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!!!!

I don't have specific suggestions for brand of TV, but i do know where you should look. Sears (Brick and Mortar) will price match almost any 'net deal.

First you need to find out what the best brand to buy is, then cross reference with Sears. (If you check in "Other Bargains" there are a few threads on this) Checking the "other bargains" will also yield good places to get TV's from.

So go through pricesearch.com or similar site and find the cheapest deal on the 'net. Print out the price on the website and bring to Sears.

Getting Sears to PriceMatch is pretty easy, but every once in awhile some ppl have some troubles...if so, then try again at a different time with a different person.

-pedagogue

I was surprised too when I did my checking for DVD Players. I checked online and retail stores - the surprise is retail stores are cheaper. Sony DVPS560 is 299 at Amazon and 249 in retail stores. ALso found the same $50 diff for Panasonic DVDRV30. Check out local retail stores prices at http://SalesCircular.com - they show HDTV and big TV prices too

I highly recommend the Pioneer SD line of HDTV's! They are identical to the Elite models except for the Line Doubler, Cabinet, Screen, and an extra BNC Input on the Elite! When viewing Progressive Scan DVD's or High Def the SD and Elite's look identical! The Elite's do have a better Line Doubler so Interlaced sources will look better on the Elites but you pay $2000 more for this! I own the SD582 and after researching all the available HDTV's from Pioneer, Mitsubishi, Toshiba, Hitachi, Philips I decided on the Pioneer SD and haven't regretted it since (10 months ago)! I bought the SD582 58" HDTV for $3800 10 months ago and I believe it can be had for what you are looking to buy one for!

thanks everyone for the feedback. I checked around dallas today and the only Pioneer dealer I could find said he could make me a real deal on the 58" pioneer for $4500. I Did see the same set usiong price scan for $3495 but have a real fear of buying something like this over the net. Guess I will have to look at the Mitsubishi--and Toshiba.
Thanks again for the help.

Best Buy carries the SD line of Pioneer HDTVs. They are priced competively with the Toshiba widescreens. I have a Toshiba widescreen myself but the Pioneer I saw at BB looked terrific.

I have seen the Pioneers on sale at BBuy too, not this week though. See weekly sales list at http://SalesCircular.com

I have looked at several brands today and still like the Pioneer overall but at close to $5000 it probably is not that much better.
I did find and have just about decided on a 65" Mitsubishi (WS65807) for $3175. This is a larger set than I was looking for but at this price I feel like it might be the most bang for the buck.
If anyone has seen this set I would like to hear your opinions on this.
I am a little concerned about the screen burn in problem and if it is more common to this brand than others. Do you get used to the stretched or zoom effect that seems to distort the immages on regular broadcast?
Thanks again to each of you for your help. It's really nice to find a place to get opinions from people who know what they are talking about.