[ChrisW6ATV]

As far as brands, Sony and Samsung make the best LCD TVs, and they are more likely than off-brands to actually have parts or service information available (Sony, at least). At 9 feet, 42" will be OK but a 52"+ display will be much more enjoyable. Get a Blu-ray player for the best HD movie experience, and DVDs will look pretty good from the player as well. If you want to consider a plasma TV as well, Panasonic is the only current brand to buy; they are far above the others (except Pioneer, who stopped making TV sets). Make sure to get a 1080p set especially if you buy a plasma TV, and do NOT buy your hook-up cables at Best Buy or Radio Shack!

Projectors are by far the best home theater experience of all (I view a 92" picture about 9 feet from my couch!), but they definitely take more work to live with. You need to be able to make your viewing room quite dark, unless you are only going to watch it at night (or only sports in the daytime, and even then you need at least a moderately-dark room). I have pull-down room-darkening shades in my living room and the adjacent kitchen for daytime viewing. You also have to be able to install a pull-down or fixed large screen, and you need to run one or more cables from the projector (on the ceiling or a shelf above/behind your couch) to your other equipment.