Flat Screen TV

Does anyone know a lot about Flat screen TV’s? I want to get one for FH as a wedding gift. Also do the stores install them?? I don’t want to say money is no object, but I am willing to spend some money for a good quality TV. TIA


ETA: Is there a difference in Plasma & Flat screen, and which is better???

It depends what you are looking for. I would go to a store and look at plasma flat screens and LCD flat screens. The picture and quality look slightly different.

I prefer the look of the LCD tv, but others like plasma.

I think the best LCD flat screen on the market is the Sharp AQUOS, but the largest LCD screen on the market is smaller than the largest plasma screen available. LCD flat screens generally cost more than plasma screens do for the same size tv. Also note that the screen is measured on the diagonal.

I think the best plasma flat screen on the market is a toss up between Sony and Panasonic.

We have a 37 inch Sharp AQUOS.

Note that the tv will also look different depending upon whether you have HDTV (high definition). Comcast receivers are HD ready, but DISH/DirectTV make you pay extra for them.

In addition, the type of cables you get will effect the picture quality. The maximum distance you want your tv cables from the cable/shish box is 15 feet. A lot of salespeople will try to sell you Monster brand cables, they are good, but really what you want are cables with gold ends (yes it really is gold) because that helps provide the best picture quality.

There is also something out there called a flat screen DLP (which is a rear projection TV, so the back of the tv is huge in comparison to the 4 inch backs of plasma and LCD tvs. I don't care for them as much but they are a lot less expensive than either the LCD or Plasma.

ETA: A flat screen can be had on any tv, basically what I was confused about in the begining, was the thin style tv vs the huge rear projection or tube style tvs. All of them can have a 'flat screen'.
What I think you are asking, and what I wanted to know when we purchased our tv, was what kinds of tvs are wall mountable. Those are the Plasma (looks like a large semi shiny piece of plastic on top of the tv) vs. LCDs (which are common on a lot of lap top computers (and if you touch it (which you should try to avoid), but it will indent around your finger.)

i don't know lot about them but i do know that there is a difference between plasma and flat screen.

Plasma's are the ones that are only a few inches think and you see mounted on the wall they are also sometimes called flat panel but that is more common in computer screens...this is most likely what you are looking for.

Flat screen on the otherhand just means that the glass that makes up the screen on the TV is flat instead of curved(look at an older tv to see the glass curves)

as for choosing one I dont know much there other than that my FH a complete tech/computer geek swears by the product reviews at zdnet.com

Good Luck!

We have an LCD and a DLP (both are technically a 'flat screen') and I don't really notice a difference in the picture quality between the two.

When we were buying our TVs, we decided against the Plasma tvs because over time, images can burn themselves into the screen. (For instance, if you watch a channel that has a logo in the corner of the screen like ESPN a ton, you might start to notice the logo when you're not watching that channel).

We have the Samsung 56' DLP TV. We LOVE it! Amazing picture. With plasma, when the tv burns out, you replace the tv for thousands of bucks. With DLP (what we have), when the bulb IN the tv burns out, you replace the bulb for under 400 bucks. At least you don't have to buy a new one! And the bulb should last a few years. And, if you get it at Best Buy and get the contract, it includes one replacement bulb in the contract. My FH installed ours, along with the sound system. My FH also does work installing home theatre systems. FM me if you want more info. He's really good with this stuff.

Good luck!