I've bought two this year and went to my tech gurus to ask what to look for.  You want the 1080p (it relates to resolution--1080 is better than the 7xx. Be sure to go look at them at the store--there is a BIG difference in picture quality between brands. NOTE: You'll need digital cable AND an HD cable box to take advantage of the extra resolution and wider screen. I am very happy with what I got. I think it's a samsung--or could be a sanyo (I'm out of state right now so I can't look to verify). LG is also good. The other thing besides the 1080/7xx is the contrast ratio--how white the whites are and how black the blacks are--a bigger number is better. The higher contrast ration means it won't look washed out even in sunlight. The contrast ration has a BIG effect on how good the picture looks.

There is also plasma versus LCD screens--both are flat screen. Plasma is usually more expensive. Used to be that plasma was better, but the LCD's have improved greatly and I am happy with my LCD sets.

Make sure the set has options on how to display non-HD signals. Do you want them blown up to fill the width (means part of the picture is cut off on the top and bottom? Do you want them stretched to fill the screen without cutting off anything (means the picture will look "fat" --but great if you are viewing it from an angle)? Or do you want the equivalent of "letterbox" to be used.

Most of the cable companies have a lot of HD channels now--I have comcast and almost all of the channels I watch are available in HD.

My digital HD cable box comes with a DVR option (sorta like tivo). I haven't tried connecting it to my computer--they asked me about that and I wasn't interested, but I know those options were available.

I've been told by the tech folks that using the "special" cable to connect the boxes will make a difference (I think it avoids signal loss or something). I got one because the cost was low relative to the cost of the tv itself.

I liked the first one I bought for the living room so well, I went back and got a smaller one for the bedroom. I can't remember if it's the same brand or not. Probably is, the cabinets look similar.