Buying a new TV within a month

[Revalos]

I'm selling my old 40" Sony XBR2 to my friends who have been caring for it for the past 5 months while I've been away as opposed to trying to get it back from them now that they are quite attached to it.

So, I'm in the market for a new HDTV. I'm only thinking of upping it to 42" (maybe 46"), since my house is not that big and I already sit 6 feet away from it anyway and the 40" seemed pretty good.

I want to spend $2750 or less.

I'd like to get something high end, since I'm not going too big, and I'd like to not have to replace it before 2k x 4k becomes common, but I'm trying to grasp what folks think about the new widgets that they have started trying to incorporate, I'm sure some are good improvements, other stuff is probably just hype.

240hz - Is it worth it? I remember when 120hz came out and it looked crisper, but not that much better than 60hz. Should I get a 240hz since it always has the ability to do lower ones, but would I ever use the 240hz setting?

Rear LED vs. Edge LED vs. CFT - It looks like the rear LED system is the best, but is it really worth it? It seems that LEDs are probably going to be the way to go for energy costs and color gamut, but maybe the fluorescents are still better for some reason. There are only a few of the rear LED versions, I think (LH80/90 from LG, Samsung 8 series, and XBR 8/9 from Sony), but they seem to say it is significantly better than the edge LEDs. Any suggestions?

Wireless HD - OK, what the hell happened while I was in Iraq, we have wireless 1080p now? Is that worth it?

DLP vs. LCD - My brother seems to say that DLPs are still superior to LCDs for a lot of reasons. Are they?

Surround Sound - OK, not a TV question really, but I never did buy a surround sound system for my old set, now I see they have some of weird 7.1, 8.1, 10.1 bullshit. Is 5.1 still just fine? I saw that LG came out with built in 3.1 surround in one of their new TVs, would that be a good idea?

Brand name vs. Costco - Is Vizio even worth looking at? I've always thought that it wasn't, but I've heard otherwise recently. It looks to me like LG or Sony would be the best, but Samsung isn't far behind.

Warranty - Do I need one? For how long? I always thought the prices would drop so quickly that if I broke a set somehow, I might as well just get a brand new one and write the previous one off, but I guess with the economy and thinking of buying a high end one, maybe a warranty would be a good idea.

Brick&Mortar vs. E-commerce - I usually draw the line at major electronics purchases online (unless I'm just buying components and building something) and I'd be very concerned about the shipping both cost wise and damage wise and dead pixels. But B&M usually costs like 15% more than online. Have people had good experiences with buying TVs online?

That's probably a good set of starting questions.

[Stunseed]

Hmm...

Were any of your other things connected to your system made by Sony? Sony products have this nifty thing called Bravia-Link or somesuch where you can control everything with one remote. That's a plus for Sony's new XBR.

Samsung's ToC like a920, etc have a wireless connection you need a bridge for. The original sets gave you USA Today for life, along with DLC. Most of the nicer Samsung have a USB port as well. It's kinda cool because you can make a slideshow of pics, and basically have a 40, 46, or 52 inch photo frame. Nothing says ballin like naked chicks when you're not watching TV.

DLP vs LCD? DLP's have bulbs which die after x amount of hours. It's an old technology on it's way out. LCD is better. Plasma, your third choice is better IF you keep your room dark. Check and see if you can get your hands on a Pioneer Kuro series. It's the best TV you can get your hands on.

Brand name? Definately keep with Sony, Samsung, Pioneer ( they are on their way out but quality stuff ). Mitsu if you can't get the top three. Vizio is not very well made, cheap audio/video processors, etc.

Warranty? Only if you buy from a physical source, or go through the product's warranty. Sony's is pretty decent. Didn't deal with many others.

[Revalos]

I have a PS3, but that is it Sony wise. But I haven't bought my sound system yet, but I could see getting a Sony one. That's a good plus.

I saw that now some of the TVs have a DivX converter so you can connect a USB stick and it'll play the movie. That is pretty cool too.

I really never had thought DLPs were worth it, I was just curious if something had changed regarding that negative point to them, same with the Kuro plasmas basically dying after a certain number of hours.

Really the only reason I had even brought up Vizio again was that I was seeing that supposedly they had made a high end line that was really good now, and I've got a Costco near me so I could get a look at it.

[Stunseed]

Kuro generation 2 is rated for 23 years of use at 6 hours a day or some shit.

I liked the Sony XBR, and the Samsung series. Receivers are a difficult choice as well, as Sony's series has come a LONG way, but anything of decent is still retailing at a grand. I'm having trouble remembering but a model number is RX-V668 or something at 7.1 for around 500.