Hitachi is a great brand for rear projection still. Have been for about 10 years now. As far as LCD and/or Plasma, pretty much anything you get really is the same these days. All the controller cards are made in the same factory, and most stuff is the exact same just with different labels on them. Example: in my bedroom, I have a 30" Sony LCD that I paid a pretty penny for. It has a great picture and I'm real happy with it. In my guitar room I have a 42" LCD by Akai. It has just as good of a picture as the 30" Sony for a lot less money. You can pick up a 42" Samsung or Panasonic for around a grand right now if you look in the right places (I saw the Panasonic in Lowes over the weekend for $1199). For $800, believe it or not, Wal-Mart has an LCD to fit the bill. Check it out.

As for the speakers, the receiver makes all the difference. I know you have one already, but if it's not up to snuff, you could have $1000 speakers and it won't matter. Just my .02. I used to work as an Audio Manager in Circuit City many moons ago.