I'm in the biz, so this may be of some help.

LCD is brighter, plasma has truer color but needs to be out of direct light. Plasma does have issues with "burn-in", that is if you keep an unmoving image (like the logo in the lower right hand corner of many TV broadcasts) on the screen, the image can become permanent. There are only a couple of manufacturers of the glass that is used in LCD's. So, all of the manufacturers are very similar once you get to the insides. The major manufacturers will be done making plasmas within 3 to 5 years. If you have the room and the inclination for a large image (greater than 60"), a projector/screen setup will give you the biggest bang for the buck. The contrast rating on monitors/projectors is the most meaningless spec going - there is no standard for measurement so each manufacturer uses their own method for rating. Blu-Ray is high definition DVD's. Most TV channels do not broadcast in 1080P, Blu-Ray does however. As with all technology, the price keeps coming down while the features keep improving.