboard the tvs, because I really fear ruining my machine by playing a game a couple of hours.