WHAT TV SHOULD I GET RIGHT NOW?

The Samsung UN46ES6500 LED HDTV gets my heartiest recommendation. Easily competes with the best out there.

I have 55" Samsung UN55D8000 edge lit LED TV. It is absolutely great with very deep black levels and huge brightness/contrast. It has only 0.25" frame and is about 1" thick. You need to decide if you like Plasma or LCD/LED. They look very different. Go to large store and look - all plasmas are slightly yellowish and darker. I prefer LCD but some people swear by plasma. Plasma is faster but I don't even set mine to max 240Hz because it gets "soap opera effect" when movies look like home videos. LCD is better for bright rooms and mine has compensation for daylight, that you can set and adjust. It looks at bright light exactly same as in dark room. Samsung comes with strange settings, too much contrast and oversaturated colors. I copied settings somebody published on internet (a lot of settings) and it is absolutely perfect. Unfortunately it has to be set independently for each mode and each input (cannot be copied) resulting in a lot of work. Contact me if you decide to go with this model. LEDs come with back or edge lighting. Back lighting makes TV thicker and more expensive but is more even. Edge lighting shows slight irregularities only with uniform gray background - very difficult to see. With regular programs it is non issue. Plasma takes a lot of power - something to consider if you're TV addict like me. Panasonics don't have 2 channel digital audio out since they automatically output Dolby with digital broadcast and 2 channel only with NTSC (that is gone). My Samsung has menu choice for that. Most come with active 3D glasses but LG brand has different scheme with passive glasses - might be not as good. You need to check.

One more thing. Long time ago I replaced 27" TV with 50". It looked so large that I returned it and got 42" instead. Now I have 55" (wishing for more) in the same place and the same watching distance. It's a matter of getting used to while better picture quality/resolution makes it worthwhile. Sizes up to 55" seems to be standard while 65" is less common and cost much more.

Here's another vote for the Panasonic plasmas. I have two of the same model since I was so happy with the first one I bought. I think it's the S42, but I'm not sure since they are 2 and 3 years old. The only downside that I've dealt with is they run a bit warm. I'm not a fan of the Samsungs since both my dad and I have both experiences reliability issues with them.

Some of the audio part was mentioned above. If you plan on using just a basic stereo amp instead of the built in speakers, check for two channel analog outputs. Some that do have them, may give the option of variable or fixed outputs. These were common on a lot of CRT TVs, not as common with flat panels, especially Panasonic Plasma TVs. Some just have a Toslink digital audio out, for a surround processor, or surround receiver.

Read the owners manuals online (if available) first, to see if it does everything you want. In the store, it's easy to overlook something small, that may be a deal breaker.

I have a Runco LCD and I think the picture quality is supurb compared to all of the above statements. I especially love the non-reflective screen and the deep blacks. I have mine hanging on the Salamander Synergy cabinet and could not be happier.