secondwave

My 13 year old pioneer rear projection just died an untimley death and I am going to have to replace it asap. I can see in reading through the forum's, there are different opinions on brands, but could someone please give me a little advice on what to look for in any brand. It seems most recommend the widescreen hd, but what specs should I check to make sure I have the best chance for this set to be compatitable 5 to 7 years from now. I need to try to keep this purchase under $3500 with a 50 to 55 inch screen. Pioneer is the only brand I've ever owned but it sounds like the new ones would be out of my price range.
Sorry for the rambling but I'm freaking out that I will make a $3500 dollar mistake. Can anyone recommend a store in Dallas?
Please help!!!!

palebluedot

In my opinion you cant go wrong with a Mits. I have the 55807 which is an excellent 55" HDTV and you can get it for around $3000, maybe cheaper. It is ready for the future if there are no changes made to the broadcast format. To me the features you want to look for are progressive inputs and capability to do 480i, 480p, 720p and 1080i resolutions.