I agree that you need to ask yourself how "dedicated" you HT will be. Unless you're truly talking about a system and room that will be used exclusively for sitting in the dark watching movies, I'd go for an RPTV. Sony, Mitsubishi and Pioneer all make drop-dead gorgeous sets that easily fit your $6K target. Depending on how big a screen you want, you might even save a few bucks off that budget. I'd get an HDTV-ready system, I'd probably get the 16:9 screen. But with a RPTV, you can use the system for more than just watching movies - I use mine all the time for a basketball game on the screen, a favorite CD over the sound system, a cold beer in my hand, and a bit of isolation from the outside world.
