Right now I would side with the dlp as prices are generally lower for a dlp and, in most cases I prefer the picture. Lamp life of dlps has increased greatly over the past few years. Granted bulbs are still expensive to replace (around $300), but unlike plasmas, once you replace the bulb, you essentially have the same picture as when you bought the set. The life of a plasma is limited and although it has gotten longer, the better investment maybe the dlp.

Here's some information I learned -- Larger than about 42″, a Plasma will tend to be less costly (actually there aren’t many Plasmas under 42″ now). DLP sets are a bit brighter than LCD's, though a Plasma is generally much brighter. Plasmas offer slightly wider viewing angles. Also, when it comes to black contrast (deeper blacks), a Plasma tends to have the darkest black, followed by a DLP, and then LCD.

DLP's have replaceable bulbs which seem to burn out faster than Plasmas. DLP's may end up costing more (some manufacturers recommend replacing the bulb after 2,000 hours, while Plasmas & LCD’s can go up to 50,000 hours before it becomes less bright).

However, Plasmas do have a greater tendency for image retention. If want to leave your set on for the 24 hour crawl underneath, you might want to get an LCD or DLP instead. If you don’t plan on leaving a channel on for hours, a Plasma is fine. I think it may be a better deal due to the light bulb issue alone.