In the market for my first HDTV, any thoughts/advice?

So the title says it all really, I don't know much about what to look for, how to compare, what name brands are good what's bad etc. Other than p over i, 1080 over 720, what should I be looking for or avoiding? LCD, LED-LCD, Plasma, which is best?

My wife and I are looking to spend between $800-$1000, FYI.

Thanks for any help you can give!

For that price, you're looking at a 46" LCD or a 50" plasma. But, the information you're looking for will be beyond the scope of this site. There are just too many variables. Start by googling "plasma vs lcd". Then, when you've narrowed it down, sites like CNET will have articles and rankings on just about any TV you can imagine. For even more information than you can possibly want, you can go to AVSForum and read opinions from people that are obsessed with this stuff (kind of like SandTrap is for golfers x 1000). Just know that TVs you see in stores are under different lighting conditions than your house and may not have been calibrated to look the best. Good luck... this can be a 1 hour or 1+ month/year decision process.

Aww Pshaw. Give your wife the money and tell her to bring back something good. It's relatively difficult to buy a bad HDTV. At my house we have 3 40" LCD units., Magnavox, Polaroid and Sanyo. They look great and for over two years have been trouble free. We also have a 65" rear projector LCD Mitsubishi, That thing is a pig, great picture but the bulbs blow and cooling sensors have failed at least twice in 5 years. The extended warranty saved our butts a couple times so far... Up until I let her buy these units I had stuck to Sony and would go back in a second. I'd do it simply because having all units the same make allows easier remote programming. Enjoy and make a good choice of the cable service you get. Nowadays TV viewing is like computers. the hardware is a commodity but the content needs to be right for you to be happy. Oh one more thing don't laugh if you notice your wife watching only low def channels for months after you get the new set. Some people simply dont understand what HD is about.

Truth. If you really want to research this, read posts on this site until you can't stand it anymore-

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/forum/ One piece of advice I'll give you is do not skimp on the processor. I've got a 52" LCD with only a 60hz processor, and while it looks okay with still or slow moving images when something moves a little bit too fast it loses resolution pretty badly. Panning backgrounds get blocky and occasionally move in little jumps, footballs being thrown turn into little brown and white smears. When I bought it I didn't think it would be worth the extra few hundred bucks to get the model with the 120hz chip, and I was wrong.

I ruled out plasma due to the high ambiant light levels and glare that exhist in my den. We like bright sunlight in our rooms and dont want to compromise that.

That being said...I passed on some unreal deals on larger plasma tv sets. It hurt to do so.

I've always wanted a Sony so I gave them a hard look. We zeroed in on a 52" Sony Bravia 120 hz and been highly pleased with it. The Sony operating system enhances the image quality of images less than 1080p...and brings them up to a close quality....1080i. It also adjusts continuously for ambiant lighting levels.

It's been a perfect fit for us. I've been very pleased with all the Sony gear we have (HD tv, PS3, PSP, 2 recievers, dvd player)

Buy as big as you can and spring for a BluRay player also. Make sure you are getting HD cable or direct tv.

We also bought a surround system at the same time. Outstanding viewing of sporting events. My son and I are thouroughly enjoying the NBA playoffs. Can't wait for NCAA football!!!!

If you're in the market for a new TV, just go LED or OLED. The newest technology...but if you WON'T be gaming on the TV, then can I suggest
http://www.samsung.com/us/consumer/t...etail&tab;=spec
My boy picked this up a few months ago and it's GORGEOUS.
600hz sub refresh rate = stunning smoothness...incredible blacks 3 mil to 1 dynamic ratio. it's just an all around great TV for watching movies, sports, etc.

BUT if you plan on gaming on the TV, then go with a 240 ref. aquos or samsung... I'm still on my 52" aquos lc52d92u TV from 2007 and I couldn't be happier with it...BUT i'm looking into going plasma in that room since it's primarily used for movies and TV

Thanks for the tips and advice everyone! So we priced several units at several stores, and ended up witha 46" Toshiba 1080p 120Hz set, got the satellite update to HD signal, the HD cord for the Wii, and everything looks awesome! I even talked my wife into upgrading to the package that includes the golf channel. WOOT!

As luck would have it, my brother in law was over last night, and told his sis (my wife) that DVD watching won't be so good without a BluRay, which she promptly ordered online!! Had it been me suggesting it, probably would have gone the other way. Double win! What a great weekend, it was my birthday too!

Cool. Glad everything worked out for you. The HD golf is gonna make you an advocate for the whole project!!!

Of course watching chick-flicks with your wife will be the true cost.

Here's a iPhone pic of my set. Tiger is walking to his hooked tee shot on the first tee at the Masters.

Stay away from dlp!!!

Sony and Panasonic would be the only 2 brands I would consider. IMO, they have the best picture quality.

^^^^^

I would add Samsung to your list as top picture quality. But really any of them are pretty good.