A couple of years ago, was in need of replacing our family room TV. Research led me to selecting an LG 42" 720p plasma TV. It was the largest TV that fit into the cabinet area. At 42" or smaller, 720p vs. 1080p is negligible viewing difference. Power consumption was the lowest on the govt. rating scale ($15.00 annually). The larger the TV the farther away you should sit for optimal viewing (ours is about 8' from the couch). Keep that in mind when shelling out the big bucks for the larger TVs out there - not to mention their overpowering presence in a room. Plasma's refresh rate is far superior to LCD/LED (no pixelation evident in action scenes). Run your fingers across the screen of an LCD/LED or tap on it lightly - it will most likely exhibit color lines or flashing upon a light tap (plasma is glass and doesn't exhibit this type of plastic screen issue - or scratching the plastic screen if not properly cleaned). I imagine age and use will eventually cause the failure of the plastic screen vs. the longer life rated glass plasma screen.
At that time - manufacturers were eliminating a lot of the connection types available on their TVs (cost reductions). The LG plasma had the most audio/video input/output possibilities. I have it connected to a TIVO, DVD, VCR (yes, a VCR), and home theater system. Pays to always look at the back for connection offering. It gets costly to buy any type of adapter/converter. LG also offered a 2 year screen warranty with the plasma (LCD/LED only went 1yr. at that time, even with LG). Plasma has a predicted screen life twice that of LCD/LED.
Plasma is a little heavier than the plastic screen TVs because it has a glass screen (duh), and it does have more reflection issues in a bright sunny room. From what I've read - plasma went away as it cannot be manufactured under 42" size screens profitably, and screen costs are much higher than the cheaper to make LCD/LED screens. Skinny profits can lead to obsolescence on a quality product (might I mention Pioneer TVs), and to cheaper replacement products. You're not always getting a better product. Plasma TVs should be at a bargain price these days (while you can still find them)...
Edit/Add: I mentioned TIVO as I use over-the-air (antenna) TV. Tivo is my OTA DVR for time-shifting programs, and repetitive commercial skipping. I watch a large percentage of time-shifted TV these days. There are >80 broadcast channels (some are movie channels) in the greater Chicago metro area. They provide amazing HD broadcasts on many of them (better than the current compressed cable streaming IMHO), but you have to remember that currently, all broadcast TV is standard definition and 720p HD (and not 1080p). 1080p takes twice as much bandwidth to broadcast as 720p, and broadcasters aren't willing to spend the money to upgrade to 1080p anytime soon. You can do Bluray DVD or streaming for available 1080p, but regular TV is probably a long way off from 1080p.
