[2BNTV]

Originally Posted by Bill-n-Brillo

FWIW.............

Personally, I'd buy the most up-to-date display technology that fits into whatever you're budgeting for your tv. Brand-wise, we've bought Samsung. Unless you're wanting to constantly jump on the "newest and greatest" technology bandwagon when it comes down the road, chances are you're going to own your new TV for a good number of years. So buy the most technology you can provided you're buying a tv with features you want and will enjoy. There are a lot of things you can get with tv's nowadays that some people want........and some people don't want........such as 3-D, internet connectivity, etc. Picture quality continues to improve as time goes on and additional features abound. But don't pay for things you won't use. For example, a friend of ours just HAD to get a new 3-D tv - it was important to him. Wouldn't work for us - it gives us both headaches trying to watch it. But everybody has different preferences and experiences.

'OLED' displays seem to be the next technology wave but I think it's still a ways off. That will drive the prices of current technology sets down. But regardless of how long you wait for prices to come down, you've never waited long enough! It seems like prices are always falling.

Technical stuff to not overlook:

1. The higher the resolution - and the contrast ratio - the clearer/sharper the picture. 1080p resolution would be the way to go but 720p sets will be less expensive. Contrast is a fuzzy thing (pun intended!) - different mfrs calculate this different ways. But the higher the ratio, the better......arguably.

2. The faster the refresh rate, the clearer/sharper the motion and action on the display will be. 120 hz should be fine for most viewers. But higher rates will have less "blur" to the motion displayed.

3. Display technology comes down to primarily 3 choices nowadays: LED, LCD, and plasma. The choice is yours and it becomes somewhat personal. Just make sure you get a tv with a screen that won't reflect much of the ambient light from the room or streaming in through your windows. Plasma screens are generally more glossy and thus can become aggravating to watch in brighter environments. LED and LCD sets can be had with matte screens that do a better job with glare. LED sets are, of the three, the newer technology.

4. Viewing angle - If you're going to be watching from a fairly severe angle, plasma will generally be better than LED and LCD.

The better the quality of the display........the more you're going to want to watch things in HD. Broadcasts in SD (standard definition) will be satisfactory for many folks. If that works for you, then you're probably not going to get the most out of buying a higher end LED tv, for example. But if you're wanting to get the most out of a tv that's higher on up the technology ladder, you're liable to get spoiled by high definition broadcasts!

Everything is a compromise - it's a matter of finding the best balance of your preferences with how much you're willing to pay.

Hope all that blathering helps and will be useful for you - - -

Bill

Excellent post as usual.