I've pretty much decided I will soon do my little part to help the ailing economy, and drop about $400 on a new HDTV. I've already ordered an HDMI cable for it. If it'll fit in the cubbyhole in my entertainment center, I'll get the 26" Toshiba. (The HD-DVD player is a Toshiba, so matching brands look better. Also, Toshiba has a feature it calls "DynaLight", which varies the backlighting to match dark scenes, a good idea if you watch alot of space movies.) I've had the HD-DVD player for a year now, and accumulated about 20 HD-DVDs in a collection of some 250 to 300 movies and TV shows, mostly regular DVDs but also a few VHS and LaserDisc, and I haven't even gotten to watch the HD-DVDs in high-def yet. So, as soon as I get my tax return, I'm off to the store.
As for the old TV. It's been unplugged for several days now. I'll plug it in and try it out one more time. If it works, it's going to the local Salvation Army. If it doesn't work, it's going to a recycler. (The local free daily recently gave times and places for electronics recycling drives. I've accumulated a bit of e-waste in addition to the TV, including a couple of dead computers I've had for about 10 years.)
I'll be sure to get one with at least two HDMI ports, because I figure I'll be wanting to add a Blu-Ray player to the system sometime within the next year. Fortunately, Blu-Ray players are getting cheaper. I've been using Amazon to get HD-DVD disks (now that they're long-gone from the stores), and noticed Blu-Ray disks are about even in price range through Amazon's secondary merchants.
Another option I considered was getting a large computer monitor and integrating the computer and entertainment systems. Problem is, that would complicate the audio part. (I'd have to get a separate amp and speakers.) I wouldn't be able to work on the computer while listening to a show on the side. And I wouldn't have a tuner to get digital broadcasts. So that option is most likely out.