And the Finalists are...

• HP Pavilion MD5880n
• Samsung HL-R5078W
• JVC HD-56FH96
• Samsung HL-R5668W
• Mitsubishi WD-52627
• Samsung HL-R5678W
• Mitsubishi WD-52628
• Samsung HL-R5688W
• Toshiba 56HM195
• Sony KDSR50XBR1
• Toshiba 56MX195
  

These are the televisions my family has to choose from. The price leader is the Toshiba 56HM195, which can be had for less than $2500 after shipping. My favorites were the HP, JVC, and Sony, until I had the opportunity to compare a Toshiba (not sure which one) to the JVC and Sony side by side. The Sony has fallen out of favor after realizing that the picture was getting washed out by a slight reflection from the overcast day outside. Neither the Toshiba or JVC had a problem overcoming the diminished outdoor reflection.

The best part about all of this is that while I'm waiting for the proper time to make the purchase, and balancing the pros and cons of various stands for the winner, I get to hear all about why each particular TV carried by each local store is so much more superior than the rest by the local misguided salesfolk. I had a guy at BestBuy try to tell me that his Sony was the only true 1080p set available on the market right now. What a laugh! There are about 4 different ways to interpret that, and in no case is it true. True, the DLP sets (all but the JVC and Sony) use "wobulation" to double the number of pixels, but after that, they all natively display 1080p from any material you can send to them. Every one that has a VGA input can display 1920x1080 from a computer's video card. The standout for the moment is the HP. It can accept a 1080p signal via the HDMI inputs. I honestly don't care if any of them can display a 1080p signal. I want the best looking 1080i picture I can find, and native 1080p is the best option for that right now. I realize that these sets are not the only choices, but they are the best fits for my size/weight/brightness/contrast/cost requirements.