We got a 47" LG HD LCD and love it. Got it at Walmart and even the salesperson agreed that it's picture was the clearest between Sony and another brand, forgot what it was. We had had a 52" rca that went out after 4 and a half yrs. and got so used to the bigger screen that we hate smaller ones. I bought a solid oak stand for $20 at a thrift store it is less than 47" wide to set ours on. We too, were told not to get a plasma. You definitely wantthe1080p as the newer DVD's seem to be for that.