I want to set it on a stand in our family room and have cable TV, DVD and surround sound hooked up, along with my son's video Xbox 360
Suggestion:
I think there is no 50" LCD but there is 46" or 52" LCD TV but there is 50" plasma.
Samsung 71F series 46" LCD TV. I looked at Sony Bravia and Samsung only and I found Samsung F series is the best LCD TV available now with 25000:1 contrast ratio and support 120Hz plus the 6ms. I'm also interested in buying a LCD TV and my choice is Samsung over Sony. If you interested in Sony then don't look at any series except the X.
all you need to know is the following:
higher contrast ratio is better (50000:1 better than 25000:1 a lot)
6ms better than 8ms
120Hz is needed for better refresh rate and better than 60Hz
the LCD TV support 1080p if you desire Full HDTV.
the panel engine (Sony and Samsung are the best) you can look at Sharp or Pioneer.
and the most important is the Warranty.
Samsung has Auto Mount (a motor to control the TV by remote)
I don't know how much you can pay but I'll give you some great models in Samsung and Sony:
Sony KDL-46XBR4 Samsung LN-T4671F (better to buy the last update on it)
Samsung LN-T4681F
http://reviews.cnet.com/flat-panel-tvs/samsung-ln-t4671f/4505-6482_7-32514512.html?tag=prod.txt.1
http://www.samsung.com/us/consumer/detail/spec.do?group=televisions&type=televisions&subtype=lcdtv&model_cd=LNT4681FX/XAA&fullspec=F
http://reviews.cnet.com/flat-panel-tvs/sony-kdl-46xbr4/4505-6482_7-32468193.html?tag=tpr
The Samsung models are newer than the Sony so you may not find many reviews about them. you need to look at them yourself. compare the Bravia with the Samsung (bringing an eagle is required or recommended). by the way, don't ever trust the salesman. you must count on yourself by looking at reviews in the internet or go to any showroom and make a compare between them.
