I want the following:

[Ovation]

NO Burn in--I watch a lot of classic films that are NOT widescreen and OAR means OAR to me--regardless of the shape.

NO motion lag (or as little as possible--I've seen that effect on several HDTV LCD displays--from the inexpensive to costly and it is bothersome).

Deep blacks--I know no tech is perfect, but best blacks I can afford--many of those classic films are B&W

50-55"--biggest space I can accomodate

Under 5000$CDN

Does such a TV exist?

[aud19]

Sounds like SXRD or DLP are you most obvious choices at this point. SXRD being my first preference of those two.

CRT would work short of the burn in risk, though a properly set up display won't have these issues. (I have a 3 year old CRT RPTV and watch tons of 4:3 TV/movies and have had no burn in problems) It's also the only tech that will give you truly deep blacks at this point.

[Ovation]

CRT is probably not an option owing to size/weight (I'm trying to free up some space in the room--my 32" Sony WEGA analogue TV juts out a fair bit from the wall and weighs 175 pounds. I don't want the TV to come out any further into the room and, if possible, I'd like to lighten my load). It's probably not going to happen for another year or two. I was originally planning on 5 years from now, but shopping for TVs with my best friend a few weeks ago, and then installing his HT audio around the beast for him and "test viewing" a few things made my own TV (which has always seemed perfectly fine until now--the 16x9 "cheat" is pretty good with DVDs, given the analogue nature of my TV) seem rather "small". If my wife wasn't just finishing a year long maternity leave (she's the big breadwinner in the house), I'd probably have bought a TV the same day my buddy did. But I'll have to wait a while. Still, it's nice to have a goal. :T

[aud19]

Looks like SXRD or DLP are your best bets then. Or you can wait a couple years and likely almost double your budget and wait for SED :P Of course it's still phosphor based so the risk of burn in is still there but not a real concern if setup properly.