What's wrong with my TV's DVD player? New TV?

I think in the end, I'm going to get a new TV. Still, I'd like to know how to put up with this till I can get a new one. I have a Polaroid full screen TV (it's a smaller TV) with a built in DVD player. I got it in around March 2007. Worked like a charm. I brought it up with me to college for the summer of 2010. I was there for the summer for in-coming freshmen who wanted extra credits. After the summer semester, we already knew our rooms for the school year so we got to move in a little early. I left the TV there since then. Its been used a lot since I've started college...and it's also acting weird. The buttons on the front of the set don't work anymore. Just a few minutes ago, I had a hard time playing a DVD (the new documentary on Lemmy). This DVD is new so I don't know if it's the DVD player or the DVD. The DVD is newer. I tried a Seinfeld DVD and that played fine. As of now, the DVD is playing. I think this DVD player is way to sensitive on fingerprints or smudges. If I were to get a new plasma TV, what should I get?