HD-ness Envy and Pavlov's Dog

I have 480i.  That's it.  Nothing better.  I have PS3 and Xbox360.  To repeat myself, these are in standard definition, composite, 480i.  They look pretty damn good.  However, Best Buy has them on a beautiful HDTV at 720i.  I call that the Salivation Station.  If you think, like I did, that you get the same gameplay experience, you need to check out a store that has a Salivation Station.  It is no longer a question of "if" I get an HDTV.  It is a question of when.

As for TV buying tips, I'm pretty sure TV is at its most expensive right now.  I mean, "The Big Game" is coming soon.  Ready the HD DVR and make sure your snackbowls are ready.  The commercials may be better than the game.  A lot of those TVs comeback on Monday!  Will the sales begin?  Here's some observations I made:

• Get up-close and personal with the screen.  Check for blurring and light distortion.  Best Buy's "Insignia" brand lost the competition right here, and some of the smaller LG's did, too.
• Check for blurring and ghosting while watching an HD video feed.  There is no point watching a standard feed, so a lot of Targets and Walmarts are not good demo places.  You probably should go to an expensive store for the demo, then the cheap store if they have that model.
• Bring pen-and-pad for notes and model numbers.
• Look for support of the latest HD version.  I personally wish they'd stop playing with this.  Pick a resolution.  Pick a framerate.  Nuff said.
• Look for HD/Standard(simulated) splitscreen.  If you can't tell the difference, either the TV is in the wrong mode or it's not worth buying.
• Look for image and color distortion at viewing angles.  The upper TVs are at a disadvantage.  Most distortion is from projection screens, but not all projection screens are bad.
• The demo TVs have been on all day for days on end.  Look for dead pixels, color abnormalitys (like magenta/green screen edges), and insufficient brightness.

This is my own "layman's" list.  I'm not an expert on HDTVs at all.  Get a little info from specialty magazines.  Check out the fanboy blogs, since the commercial ones have financial interests in certain manufacturer's.  I, personally, have been most impressed with Sony, Samsung, Philips, and LG.  I thought the slim-fit CRTs would be good for games, but there was color bleeding and they're cheap-but-heavy.