I currently have a 32" Samsung 720p LCD and I am seriously considering a larger TV.
I currently do not have any HD equipment, although my DVD player is an upconverter. But I do plan on purchasing a Blu-Ray player soon and may upgrade my DirectTV to HD.
Answer:
Speaking from personal experience, I would go with the LCD. We have both plasma and LCD TVs that are roughly the same age- about 3 years old. The Plasma TV's picture quality has degraded to the point that it's now as if we are watching an old tube tv. The colors don't appear correct sometimes and the sharpness has went to s***.
On the other hand the LCD is still just as good as the day we got it, there has been no noticeable change in the picture quality whatsoever.
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I kind of lump LCD and plasma in the same category just because they're flat panels. They look the same and cost about the same but they're different.
So, as a general rule I believe this:
If I'm going to play video games and want PC interactivity then I lean towards LCD. If I'm going to watch sports in HD then I lean towards plasma. If I'm going to watch movies and TV then both types are comparable with each other.
This might puzzle some people since I mentioned earlier that LCD has issues processing motion. So, I'll explain:
I like LCD for video game play because the video game source is controlled and of high quality. My concern with motion is with the images I can't control, like sports not in HD. The other reason is that video games have static images. To be safe, I prefer LCD but I know people with plasmas that play video games on them and don't have burn-in.
As far as would I buy flat panel over direct view or rear projection? I probably would but if I wanted to go real big then front/overhead projection would have definite consideration.
Plasma
Pros
Great for fast moving pictures such as sports.
Large Viewing Angle
High Contrast Ratio
Less Expensive
Cons
Very, Very low possibility for burn-in
use more energy
get hot,
LCD
Pros
Brighter Picture
No Burn in.
Cons
More expensive
have ghost and shadows during high speed shots (This has improved with the higher quality, (Samsung, Sony, LG) 120 and 240 hz. pictures, but on low-end brands, the refresh rate is snake oil)
I personally prefer LCD, cause it gives a sharper picture and doesn't have the warming problem that is common among Plasma TVs.
And don't forget an LCD screen is much more expensive than a same size plasma.
lcd cause even though plasma has a slight sharper image, the plasma can evaperate