My old, standard picture tube TV has been in need of being replaced for some time now and, given a convergence of events (bonus time coming next month, I'm getting Verizon FiOS cable installed replacing Comcast Digital at half the price (woohoo!), my kids' needing a better TV for their new Playstation (I'll move the old tube TV down to the play room), and having a few hundred $$ in holiday check cards), I think it might be the time to jump into HDTV land.

Being a total non-techno-geek, I have several questions. I plan on using my new TV solely for TV watching (TV and DVDs) and I would, ideally, get one in the 37" to 42" range.

First, plasma is more expensive, but not sure it's worth the premium over LCD prices. Thought?

Second, my existing DVD player and DVDs (including my Netflix account) are all non-HD. I don't want to get all new Blu-Ray stuff. Can't I just use my old DVD player? (I don't particularly care about upgrading to perfect HD-DVD right now. Maybe next year.)

Third, if I decide to upgrade my stereo system at some point in the future (another "want" of mine), will I need special adapters to hook up the HDTV to those speakers?

Sorry, but I feel some weird deja vu about asking this questions, perhaps I wrote a similar post before. Anyhow, I'd like to get your thoughts.

Aqua, you may want to check this site out. It should offer some help. Based on what I know so far, you don't need to spend thousands of dollars on an hd tv to get a great picture. I know this already. I have a tubed hdtv, which is being phased out probably within 2-3 years, and everything will be pretty much flat panel. Plasma is the priciest right now, with lcd offering a great picture at a more affordable price. Then there is dlp and rear projection as well. But look over that site, it should help some. For further recommendations I would check out cnet.com, and see what they say. Generally the bigger the screen you can afford, the more satisfied you will be with your hd experience. Hope this helps.

Aqua

All I can tell you is what his lardship and I did last month. We looked at both LCD and Plasma, and decided very early that LCD was the way to go. The screens have a longer projected life, and Plasma screens can get burn in over time. Some of the new plasma's say they've corrected this, but most of the technicians I spoke with weren't convinced.

I checked out cnet.com and consumers reports, and both rated the Sharp Aquos and the Sony XBR systems the top, and consumer reports had the Samsung as #3.

We decided on the Sony XBR, as it had 3 HDMI inputs, whereas the Aquos only had 2. Also, the Sony can stretch a regular TV picture to fit the full screen without distortion, (a setting called wide zoom, as opposed to regular zoom) which also pleased me. What I wasn't prepared for was hubby choosing the 46" and then handing him MY card.

We also spent the extra money on a wall bracket right away. And I reccommend it

As well, we upgraded out satellite receiver to an HD receiver so we can get the HD channels. Our satellite provider up here only has about 15 HD channels so far, but within the year will have over 40. And a bonus is that all regular TV channels up here in Canada must be broadcasting in HD by 2010.

We also spent the extra $100 and bought an "upconverting" DVD player. Like you, I was not prepared to spend over $1k on blue-ray or HD, but an upconverting will take your regular DVD, and add lines of resolution on an HD screen, for an even sharper picture. Worth the money.+

I didn't upgrade my receiver, as it is a digital surround sound already. What I did do, is surprise hubby with the Bose accoustimas 10 speakers for Christmas.

All in all, I LOVE the TV. And with the HD channels, watching CSI, or Law and Order in full 5.1 surround is totally cool.

Oh god. I truly am a geek, and have no life. (sob) Maybe I should call rent-a-stud

I was looking into the whole LCD vs. Plasma thing a few months ago when I bought some new TVs. Primarily I was leaning towards LCD because of price so that's what I bought... a 37" for the living room, 27" for the bedroom and another 27" for this kind of converted family room we have. All were Samsung. The bigger of the TVs had a picture that was shockingly average for HDTV. I expected much, much better. So I went back to Best Buy, where I got it and talked to the guy who sold it to me. He was like, "Oh, the TimeWarner cable here isn't that great so it often affects picture quality. We can't do anything about it." So then I call TimeWarner and the cable guy comes out and says it's not the cable line.

In the meantime I do some research online and decide to go with a Plasma instead, and return the 37" LCD to Best Buy. Even though I'd only owned it for like 9 days (and was well within the 30 days I had to return it), I got a tremendous runaround from the Best Buy return department. I was literally in the store for 2 1/2 hours trying to return the TV. They had to have store managers come talk to me about my reasons for returning it (and this took at least 30 minutes for them to understand I just didn't want it), I had to fill out a lengthy return form, they had to have engineers come test the TV, they had to have a salesperson come and try to talk to me about purchasing a different TV from them... and I had to wait, wait and wait some more. It was a ridiculous runaround, and I decided right then that I'll never walk into a Best Buy again.

Long story short.... I ended up going to Costco and getting a 50" Plasma Panasonic HDTV that was receommended very highly from Consumer Reports. The best part of all, I was able to buy it for only $100 more than the 37" LCD Samsung I'd bought at Best Buy. And the picture quality is a zillion times better. It is crisp and perfect both up-close and far away, and has surround sound and I couldn't be happier. And after I had such a bad experience at Best Buy, I took the other 2 LCD TVs back there... and then bought similar ones at Costco (and saved $500). About a month or so ago, I was reading Consumer Reports and they had ratings of electronic stores... and Best Buy was ranked the second worst and part of the reason given was poor customer service and high prices, which is exactly what I found out. At least I was able to return all three TVs and not let them keep my $3,000+.

There is no burn-in on my plasma. I'm not sure how it used to be, but the new plasmas all have a screensaver feature that prevents it, at least on the one I bought.

I have a regular Toshiba 27" in my family room and a 32" Samsung LCD in the bedroom. I find that all channels (I also have Time Warner here) are superior quality on the Samsung. The Toshiba looks kind of crappy when I watch it right after the Samsung.

