you want to make sure you have a TV with an ATSC tuner in it (or at least something that has one), because sometimes the tuner in VCR's/DVD Recorders fails. If you need to, you can always buy an ATSC tuner separate. see above. You also want the lowest ms (for example, 6ms is better than 8ms). If you are buying a 37" or larger TV, you should get one that does 1080p - you will get a better picture: as a screen gets larger, so do the dots/pixels. for instance, the less expensive sets will offer 1366x768 resolution instead of x1080 (1080p/1080i). For a 32" you will probably be doing things in 720p in some sort of fit-to-screen mode since the fit isn't exact. 1080p (p means progressive-scan, i means interlaced-scan) will probably come in handy if you plan on doing HD-DVD movies or Blu-ray (another form of High-Definition) movies. Note that high-def movies are probably more expensive than regular DVD's. Also check out this c|net best-HDTV review for TV models. I have been told there have been issues with breakage when ordering online, so it's probably best to order from a store.
If you buy an HDTV, chances are you are probably also going to want an up-to-date DVD recorder+VCR with an HDMI connector on it to connect to your TV (or make sure it has component-video and audio outputs) and hopefully an ATSC tuner on it as well. Component Video is 3 colored connectors (red, green, blue) usually labelled as Y-Cr-Cb or Y-Pr-Pb.
I was generally pleased with the specs on the Sharp Aquos line and the Philips/Magnavox line of products the Magnavox line sometimes come with a DVD player integrated.

24p true cinema capable (blu-ray players). can hook up Bravia Link modules. pc input, 4xHDMI, 2xcomponent. surround sound no matter the room.

has surround sound. Philips also carries the Magnavox name.

The 37" has I think 3 HDMI inputs, 3 or 4 audio imputs, component video inputs, composite video input, S-video. lots of inputs. then again, most of the Aquos line has lots of inputs, and it does 1080p unlike the Philips 37" which is 1366x768. and of course it has surround sound. saw the specs on the 37" and I liked. The 32" and 26" wasn't 1080p but they seemed nice too.

3 HDMI connectors. see review.

see review.

not as good as plasmas, but outperforms any LCD's so far. see review.

best HDTV between 48-52". see review.

best HDTV 52" and up. see review.

video, svideo, 2xHDMI, 1xCoax Digital Audio Out, 1xHeadphone out, RF in, component video in, 2xAudio L+R in, audio mini plug and PC-in (VGA). ATSC/NTSC tuner (apparently no QAM). Closed Caption Decoder, Trilingual On Screen Display, Sleep Timer, Auto Shut Off, VESA Mount, Remote Control with Batteries, Channel Lock, Downloadable Rating, V-Chip 2.0.

video, svideo, 3xHDMI, 1xCoax Digital Audio Out, 1xAnalog Audio out L+R, 1xHeadphone out, RF in, component video in, 3xAudio L+R in. ATSC/NTSC tuner (apparently no QAM). Closed Caption Decoder, trilingual On Screen Display, sleep timer, auto shut off, VESA mount, remote w batteries, child lock, downloadable rating, V-Chip 2.0.

'smooth picture quality.' tested to pass 1080p up to 10m.

Check out this graph showing that 1080p does matter - at a certain distance: but then again I don't have 20/20 vision so for me it doesn't matter...

only 3mm thick. article: Sony to sell 11" OLED TV in December - TG Daily. 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio. boasts that 105% of NTSC color space can be achieved. This is practically the first commercially-available large-format OLED display. takes less power than lcd displays because there is no need for a backlight. pixels that are off consume no power.