Hello All,

I recently had some good friends ask me about the current crop of HDTV tech that is out now (they are looking to buy a good HDTV). The caveat is that my friends are real newbies, and all of the technical jargon (different modes, progresive v. interlaced, flat screen, contrast ratio, burn-in, LCD, DLP, Plasma, Rear-projection, ...) is really unfamiliar to them.

I am looking for some good, objective, and simple (think "PowerPoint" style bullet points w/ pictures) reference material for them to review. I have been browsing this forum, and avsforum, but was wondering if anyone knows of any good sites (again, please think basic, preferably w/ lots of comparison pictures) with the kind of info (pros/cons of LCD/Plasma/DLP, picture/resolution differences w/ the different modes, etc).

Also, if anyone has any good recommendations for a quality flat panel TV (minimum 42") for around $3k, they would be greatly appreciated. My friends aren't audio/videophiles, and won't need all the bells and whistles (oodles and oodles of HDMI ports, etc). Durability and lifetime are probably their most important criteria. Following that, PQ with no/minimal motion blur and jaggies...lots of sports & movies will be watched on this set. Upsampling probably wouldn't hurt (tapes/VCR will still be in use) either.

Thanks a lot in advance!!!

Well, if it has to be flat, rear-projection (which includes DLP) is out.

Every HDTV will upscale the image. It's just a question of how well it does it.

If they're not opposed to using stretch or zoom modes (I am, but I realize many are not), I would recommend a plasma panel without hesitation, as it generally has better black levels and a better picture overall. However, if they watch a lot of material that doesn't fill the screen (such as 4:3 TV) and don't want to crop or distort the image, or if they are going to connect a computer to the set, LCD may be a better choice since it does not get image retention. Of course, some people will say there is no problem with burn-in and only temporary image retention with plasma these days no matter what you do with the set.

In any case, you'll want to make sure they get HD in some form, preferably through cable or satellite service. You can also point them towards a BD player and see if they're interested in that. Be sure to tell them they cannot get real HD from DVDs.

I understand you want comparison pictures, but they're really not useful for this. You just can't show the difference with them. They will be influenced by the camera that took them and whatever display you use to show them. Remember how they always tell you the image is "simulated" in ads. Plus, you obviously can't show the difference in motion. Have them go and look at the sets in stores, but even beware that because they're often not calibrated and set too bright and overly saturated to stand out on the floor.

Anyway, here's a site with a decent comparison you could show them: http://www.audioholics.com/education...lcos-d-ila-crt (the section with LCD vs. plasma is what you'll want to concentrate on.)

Thanks for the link. That is a well written series of articles at precisely the right level.

I already had the "HD only comes from an HD source" talk with them (HD Cable, BD, etc). From my experiences, I was leaning towards recommending an LCD set, but I wanted to make sure they were adequately informed and knowledgeable about all the jargon and technologies involved.

Thanks again!