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I expect to enter the HD market soon myself, and I've looked at a number of sets, both in stores and in rooms (bars, restaurants, homes, etc.).
I agree that we aught to go back to the 4:3 ratio. As Chad mentioned, Cinematic style has changed from the epic "Ben Hurr" days, so that 4:3 seems more beneficial even for movies. Also, horizontal space (the TV's "footprint") is much more expensive in a home than the vertical space. I hate the prospect of needing more than twice the width to get close to the same screen size. Also, unless I get a HUGE HT screen that takes up most of my wall (which will be purchased through future lottery winnings), the picture really seems squashed to me. Maybe that's just because I'm so used to the 4:3 ratio, but everybody'sl in that situation. 16:9 is just there to match a standard that's somewhat obsolete, IMO.
However, I DO really like the higher resolution. One of my pet peaves is being too close to a medium-to-large TV, so that the horizontal lines are too obvious. My perception goes from "I'm observing a story" to "I'm watching a television image". I've noticed that I can get as close as I want to an HD set of any size without seeing those lines. However, for smaller sets, a standard def. flat panel makes more sense to me.
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