suggestions

[gibbler1010]

so, I'm thinking about getting a new flat screen tv.. and opinions on what's better.. LCD or plasma?

[Quantum]

Very few new plasma T.Vs are made, it's all LCD these days.

Questions to think about:
What price range are you looking at?
How much do you care about quality?
What size are thinking about?
What are you going to be using it for?

[gibbler1010]

Well basically looking for a unit to put in my living room, about 40 inches  I'd say.. and like I said, the place I was looking at offered both.. so I was wondering of the 2 types, which is the better investment. Their prices vary of course.. but if one is better than the other than I wouldn't mind paying the difference. We are using it for TV/movies.

[Petrena]

The best thing is to go to a well known comparison website, that has information on both the TV's and look at the specifications on both of them. Then if you Google both models of the TV's just to see if there are any sites that have reviews on them. Then at least you can see if there are any bad reviews. If you do put the models of the TV's on the comparison site, they may find the TV's cheaper else where, but do look at the reviews especially from the customers from the store. Also I know this obvious, but check out if you get delivery service in that, because sometimes when you go to high street stores they will add delivery as well as some of the web sites, but there could be some that don't.

When I bought my TV 3 months ago, I looked at the amount of money I had to spend, then looked around for the best possible model for the price, and you will be surprised at what your money can get you, if you look around, but always remember the reviews from customers and the specifications, because I know this is obvious, but just because a TV looks nice,doesn't mean that it will have all the latest features etc.  If you are like me you will want to make sure its as future proof as possible, like has it got High Definition, what are the specifications of the tv's picture, does it have any awards from other sources, that is where Google comes in handy. LOL. Because there will be a site that will cut out all the jargon and will talk English.

I hope this helps.

 

[surfer]

I recently bought a Toshiba Regza 530U for a great price but that was mostly a fluke.
whats most important is the process...

you have apparently picked a size 40"/42"
plasma vs. lcd: plasma typically seems sharper and does not motion blur when things move sharply/quickly on the screen.
 LCD consumes a LOT less power and will probably outlast the Plasma (which could also burn in images on the screen).
i got a LCD.

on larger screens 42"+ the difference between 720p ->1080i or 1080p is visible but is negligible on smaller screens.
So 720p try to get the highest contrast ratio you can, this may vary widely - trust your eyes not just the figures
i chose 1080p because i will eventually have a PS3/BlueRay Player.  cable and satellite only goes as high as 1080i (which is cheaper)
720p would be fine for you.   

finally input connections like cable, component and HDMI.  The first two are standard and the latter probably so, just be sure it has at least one. HDMI is the new highbandwidth connector combining video and audio (it'll probably have a few of these) if it doesn't i'd really wonder.
i additionally wanted a VGA or DVI port since i'm using my HDTV as 52" monitor right now, (optional for you) this feature isn't that common.

Those were my main concerns. next was price fortunately, i was in no time constraint, i would just wait and check the sales: back to school time came a round and and i was browsing an online flyer and on the last page of the 42+ specials was my HDTV, i had to look twice cuz it was cheaper than some of the highend 42"ers and Toshiba is a good brand.  I popped over to the manufacturers page and the MSRP was $2,495.can and I was looking at $1,795.

BTW there were other places that sold at that price online but i've never trusted mail order (you might, it could save quite a few bucks), so i wandered into a local competitor, who looked it up on the net, said yup he would match it.  Thats how i got retail service at an online price.  actually i'm pretty sure it was a mistake cuz the salesman look up his employee price and i beat that by good margin.  Oddly enough the two companies are owned by the same corporation, go figure.

hope this helps....
happy hunting