Following up on the Loewe gear...
We sell all sorts of stuff from plasma to RPTV to Loewe direct view, etc.
Nothing I have ever seen comes close to a Loewe direct view. No RPTV, no plasma. The closest thing I've seen from Plasma is the ReVox 42" which retails for $11k. It looks about as good as the Loewe, which is to say it looks vastly superior to any other plasma on the market.
RPTV - especially LCD based - can't touch Loewe. That is not to say that RPTV is all bad. On the contrary there are some excellent sets out there, including the big Sony's (CRT based - not LCD based) which are some of the best I've seen. There are some other good ones as well, including Zenith. But it's never going to be as pristine as direct view - it will just be bigger.
Personally I would not waste your time with a cheaper plasma TV. They have mediocre black levels, grainy texture, poor contrast, poor color bandwidth, and are proving to suffer burn in from long term viewing, especially if you crank up the brightness and contrast to make the set look better. Also many of them have progressive scan upsamplers on board that are less than stellar and hence they introduce artifacting. One of the best features on the Loewe is their world class de-interlacing technology which is by far the best I've ever seen. Virtually no artifacting. They also have two different modes, which are useful for different types of footage (quick, choppy action or long panoramic scenes)
As for larger CRT's - Mezmo is correct that they are having trouble with the sets larger than 38" and this is why Loewe has not developed a set to compete with Sony's. They are working on it but they claim they cannot get it to display to their standards, which are obviously extremely high. You run into a number of problems, not the least of which is an incredibly thick (and heavy) glass which makes the sets a logistical nightmare. The 38" Aconda is already over 200 lbs. But of course there are technological problems which complicate the process of making a 40" or larger direct view set.
If you cannot afford a Loewe, get a Sony. While not as good as Loewe they are still excellent and much better than any other direct view set out there. And we don't carry Sony so I have no agenda when I say that.
The 30" Loewe Aconda for $3k is one of the most spectacular bargains in high definition home theater. It smokes anything I've ever seen except its bigger brother, and at $3k you simply cannot find a set based on any other technology that comes even close. You can find a bigger set I am sure, but it won't look nearly as good.
If you don't believe me go check out a Loewe at a local dealer. You will buy it on the spot. It's the easiest damn thing to sell in our store. People see them and just whip out their credit cards.
