redcolours

im from the old-school CRT side, and ive always liked the PQ of a good old tube HD quality.

but my CRT HDTV died a few months back, and i need a new one. NO more tube for me, its too damn heavy. not even gonna send it back to the mfr.

Plasma is too expensive, its lifespan too short for the price.
DLP is TOO big - i have a small apartment.
Projectors need proper room lighting (or NON-lighting), which i dont/cant currently have.

So now im thinking widescreen LCD.
32"-42" (maybe just 32" to save me some $$$)
under $1000 total (taxes/S&H included w/ good warranty)
has to have DVI and VGA inputs (most HDTVs nowadays have HDMI)
720p A MUST
1366x768 preferred (instead of 1280x720)
i dont care for an HD tuner - i have an HD set-top box.
i dont care for speakers - i have my own 7.1 surround system.

ive heard of the issue with LCDs - fast motion gives you ghosting. is that still true? response time of 12ms - is that enough to make fast motion look sharp? or should i look for something faster? ive seen one with 8ms.
and whats the PREFERRED brightness? ive seen 400cd/m2 and 450 cd/m2. whats better?
whats the PREFERRED contrast ratio? ive seen 1000:1. is this good? or is there something better?
dead pixels - its inevitable. what's the acceptable # of dead pixels? are there brands that guarantee no dead pixels?

ive been looking, and im still researching (AVSforum is a great resource), but ive never had an LCD HDTV, and ive been using my 21" LCD monitor as a basis for comparison.
im interested on what YOU peeps know about good LCD HDTVs, what to avoid, and if you know of a good reputable sources to get them from (online and B&M stores).

thanks, all!

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there are pictures, but no,nothing happens on my site.

Kudos

I recently bought a Syntax Olevia 32inch, paid less then 1,000 with shipping and taxes, and love it.

I use it to watch DVD's, tv shows, play video games on the PC, and as a PC desktop.
I never see any motion blur, or artificats or anything like that, and it has an option to "auto adjust" the screen to the PC's resolution when it's hooked up through VGA (and prolly dvi also, but never tried it) so I don't need to sit there and tweak stuff constantly, or even download powerstrip or some other program.

The black levels are very good, and I recommend the LCD to anyone looking to buy an LCD on a budget

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Shut up, dummy.

zippyjuan

Under $1000 rules out plasma. But as far as their life span, the newer ones are rated at 60,000 hours until half brightness. That is a very long time. At eight hours a day, 365 days a year, that is 20 years. LCDs look better in brighter rooms- the blacks can look more grey in darker ones.

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bachviet

Plasma is not more expensive than LCD TV. A 42" LCD TV costs almost twice as much as an HDTV plasma but it has higher resolution though.

I love my Panasonic HDTV plasma.

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