As I mentioned earlier, I almost bought an HDTV over the weekend. Despite having completely ruled out Plasma for my gaming TV needs in my buying guide, I somehow got convinced that Plasma is now the only way to go.

Best Buy personal shopping assistant Lesley was pushing for us to buy a 50-inch LG, but I quickly dismissed that when I realized it was the built-in DVR model. Who wants to pay an extra $1,000 for a DVR you can't replace?

The LG model one step down seemed nice, but I told Lesley I needed to get to my computer and do some research first. After running through the options I narrowed my selection down to the LG 50PX1D, a Zenith (Z50PX2D) or a Panasonic (TH-50PX50U).

In my research I discovered a handful of people claiming that the LG and Zenith models were in-fact identical. LG, it turns out, bought out Zenith last year.

I went back to Best Buy late Sunday thinking I'd buy the Zenith, but the new PSA had such an adverse reaction to my decision (I don't even want to help sell you that.) that I decided to come back and hit John B, from our very own Gizmodo for help. I ran the rumor past him and he hooked my up with LG's veep of marketing.

Yes, that's right, I'm talking to the vice president of a multinational company about which of his TV's I should buy for my basement. In my defense, I am blogging about it, so I think it's fair.
No word yet, but if it turns out that the Zenith is really just an LG in disguise I'm going to pick it up because it's $800 cheaper. If not, I'll probably buy the LG or spend an extra $200 and get the Panasonic, which offers 1080i support. I know, I know. I'm going to regret not having 1080p when the PS3 hits, but I just don't make 1080p money.

Flat Panel HDTVs [Best Buy]