And now for something completely different: TV-buying advice!

I'm looking to purchase a plasma TV in the 40-inch to 46-inch range, and I need it to be hovering around $600-800 (hoping to capitalize on Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals). I understand that Panasonic, Sony, Toshiba and Samsung are all solid choices and would like to stick with them; of course, if you have any other suggestions that are excellent, I am open to hearing them. I am flexible and can make an exception for a good LCD or LED-LCD TV. I will be buying online. This TV will be primarily used for gaming, first and foremost, and watching movies and TV shows. In the future I plan to connect it to a laptop to stream video and possibly play games.

I am mostly concerned with performance and features, so if it's not pretty, I really could not mind less. A 3D-ready TV is preferred but unnecessary. I would, however, like it to connect to the internet.

TL;DR
I want a 40-46-inch plasma or LCD for $600-800 that will be used for gaming, watching TV and movies and can be hooked up to a computer. It can be ugly but it should have lots of personality to compensate.

Any help is appreciated. Thanks for your time.

Have you been keeping your eye on Amazon? They've been offering some good buys lately on Panny plasmas (and others). I'm contemplating one in my near future and wouldn't consider LCD over plasma unless power consumption was an issue. Plasmas are so much better in terms of picture quality, and Panny is one of the better ones (I'm biased). Their ST or GT lines have a wide range of features and are 3D & internet ready. I think a 40-45 inch is right in your budget range with the discounts now offered.

Also you might consider some of the good buys Panasonic has on their own website right now.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16889005228