So, after working a job I hated for 6 years, then being a poor student for 2, and now working a job I like/can see myself doing, I'm in the market for a TV (FINALLY) to replace my 24" Sony Wega.

When I bought it, I was confident that (other than size) it was the best TV I could get. Now I don't know a thing about current TV tech. Plasmas seem scary cheap, like they're trying to give them away, and I know LCD has been getting better. Also know/think LED is the future for now, so I'm leaning toward a Samsung 55" LED so far. Better than 2x the size of my current Sony... Yay!

Is there any site I can check out to get a good/accurate rundown of the current state of affairs in TVs? I refuse to make an uninformed decision on any electronic purchase ever, but there seems to be so much to sift through with tvs these days..

Thanks for any pointers!

tomcat

avsforum.com has a lot of info, but it can be tough to find what you need because there's so much there.

I usually look up reviews in many places and try to find a consensus, like from cnet, Amazon, etc., and go from there.

In my opinion, plasmas have the best image quality overall, and certainly the best for the money. They do use more power, run hotter, and have burn-in issues, but nothing insurmountable. Many of them buzz a little bit, which some find distracting.

LCD sets are getting better from an image-quality standpoint, but to get one that closely matches a plasma is really expensive. The blacks are where LCD sets are typically weak, which also keeps the colors from "popping" sometimes.

LCD sets are usually brighter overall, use less power, don't have burn-in issues, usually have less reflection on the screen. Because of the lack of burn-in, they make better choices for doubling as a computer monitor or being used for gaming.

Keep in mind that the LED you see referenced is the backlighting used for LCD sets - there isn't any true LED TVs that I'm aware of.

Just found out it's the backlighting that's LED before checking my mail and seeing you replied Arthonon. Do LED backlit TVs, or regular LCD TVs need bulb replacement? Or was that projection? I was over at a friend's (he has a DLP Toshiba that we watched some of Revenge of the Fallen on, woow!) last Sunday watching his TV and he mentioned he had to replace the bulb recently. It's a 52 or 55", I was considering a 47 until I saw his, wow, as long as I'm not sacrificing image quality I would like a big TV as it turns out.

Thanks for the tips!

Lack of reflections is the reason I decided to go with LCD (I have a Sharp 32in 1080p set).. The picture quality is, well, Sharp.

It looks like 3D technology is going to be the next big thing, so it may be an idea to look into that too.

Yeah, I was thinking that Paul.. Hmm, pay for it now and bet on it not catching on, or not get it and be kicking myself in a year? When I bought my Sony in 2000 the only decision was brand and screen size. I was thinking my system would be to just buy the best reviewed TV in my price range, I may just have to do that.

It's a gamble because the technology is moving so fast. I won't be doing the 3D thing any time soon because my LCD set is just a year old. It was also more expensive than any CRT television I had previously owned, so I will be keeping it for a while.

The lack of a real standard in 3D is one reason why I am not jumping into it right away. Plus, not ready to drop a load on a new TV just yet.

LCD TVs have backlights, but they're just like the ones used in LCD monitors, so you can expect a similar life, most likely. When you hear of bulb replacement, that's almost always referring to rear-projection sets, like DLP. DLP sets are cheap for the size, and decent picture quality, but some people (like me) can see rainbow trails from bright objects due to the method they use to create the image. The DLP chip is only black and white, so it has to draw the image in multiple passes with some sort of color system (a wheel is common, but Samsung started using different colored LEDs).

LEDs on LCD TVs offer better light, longer life, and potentially more control over the image, where some light can be dimmed or turned off to increase black levels, but those TVs are pretty spendy.

My friend has Samsung A950. Highly impressed, especially with auto increased frame rate.

I got a Vizio 47" 120hz LCD for Christmas and it's great. Got a WD Live TV hooked up to it so I can stream my collection of videos to the TV and it just makes it better.

I'm trying to make the plasma or LCD decision myself. One of the things I'm weighing heavily on is sound features. I am looking at sound leveling so that the commercials don't come on so loud and Voice enhancer. It allows you to seperately contol the voice volume. I have some significant hearing loss and voices seem to get lost in all the other noise. This is particularly true in action movies where there is a lot of action sound and the people start whispering. So I miss important dialog.