What’s happened to all the hype about plasma TV and that one with the little girl and “it’s the mirrors”? LCD TV’s seem to be the one that’s come out on top, like Beta vs VHS.
1. Buying one or the other TV will not limit your ability to view content designed for the other— because no such design differences exist.
2. Plasma TV is (still, may change) superior to LCD in terms of brightness, contrast and to a lesser extent color quality. This superiority (a) comes at a price (plasma costs more) and (b) is nearly invisible to the naked or untrained eye. People will bypass the “best” in favor of the “good enough” if there's sufficient price advantage.
I'm still watching a 1997-model 19” CRT, and so are a lot of other people. This year I plan to pick out a 32” LCD panel in 720p. 32”-ers are available in 1080p, but in that size I don't see the advantage to higher resolution. With a dreamland unlimited budget, I'd probably go for a 50+” plasma in 1080p and then die of butt calluses during my 4,853rd viewing of the Battle of the Pelennor Fields.
I love my plasma. The refresh rate of the LCDs (even the high rate models) did not compare with plasma.