Thanks for all the replies.. it really helps...

well I am going to be moving in about a month to the 38th floor apt. it has big windows and its pretty well lite... here is a pic of the place



but i am painting the walls a dark color and well keep the shades closed most of the time.. what do you think LCD/Plasma??

 

With windows like that you will most certainly get a lot of glare on the plasma screen. LCD's have a matte finish which will help absorb glare. Even with the blinds closed, a glass surface like a plasma will show annoying glares. DLPS may or may not be good for that type of room either. With all the blinds closed DLP's would be ok, but wouldn't look the best with the blinds open.

 

The wall with the outlets on it is more than ideal for a plasma. Those blinds hide more than enough light to go with a nice plasma.

 

But because of the glass surface of plasma's you will always have some kind of glare.

 

That's not entirely true. As long as there is no direct light. The wall is completely shadowed, which means he wont have any glare. As far as environments go...that's as ideal as it's gonna get.

 

before you spend the money on a plasma and then putting it on that wall. hang up a framed picture that has a glass panel on it, and see exactly how much light it will reflect. Paying 5c for a nail is better than $500 to have it mounted on the wall and be pissed that you cant watch tv at all during the day.

 

It doesn't matter which type of technology you pick. It will be fine w/ that wall. It really depends on the other factors that I stated earlier.

But I think you'll need a nice Home theater w/ that flat panel television.

 

how about lighting.. where is it best to install them.. next to the TV or next to where i sit??

 

You want nothing that shines on the face of the display.

 

I agree that TODAY 1080P isn't necessary, but the price isn't THAT significant (I'm looking at a 40" Samsung, it's about $1800-2k for 1080P and about $1200-1400 for 780p), and I want to keep this sucker for a while. I figure I should be able to buy it now and be happy with it for about 8-10 years; by then either BR or HD-DVD will have won the format war, and we 1080P sources (or something even cooler) should be widely available. It's like buying a computer; buy the best you can afford now, and hope you can fight off obsolescence as long as possible. I'd hate to have to buy ANOTHER $2k TV 3 years from now to replace some capability I'm missing.