Sorry, didn't realize that Plasmas didn't come into play until later, but the CRT burn in argument still holds some truth, as do the other arguments for 16:9 TVs.
As noted in several links, "everyone" in the world who was on a slightly different standard eventually took up the 16:9 standard.
Of course there are 21:9 screens for FPs and there will be someone producing a 21:9 TV for "widescreen fanatics", however, they will not become mainstream. Even though many (most?) recent (theatrical) films are 21:9, some are produced in formats outside that - 2.0:1, 2.6:1, etc. I believe that the 16:9 compromize was a good choice and has done well.
I read this morning that theatrical receipts were down significantly this year, probably due to many people downloading, etc. If the trend holds, then there may be a shift to more 16:9 productions for TVs, computers, etc., since "everything" else (new) produced for TVs is 16:9.
If you wish to purchase a different TV for each format produced, good luck.
