benstern,
I've had my HDTV almost two years now, and I am very pleased with it. I agree with agreeen
about getting the widescreen instead of the conventional 4x3. It will also come in handy if you watch a lot of DVD's because it will allow you to buy or rent the widescreen version instead of being stuck with the fullscreen version that cuts off 33% of the picture.
In case you didn't know, there will be 3 NFL games broadcast in HD EVERY week! ESPN's sunday night game, MNF, and CBS's main game on Sundays available regionally or included for free with a Sunday Ticket subscription. The games so far this preseason have looked awesome. Every game ESPN and ABC have done have been in HD with the exception of the American bowl game overseas.
You will need either a Directv HD sat receiver that doubles as an OTA digital tuner, or a cable HD receiver.
Bman66