Good advice by volinbham there. I'll cover calibrations in a minute here.
Figure out what you need first. I will just assume you are looking for a top-level picture, if you're considering those Samsung series, or presumably a Sony XBR or Panasonic.
Consider the room you're in. If glare on the screen is a big factor, then shy away from plasmas. As great as they look, they all have glass panels and will reflect light. In this case I would recommend a Sony XBR6.
IMO Samsung's LED-backlight TV's are a waste of money. Yes, they look great, almost as good as plasmas but they are still an LCD at heart and will have some minor processing issues, resulting in some issues like the picture blooming a bit during vivid scenes. Plamsas simply do not do this. Not only that, but the Samsung also forsakes the number one advantage of most other LCD's, and that is the lack of light reflection.
If you need to go LCD, XBR6 is the way to go. For having a matte finish plastic screen that will reflect minimal amounts of light, it produces extremely good black levels and proper color contrast. And it will process the image as well as any LCD on the market, having minimal amounts of imperfections.
Now if ambient lighting is not an issue, go with a plasma by all means. I've done research on it, and from a purely technical standpoint the Pioneer Elite displays
are the best production plasma displays in existence. End of story. The price reflects it, however. The next best thing (aside from Fujitsu, which will still have hardware issues far too often) is the regular Pioneer pro series. As you said, they do cost a lot of money.
Assuming Best Buy stores on that side of the country have the same things available, it's not too bad right now...
Pioneer - KURO 50" Class 1080p Flat-Panel Plasma HDTV - PDP-5020FD
$1,000 off. And it can be financed for free for three years, same as cash.
Sorry to pimp my own stuff, but that setup is hot deals IMO.
If that caviar is still a bit too expensive for your taste, the 50-800 from Panasonic will still kill it for a lot less. The picture is really good. Not Pioneer good, but better than anything else available right now.
Cliff notes:
If you must go LCD, the 52" XBR6 is the only way to go. Everything else at that size is, quite frankly, either way more expensive and not that much better (XBR7, XBR8), defeats the purpose of what LCD tv's are for (Samsung 650/750/850) or are just regular LCD's with at least hints if not blaring reminders of the shortcomings of LCD processors.
If plasma turns out to be your bag, the Pioneer 50" is the one if you can afford it. If not, then the Panasonic 800 (not the 80).
Other than that, find ISF calibrators in your area. Best Buy installers do it, and each area usually has a few independent guys. Make sure they're competent first. Properly adjusted picture = better-looking and cooler-running = longer life. And make sure you use a power conditioner. Not a regular circuit breaker, but something that will ensure a steady voltage into your TV. Say what you want about them, I've seen two matching TV's hooked up side by side with the same programming, one with power conditioning and one without. The difference was noticable. And it's just healthy for your TV.
