Help me choose a new TV

Varinn

After being mocked by multiple friends for my puny 19" CRT TV in my living room, I've decided I should upgrade. I'm more of a computer guy, so when it comes to choosing a TV I am quite lost. I've gotten a bit overwhelmed with all the opinions I get from my google-fu results.

To start things off, BUDGET $900
Target size 42"-46"
Seating at roughly 6'-10'
Wide viewing angle to not screw someone sitting on the side couches
Screen glare not a HUGE issue, as I can block most light in the room easily

I want it to do the basics, TV/Movies/vidja games in HD with the occasional use as a 3rd monitor for my PC. Primarily for playing more of said games. A nice final feature would be the option to run my PS2/Gamecube/N64, but nowhere near necessary.

High refresh rates a must, as I would be playing FPS games and watching racing quite often

Hardware I want to run is a PC (DVI/VGA), Xbox 360 (HDMI), HD PVR box (HDMI), Blueray (Don't have yet)

I am leaning towards a plasma TV, but I'm scared of the burn-in issues they used to have. Is this still a problem? How about life span? Are there any true LED backlit TV's in my price range? Not edge lit, as I don't want to deal with poor black levels, auto dimming, and backlight bleeding.

Here's a few of the options I've found.

http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-CA/product/panasonic-panasonic-42-1080p-plasma-hdtv-tcp42u2-tcp42u2/10141509.aspx?path=25a2fbe22b2fcac9a8f2a247e3211c4den02

http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-CA/product/panasonic-panasonic-46-plasma-hdtv-tcp46c2-tcp46c2/10141594.aspx?path=39f45c13dbaf280b8117dab1b079c483en02

http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-CA/product/lg-electronics-lg-42-720p-plasma-hdtv-42pj550-42pj550/10140848.aspx?path=e4190dbbf5275d123ab097630f740c03en02

http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-CA/product/lg-electronics-lg-50-plasma-hdtv-50pj550-50pj550/10140847.aspx?path=e6ac11103079be96aabf77b592318287en02&lid=fp-10140847-lgelectronicslg50plasmahdtv50p-en

Karrmer

That 50" LG looks delicious. Panasonic Plasmas are arguably better but it's hard to really say either way. Plasma is definitely an amazing TV and runs games/movies perfectly, with no burn in issues. I've owned a Panasonic Plasma for close to 4 years now and it still runs perfect and has zero burn-in, even though I leave games and shit on for hours at a time (often overnight when I pass out).

Jasconius

IMO you can't go wrong with a panasonic plasma.

I have a 42 inch at 720p and I love it.

Both of those panasonic options seem nice and well priced. The question is do you value inches over resolution. Unless you're a videophile you may not even notice.

Rigor Mortis

I have an 50" LG plasma from that line.... slighly higher end (1080p) and I love it. No burn in whatsoever. I've left it on accidentally with a static image for maybe 8 hours or so even. Nicer colors than LCDs IMHO - looks more real, less saturated. Brightness is great as well, even on max power saving it's more than enough in a lit room so I expect it'll have a long lifespan. PC input works nicely, refresh rate seems perfectly fast enough for any gaming.

Varinn

Thanks for the input so far, the only point where I feel like I would be less satisfied with the 720p is when using my PC on desktop mode, but realistically I doubt that would be something I'd do often. Most likely the 720p is the better option as I'd be able to run higher graphics settings to tax my PC a little less than having the higher resolution.

I'm leaning towards the 46" 720p Panasonic, after seeing your tips.