For a year Ive been trying to figure whats best to buy to replace my 27" Trinitron. So this is a question of opinions on different items. Also note this is more or less strictly for DVD. I dont watch much regular tv beyond a few shows(Law & Order, SVU, two hours of Cartoon Network on Fridays, Raw). However I would like those few shows to look good.

First, I ruled out anything really heavy, which means no tubes. I loathe projection tvs, but a couple good ones caught my eye: a 42" HD Toshiba, and what I think was a 36" HD Panasonic, which also had VGA inputs(Id love to play Counter Strike on a screen like that). The other option, naturally, were flat panel tvs, which is where Sony comes back in. I read another thread which had some sort of calculator, so if it helps, viewing distance from my eyes to the screen is nearly 11 feet. I dont need a particularly huge screen, quality matters more, but Id like it big enough to make it worth the replacement. Figure $3500 spending limit.

General thoughts and feelings appreciated. Btw I dont have a progressive scan DVD yet, it was accepted Id buy one at the same time or soon after I bought a HD. And for what its worth for my mindset, I do own a $600 10" flat panel Sharp, and I love every bit of it.

Flat panels give you small size and regular CRT based HDTV's give you superior picture/ black level.

BTW, for 11 feet the screen size calculator is recommending a 79-95" diagonal set (16:9).

There is an excellent solution for getting a screen that large. You say this is only for DVD's. How much control over light do you have in this room? If you can make it very dark, I recommend getting a DLP or LCD projector. They weigh only a few pounds. PJ's like the Sharp PG-M20X, NEC LT240 and the upcoming Panasonic AE300, and Sony HS10 should be in your price range.

I don't think Panasonic makes a 36" projection TV. Do you know the model number?

i would enthusiastically second Skars advice.
DLP and LCD projectors are far more portable, flexible in screen size, and frankly, i've never been that blown away with flat panels- once i got past the cool novelty factor.
there are amazing values in front projector now,
if you can handle some of the other issues involved (throw distances, light control, etc).
after living with one for over a year now, i would absolutely dread ever having to go back to regular 'appliance' movie watching.

Im wrong, its a 40", this one here http://www.prodcat.panasonic.com/sho...ategoryId=2915

Ive never even considered the projector thing, thats completely new to me. The tv is in a corner between lots of windows, so even with the blinds closed its impossible to have it completely dark during the day(I take you mean theatre dark). I dont really need to follow the calculators recommendations, afterall I can see the 27" just fine from where I am lol. Like I said I just want a screen big enough to make it worth the trouble, but without sacrificing quality.

well then, a pj doesn't sound like it would be right for you.
i had a Sony 53HS10 for 6 months before i got the pj. i used it almost exclusively for dvd playback (nothing else looked anywhere as good). seems to be plenty of good models of RPs out there now. you will not be scarificing much at all to go from tube to rear projection , imo.
one thing to remember though, crt displays are prone to burn-in issues. if you will be watching much letterboxed material, this is something you may want to keep in mind.

Besides the two I mentioned, I just havent been very impressed with projection, but thats based on store demos. My problem with them has been requiring a certain distance and height to see the picture. Then the picture itself usually doesnt look that good, but again that based on store demos.

I need some real testimony that progressive scan DVDs will look sharp/clear/colorful on a $2-3K projection tv.

IMO go with the projection TV (either CRT, DLP, or LCD depending on your budget and needs). I have been researching these things for a while as I am building my own HT. Everyone will have different recommendations, I would suggest speaking with local installers "pro's" or some of the folks at your local high-end stereo shop.

Another good source for anything AV is www.avscience.com there forum is here: www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/

Avitech,
half the time i go into a CC or BB and they have something like Phantom Menace playing on one of their widescreen RPs, they don't even have their dvd player set to 16:9.
store displays are notoriously bad indicators of real quality.
i should have been more clear in my previous post.
i owned a Sony 4:3 digital rp. i wasn't using a progressive scan while i had it as they were still pricey and problematic. however, the picture with a plain old interlaced player (and utilizing Sonys anamorphic squeeze feature when applicable) rocked my world!
no complaints.
you are still going to get the most for your money out of RP, imo, at this point.

i would however definitely get the progressive player at the same time. many , many good inexpensive options now including panasonic and JVC.

How do they look for regular cable? And thanks for the clarification. I figured there had to be some reason people bought projection, but could never see it in store demos lol.

Well I saw the second gen DLP's at the CEDIA show last month and they are very good. The blacks are not perfect but the picture was excellent HD quality. But these are all ~10K. I would expect lots of the first gen DLP's to show up on ebay which could be a great stop gap. Get one of these and then in a few years upgrade the projector.

cable didn't look great.
not unwatchable, but compared to the sterling performance with *good* dvds, just was never all that inviting.
my RP quickly became exclusivley a dvd-delivery device.
having a good, large display for movie watching, definitely changed my viewing habits.
before i would sit and surf cable for a couple of hours, after i just made it a point to fire up the tv if i planned to sit and watch a movie all the way thru.

i don't think the equation would be much different for plasmas. any time you up the quality of your components, you get begin to run into problems with your source or software.
Good equipement will reward well mastered software or source signals, and conversely be merciless with poorly mastered ones.