lots of light - which tv?

[attgig]

So, I'm tossing up the idea of possibly getting my dad-in-law a new tv for father's day/birthday. He has an old 46" non-hd tv that's 10+ years old. it's ok, but not great.

I'm thinking of something <1k, min 42". no need for 3d or anything too fancy.

But here's the question. Their room has tons of windows, and the tv right now reflects TONS of light from the windows that are behind the sofa. during the day, you can hardly make out the picture of anything dark. The room itself is huge, so, I can do any form factor... which tv is best so that it won't reflect light?

i know plasma is out...
but how about lcd, led, dlp?

Front projection would be nice, but I'm not going to spend the energy/time to set that all up...

TIA

[cruelpupet]

DLP isnt made anymore.

LED is LCD but with a LED backlight instead of whatever kind of lamp was previously used.

Id go with LED, and a good 42" shouldnt cost more than $500.

EDIT: it seems 40-42" LED TV prices are still high, they cost $800+

[Cubsfan]

One thing to watch is the bezel. So many TV's these days have shiny black bezels, which can be distracting. If there's a lot of light, try to find one that's flat black

[DarkFury]

If an LED TV is still out of your pricerange, you might look for a LCD TV with LED edge backlight support. It is a happy medium between a pure LED and LCD TV.

My Sony Bravia is one of these... and I've been pretty happy with it while I've owned it.

[attgig]

@cruel: dlp's are still out there... definitely not as popular, but they're still out there...

@cubsfan: good point about the bezel.

@df: lcd with led edge? I'm looking at this site for diff types of led's: http://reviews.cnet.com/2795-6482_7-399.html
which one is that?

[Chgoman]

To be honest unless he's really picky any current generation LCD/LED should be fine. A lot of people push for the newest greatest thing, but once you have it in the home and aren't comparing minute details side by side in the store 99% of the population will not know any difference between most TV's.

I have a 42" Panasonic ED Plasma that's over 6 years old in my office and a 50" HD LCD in the living room and most people wouldn't be able to tell the difference in pictures walking from room to room at normal viewing distances and there's a huge difference in the technologies and ages.

The differences between a quality LCD and LED in real life situations is minimal for most people.

[DarkFury]

@df: lcd with led edge? I'm looking at this site for diff types of led's: http://reviews.cnet.com/2795-6482_7-399.html
which one is that?
Mine is a Sony Bravia.

Looking at their website it says the following about the current LCD/LED TVs:



You won't believe your eyes. Boasting Dynamic Edge LED backlight with local dimming, BRAVIA NX720 Series HDTVs feature an exceptionally slim design while yielding images with vibrant colors, deep blacks, bright whites and amazing contrast

When I bought mine, it was advertised as a "LCD LED" TV.. and not just a "LED TV" from my local Fry's. Honestly, the LED might not just be around the "edge" but I will say that if you set the brightness really high on it, it starts seeping out from the edges of the screen where the bezel meets the panel. I usually keep mine around 50% brightness and it looks good and sharp. :thumbup:

[attgig]

thanks for the info guys, but wife decided that we should save this for another time. their tv still works ok, and we're trying to save for a house, so not the best time to drop some money on this.