I have researched televisions a great deal recently as I was in the market to replace the Toshiba. (Now I think there just won't be a tv in that room any more.) I have consistently found recommendations to go with an LCD over a Plasma unless you are planning to buy a very large set. I think most of the recommendations are if you are doing the 50"+ range then a plasma is probably better.

In terms of LCDs, the Samsungs are consistently recommended over most other brands. They make a nice tv. And I have had no issues with mine. You do need to tinker a little with the settings to get the picture the best in your room.

Panasonics are also highly rated, but they make a larger selection of plasmas than LCDs.

I have actually read many good things about the lower priced models out these days. The Vizios and Westinghouses are very workable televisions, although not as pretty and not as fully featured. But if you want a larger set and want to spend less money, then these televisions are getting favorable reviews as well.

I do have my LCD mounted on the wall, and agree it is the right choice. I have an "articulating" mount which lets me swing the television around at different angles. If you are mounting the television where you need to view it at an angle or want to tuck it up against the wall when not viewing, this is the way to go. The cheaper mounts will let you tilt the tv a bit, but not swing it away from the wall or change the viewing angle.

CNET is a good site. This is another resource Projector Central that specializes in projectors but has quite a bit of info on flat screens as well.

Your budget will help drive your selections. There is a wide range of prices these days. The 37" Vizio is priced at $899 (online and at Costco) and then you can get up to a 50" plasma or LCD that runs in the several thousands. I don't think you have to spend a lot to get a good picture though.

Aquaman, I think you would be wise to research Consumer Reports. They are completely impartial and, like I said, I kind of bought my Samsung LCDs on a whim without researching all the things Consumer Reports found out in their tests and I was sorry. They're a valuable resource.

And avoid Westinghouse. I'm looking at the most recent study of LCD/Plasma TVs in the November issue of Consumer Reports, and Westinghouse is the single worst 37" LCD TV on the market according to them with an overall rating of 45 out of 100. Among smaller LCDs, Westinghouse doesn't fare much better and never gets a score higher than 53 out of 100. As for Plasmas, Panasonic is the highest rated in both the 42" and 50" categories. Consumer Reports even says, "If you wouldn't buy an HP or Sony refrigerator, you should think twice about a Westinghouse TV."

And most importantly... if you're a sports fan (and I'm assuming you are), one major reason to avoid LCD is that it's often difficult to follow the speed of certain things like golf balls, tennis balls or baseballs when they are in motion. It's often a blur. The clerk at the store where I initially purchased my LCDs told me about this and said it could be a "minor" distraction. Well, if you watch a lot of sports, it is a major distraction. With my Plasma, there's no such problem.

Yep. I read Consumer Reports religously, and brought my Sony Vega hd after they rated it #1 in the hd tubed tv category. When I had Comcast here a couple of years ago hook up the digital cable, to get the hd channels, the guy told me the picture in hd on my Sony ($1,000) was much better than on a $12,000 plasma set he had just hooked up before mine! This was 2 years ago too. I love my Sony!

I agree that Consumer Reports is a good resource. However, they are only one resource. They are hardly the last word when it comes to products that advance quickly (like electronics). They are great with appliances and cars though.

Many other reliable resources are out there with additional information. CNET for example is devoted to technology of all sorts. They have Samsung as one of the top 10 HDTV choices overall, and 3 different Samsungs in the top 10 of LCD choices. Pretty much everyone (except apparently Consumer Reports) considers Samsung one of the leaders in LCD technology.

CNET also lists a Westinghouse in the top 10 LCDs and rates it as a good quality television. Several other sources have commented how Westinghouse (and Vizio) are closing the gap and their technology has dramatically improved in their new releases.

Consumer Reports publishes its rankings after a period of time has passed since they complete their tests. If you check their model numbers on the testing they are almost always a cycle behind on electronics. But I do factor their information into the mix.

If you look at sites like Projector Central or any of the shopping bots, they all rely on consumer opinion and offer buyer reviews. These opinions will help you narrow the field. You will find people happy with most every brand, just like you will find expert opinions that support many of the major brands. Projector Central has no Panasonics in the top rankings for the categories under $5000, but Panasonic is a respected brand.

My best advice is to Google for comparison reports and rankings, read Consumer Reports, check out the other sites I mention. Then go to some stores and take the time to look at the picture quality and features. Talk to the sales people. Don't be afraid of Best Buy. They sell those things everyday and they will tell you their opinion. I have never had an issue buying anything there, but you can always go somewhere else to make the purchase.

Go to multiple stores. Usually when someone is unhappy with their picture it is because they do not adjust the settings on the television. Sales people do not always take the time to make every set in the store look its best. So, get a cross-sampling. Something will pop out at you. There is far less difference between sets than you would think. So it might come down to the way the set will look in your home (which is where Vizio and Westinghouse spend less time and are therefore less expensive), or the fact that you just like the LG picture better than the Sony.

I tend to stay away from Sony because you are paying extra for the brand on many of their products and that isn't necessary. I do like the Panasonics, but they tend to put out more plasma sets (than LCDs) as I mentioned before. In the end, you may find yourself drawn to any of the brands. Just pick the one that is best for you. It doesn't sound like you are looking for the hottest new option out there, so just find one that you like and you will be happy. And remember the television can only do so much. There will always be some tv channels that don't look as good as others on your set. But the HD channels will look awesome. And dvd play quality will be better. Even with your normal dvd player. Or you can buy an inexpensive replacement that has "up-converting". The dvd player "converts" the signal to a more hd signal. Not the same as HD-DVD or BLU-RAY, but the movies still look very sharp.