Pana Plasma. Always. The only way you could even make me think about it, for the tiniest bit, is if the competitor is Pioneer. Then, it would be a 50/50 depending on the models compared.
No question here. Though I would think you could find larger for the same price? at the expense of having to go 720 perhaps, then again, maybe not even having to do that. My brother got a 50" 1080p plasma for roughly 1.2k out the door, and IIRC annuanki's brother got one for hundreds less than that . . . but on black friday.