What do I need to know to choose the right flat screen television for my needs? Is there some kind of guide to understanding the wide range of specifications of flat screen television? Size? Resolution? Contrast? Ports & connectability? Peripheral devices?
What do I need to know?
Choose the most expensive one you can find even if it is unholy in size and won’t fit in your current TV cabinet.
Or you could get some reviews off of consumer reports online for about 20$. I found that Samaung and Sony are the highest quality at almost any size. CR will also tell you about the various features and you can decide which ones you want.
I don’t know of any way to determine that the TV won’t break down in a year. The competitive market just hasn’t led to such an option.
Don’t go the macho route and get the biggest TV. I know people who have overly large televisions that are too large for the room. Only do it if you want headaches after awhile.
Check outthis chartregarding resolution:
What the chart shows is that, for a 50-inch screen, the benefits of 720p vs. 480p start to become apparent at viewing distances closer than 14.6 feet and become fully apparent at 9.8 feet. For the same screen size, the benefits of 1080p vs. 720p start to become apparent when closer than 9.8 feet and become full apparent at 6.5 feet. In my opinion, 6.5 feet is closer than most people will sit to their 50" plasma TV (even through the THX recommended viewing distance for a 50" screen is 5.6 ft). So, most consumers will not be able to see the full benefit of their 1080p TV.
So unless you’re going for a large screen (40"+) or enjoy standing next to your TV, don’t bother spending the extra money for 1080.
I spent $400 on a new 32" Haier LCD 780 TV (at Ultimate Electronics). It had 2 HDMI inputs (for the Xbox 360) as well as a PC input. The resolution is good and the sound is OK. Most of the LCD/Plasma TVs I’ve seen have bad to ok speaker quality compared to old tube TVs.
Thanks for all your input. I’m looking at a 42" screen. That will give me about the same vertical dimension in 16x9 ratio as my current 29" CRT does in 4x3 ratio.
Good point; what else should I plan on buying that is pretty much required for completing a flat screen system? Amp and speakers? Blu-ray DVD player?
Does it connect directly to the cable box?
I think what we would need to know is what you plan on using the TV for. Do you play video games? You’ll need HDMI ports to get the most out of the TV. I don’t know if they have fully fixed the burn-in issues plasmas were having, but if you play games for long periods of time, you might want to avoid plasma (assuming it hasn’t been fixed). What do you watch on it? HD TV? High Definition movies? You’ll need at least 720p resolution for those. Do you watch sports? I’d recommend a 120hz TV (or better) if you watch a lot of sports.
Also, look into DLP TVs, especially LED DLPs. When I was shopping for my TV, I found that for the price I could get a 40" LCD or plasma, I could get a 65" DLP TV, with all the bells and whistles the others had. The downside to DLP is that it uses a lamp (much like a projection TV) which can burn out often needs to be replaced, but the LED lamps last about 10-15 years at normal viewing. I wouldn’t go DLP unless it was an LED lamp. I couldn’t be happier with my LED DLP.
I bet most people sit 10 feet away from the TV or closer. My TV is about six feet away. And for a TV smaller than 40", I wouldn’t be able to see anything ten feet away. 
Backwards to forwards…
**Cable box. ** check to see if you have HDMI or component connections coming out of the cable box. (Component is the set of three connectors, red/blue/green.) If so, you’re set. If not, you’ll need a new cable box. Which brings me to…
HD-cable. You’ll REALLY want to spend the $10/month on the HD package. If you’re using this mainly for television, standard def TV will actually look worse on your new HDTV.
Disk media (DVD or Bluray). If you have the money, you might want to consider a bluray player. The upgrade, for me, was worth it. (I went with a PS3, as I also play games.) If you don’t have the money, see if your current DVD player can upconvert (usually betrayed by having an HDMI-out slot). It’s not HD, but it’s still really good.
**Sound. **If you want an immersive experience (you play games, really enjoy a lot of movies, etc.), an AV receiver might be in order. Keep an eye out on craigslist or AVSforum’s Buy/Sell/Trade forum for a decent receiver. If you go with bluray, you’ll want to do some research into what you’re getting. This could cost anywhere from $250 to, well, thousands really.
Cables. I’ve saved the most important for last. Do not spend more than $10 for a cable. Any cable. Before letting the kid at Best Buy talk you into a Monster HDMI cable for $80 telling you, “Oh - it’ll make your picture look even clearer”, know that you can get the same quality cable at monoprice.com for about $6.