Home audio & video: In need of serious HDTV help! Please and Thank you!!

In need of serious HDTV help! Please and Thank you!!

So my wife has been hinting at wanting to get me a new TV for christmas, which in turn got me excited and I started looking at new sets. Man, am I lost now. I used to know what I was doing when it came to hdtv's a few years ago, but since Ive been outta the loop, so many things have changed. In regards to lcd tv's, when I bought one 3 years ago the most important thing to look at when buying one with gaming in mind was the response time. You didnt want anything slower than 8ms and youd want a decent contrast ratio, which most were 15000:1. Now, there is all this added crap with 60hz, 120hz, 240hz, etc... and other bells and whistles that I dont even know where to begin. I hear one hz rating is better for gaming while another is better for movies, and then some sets let you switch back and forth between hz to get the best pic for what you are doing. I just want a tv that is gonna look awesome with both gaming and movies (blu-rays and dvd's) with out a hastle of switching back and forth between 10 different settings. Ive been considering going with plasma as I didnt think they had the same issue with the hz, but Im starting to think they do as Ive seen it listed on info tags for certain models. So what should I be looking at guys? I cant spend more than $1000 and to be honest, Id like to spend considerably less than that. Id like to get at least 47" but am willing to consider as low as 40". Do I need 1080p at those sizes? Would I need it if I get one thats bigger (50"-55")? Is burn in something to be worried about if I get a plasma? Can the burn in be undone?

Ive been looking at some models at wal-mart and Ive heard good things about Vizio by some people here, so Ive been considering this one Also, I've noticed That plasma has become a good bit cheaper than LCD, so I may want to go plasma depending on what you guys think.


Heres a 52" sharp plasma thats in my price range

Also, I just seen this one listed in another thread and it looks nice as well Panasonic viera

Im am totally open to and am looking for your suggestions! Thanks everyone!