Which is the best LCD TV under $600 and why?

I want to buy an lcd tv for under $600 so I can watch my upscaled dvd movies. I currently have a pretty decent JVC 27 inch tv and it serves me well but I want to get ready for the digital tv changeover- despite using rabbit ears now that I know will soon need their own cable box to convert signal from digital to og again. I have an old Sony receiver without HDMI inputs/ouputs, a new samsung upscaling dvd player that has hdmi output, and my receiver and dvd player are currently using optical cable. Is the Vizio a good set, or would you choose the Samsung with a higher ratio instead? Which budget lcd has the best black performance? I notice that Darth Vadars robe is a blob of black on some sets and the movie Pitch Black (my test dvd) doesnt perform well on sets I saw in the store. Do you recommend a person wait til next year or is it ok to buy a set now? Thanks.