Can we talk TVs?

[Zonny]

It looks like our TV might be on its last legs, we have a big black rectangle that appears in the bottom, covers nearly half the screen. It's not ALWAYS there, but seems to come when the TV has been on awhile.

Our current TV was a rather inexpensive model, big and heavy, so we'd like to upgrade a bit. But I don't know the difference between LCD/LED/Plasma, or what I really need. Not a giant TV, the room isn't really big enough to support that.

Does anyone have TV advice?

Thanks!

[Lua]

this past january i purchased a 32" Samsung LED tv for my living room (we have a 41" LCD upstairs for movies so i stuck to a more modest size). what i like about my LED tv:
- it's extremely light, and extremely thin
- the picture is fantastic
- it doesn't use very much energy (which was a big thing since this is the tv we watch most of the time)

The reason i went with LED was mainly because it was on sale at the time and for a $50 difference, it made more sense to pic up the LED vs the LCD. I am very happy with this purchase.

...I didn't even look at plasmas because they don't have the best rep.. you can also encounter burn in issues with plasmas where if you pause tv the img can actually burn into your screen -- i pause my tv a lot and didn't need the rest to save just a few $s. i expect this LED to last many years.

[marstec]

LED's are a newer technology than LCD's. Plasmas can be good in the right lighting situations, but I've never owned one. The main differences between the higher end and lower end televisions, besides brand name, is the refresh rate. The higher end ones are 240 Hz, I think you want around 120 Hz at least for your needs...you'll have a crisper image than one with a lower rate. BestBuy has a demo set up with three tv's lined up which will show you the difference between 60-120-240 Hz rates.

I only have Sony tvs, but I have heard good things about Samsung and Sharp. I have all mine wall-mounted which saves a lot of space. Check online for reviews...I find that stores have a HD feed on their floor models which are not necessarily what you'll get at home (you need an HD source in order to get the most out of an HD tv).
You will notice that they have really come down in price. If the tv is being used for gaming (PS3 or XBox), you might want to look at one that has higher performance specs.

Buy HDMI cables at a local computer supply store, places like Futureshop charge and arm and a leg for accessories. I never buy the extended warranty either...you shouldn't need it is you buy a decent brand. Good luck in your search...

[Aslan]

LED-TVs are based on LCD, and LED just refers to the type of backlighting the screen uses. Older LCD TV's used to use CCFL bulbs, while newer ones use LED bulbs. As for which is better, LEDs have slight wins in terms of power consumption and slimness, but everything else is a wash. LED-based TV are becoming more common nowadays, and might actually end up cheaper than a CCFL model, but you'll have to shop around.

I'm a bit concerned with the reliability of LED, as this is usually composed of hundreds of tiny bulbs, meaning that there could be picture quality issues if some bulbs were to burn out prematurely, but there hasn't been any evidence of this so far, and LED bulbs usually have long lifespans.

Refresh Rate is another source of BS. Even though marketers try to make a big issue with 60/120/240, the reality is that is doesn't really matter much unless you really look for it. There is a difference between 60hz and 120hz, and this might be worth paying for if you watch a lot of movies. However 240hz and even 480hz are often interpolated, meaning that screen isn't actually capable of this level, and uses processing to fake a result. If you can get a 120hz TV within your budget then it might be a good option, but at the same time it doesn't really matter too much unless you watch a ton of movies and notice things like Motion Blur and Ghosting.

Contrast Ratio is one more thing that the manufacturers tend to lie about. It refers to the grey and black levels of a TV, and the ratio is determined by the difference between the brightest and darkest level that the TV can show. In general, just ignore this, as the numbers are so skewed that they are irrelevant. Ignore any in-store demonstrations also, as most likely one screen has been calibrated, and one has not.

Finally, there is now a trend towards 3DTVs. Personally I can't stand them, as I don't like the effect, but this is really based on preference. However, these tend to cost way more than conventional TVs, and I'm not sure if this trend will actually last.

In terms of picture quality, Plasma is probably the best. However, Plasma also costs more, uses more power, and is subject to burn-in issues if you leave one picture on for too long. While the burn-in issue is somewhat overstated now, I don't think Plasma is really worth it in your case anyhow. LCD is the easiest and cheapest way to go now, and it's one of those things where Plasma might be a better option for a Home Theatre, but LCD is probably better for just a regular TV.

As for brands to recommend, Sony, Sharp, Panasonic, LG, Toshiba are all decent, and I would check reviews. In terms of size, I would check the size of your room, and make a decision based on that.

Here are a few guides that can help.

AVS Forum HDTV Guide

CNet HDTV Reviews

CNet Buying Guide

CNET HDTV Finder

[Zonny]

Thanks everyone, this has been very informative!