Have you given any thought to Samsung?
I recently bought the 720p 56" (last Sept, HL-S5686W) and I LOVE it.
One small alignment issue (the picture was slightly off center/tilted) was fixed within 8 days of a phone call by a certified samsung tech, all set up by Samsung and at my schedule. He came with a ton of parts for what the problem could have been had it need to be fixed at my place, but it was just a matter of getting into the service menu with the remote (which he showed me how to do after I asked) and adjusting it with the remote, which was quite easy.
2 hdmi, 2 component and the PC input on the back of the TV make it real convenient...my PC looked great on it surprisingly. I had to hook it up out of curiosity alone.
My mother in law has the 1080p 56" of the same model line and it is outstanding. She's had it for nearly 4 months now and has had no issues either.
Neither of us have 1080p stuff going to it (mine cant show it anyway) though, so I can't comment there. I only paid $1400 for mine at the time, where the 1080p model was $2400. The diff wasn't worth $1000 to me, and still isn't. 720p/1080i material looks glorious on my set, even from only 8 feet away (where I normally sit).
Anyway, just thought I'd toss Samsung's name into your choices. When I was researching, they seemed to be the best quality AND customer service response out there. At least it was the vibe I was getting from a few forums.
Good luck.
