About 2 weeks ago I got a Sony 36" WEGA flat tube TV for a wedding present. I decided to go for the bigger size for the budget ($1000) instead of an HD TV.
Is this something I'm going to regret in the near future?
You should probably post this in the video forum for more opinions. That Wega TV is great and will give many years of service, however, you can get a great HD capable 42" RPTV for about $1200 and you can get a 30-34" HDTV flat tube tv with built in tuner for under $1000. There is an increasing number of programs in 16:9 format that you will not be able to watch in widescreen, specially as we move to toward the FCC deadline in the next few years. You won't be able to enjoy the full benefit of DTV or HDTV with that Wega, if that matters to you. (some people won't care). Your TV will still look terrific but you will not see the higher resolution and may have to put up with the format bars at the top and bottom.
If you watch mostly cable shows and news then your 4:3 TV will be ok. If you watch a lot of DVD's, sports, primetime TV, you are going to miss out on the exceptional quality and detail you could be seeing.
After watching progressive scan DVDs and widescreen HD broadcasts (like the Super Bowl!) there is no turning back for me.
Much depends on how quickly the broadcast industry converts to HDTV and whether watching a much better picture is important to you.
Only you can answer these questions.
A good compromise would have been the 40" Sony that is in regular 4:3 format, but is also HDTV compatible.
Hence, you would have been able to watch regular tv that fills the screen and HDTV with bars, turning it into roughly a 34" widescreen HDTV.
There are even good CRT rear projection larger HDTV sets at 50" and more for less than $2,000.
But the 36" Wega is a nice tv anyway. I still watch a 36" Sony--mostly because I am mentally paralyzed over which HDTV to buy. A lot of them don't perform well with standard television broadcasts.