P, are you looking for a plasma specifically? We've had two, a 43 and a 50, and they're fine especially if you're going to mount it on the wall. If not, save the money, it's not worth it.
We just got a Sony Wega rear projection. We didn't want the DLP technology because I'd read where some people could actually "see" the mirrors.
Here's a link to the 50" version of what we have:
Sony 50" Rear Projection
BTW, it's supposed to be great for gaming and the pic is knock-out awesome.
We've had satellite before, but didn't like it. Service sucked and they wanted to charge me if they had to come out. With Cox Cable, we get a ton of HD channels including all the local ones, HBO, etc.