Help a non-techie out...What is most important in a TV?

[Anonymity]

I am not very technical and know just enough to get myself in trouble...when looking for a TV, what is most important for a HDTV? I am looking for a cheaper price range as a gift for my parents and most of the TVs do not have all the "features" so trying to figure out which TV wins...

Which is more important...
Resolution of TV (ie. 720p vs. 1080p)
Contrast Ratio (900:1 vs. 50,000:1 and so on)
Refresh Rate
120 Mhz
Other

EDIT: I am looking for a TV in the 37"-42" range.

[mustang-gt-2002]

if they will play Blu-rays it should be 1080p. if only upconverted dvds then 720p will be fin.

if they like real life looking movies 50,000:1 is great. if they want it to look like a normal movie in the theater then 900:1 is fin.

6 millisecond to 4 millisecond is around normal on newer HDTVs I'm not to sure how it affects movies. but for games you want the lowest refresh rate you can get.

on Blu-rays 120Hz is a must. for me upconverted dvd players dont need it is much.

bottom line is if your parents are like mine they dont care about technology and will be happy with the lowest one you can find. if not then may I suggest the LN40A650 or LN46A650 for a higher end HDTV.

I love my LN46A650 for the price it

[Hammie]

What do they plan on doing with the TV?

SD-DVD?
Blu-Ray?
Gaming?
What's the budget?

[BACsader]

Originally Posted by mustang-gt-2002

if they will play Blu-rays it should be 1080p. if only upconverted dvds then 720p will be fin.

if they like real life looking movies 50,000:1 is great. if they want it to look like a normal movie in the theater then 900:1 is fin.

on Blu-rays 120Hz is a must. for me upconverted dvd players dont need it is much.

bottom line is if your parents are like mine they dont care about technology and will be happy with the lowest one you can find. if not then may I suggest the LN40A650 or LN46A650 for a higher end HDTV.

I love my LN46A650 for the price it

This isn't all necessarily true. If you get a TV with a 900:1 contrast ratio, nothing will ever look good. The picture will always be washed out and you will feel like you got ripped off. Ultimately, you want the highest contrast ratio you can afford. Be sure to make sure it is Native contrast ratio. Dynamic contrast ratio is a gimmick. That is the setting on the TV where they take all the settings and jack them really high to get the most vibrant picture, but in the mean time losing all clarity. If you are looking at LCD, to get a better one is going to cost you more, because in general, LCDs are more expensive. 120hz is not absolutely necessary. If you really want the best bang for your buck, look at the 42" Panasonic Plasmas. They are really the best bang for your buck. They have unbelievable picture and right now they can be had for pretty cheap. Look at the models TH-42PX80U, which is a 720p TV, and look at the TH-42PZ80U which is a 1080p TV. Other than that, the TH-42PZ80U has a 20,000:1 contrast ratio while the TH-42PX80U only has a 15,000:1 contrast ratio. Look around and feel free to ask questions.

[callas01]

Originally Posted by BACsader

This isn't all necessarily true. If you get a TV with a 900:1 contrast ratio, nothing will ever look good. The picture will always be washed out and you will feel like you got ripped off. Ultimately, you want the highest contrast ratio you can afford. Be sure to make sure it is Native contrast ratio. Dynamic contrast ratio is a gimmick. That is the setting on the TV where they take all the settings and jack them really high to get the most vibrant picture, but in the mean time losing all clarity. If you are looking at LCD, to get a better one is going to cost you more, because in general, LCDs are more expensive. 120hz is not absolutely necessary. If you really want the best bang for your buck, look at the 42" Panasonic Plasmas. They are really the best bang for your buck. They have unbelievable picture and right now they can be had for pretty cheap. Look at the models TH-42PX80U, which is a 720p TV, and look at the TH-42PZ80U which is a 1080p TV. Other than that, the TH-42PZ80U has a 20,000:1 contrast ratio while the TH-42PX80U only has a 15,000:1 contrast ratio. Look around and feel free to ask questions.

While this is absolutly true, the most important thing is that when you get it home you love what you bought.

[RIPSeanTaylor21]

Originally Posted by mustang-gt-2002

if they will play Blu-rays it should be 1080p. if only upconverted dvds then 720p will be fin.

if they like real life looking movies 50,000:1 is great. if they want it to look like a normal movie in the theater then 900:1 is fin.

6 millisecond to 4 millisecond is around normal on newer HDTVs I'm not to sure how it affects movies. but for games you want the lowest refresh rate you can get.

on Blu-rays 120Hz is a must. for me upconverted dvd players dont need it is much.

bottom line is if your parents are like mine they dont care about technology and will be happy with the lowest one you can find. if not then may I suggest the LN40A650 or LN46A650 for a higher end HDTV.

I love my LN46A650 for the price it

love ur avatar!

[dobyblue]

120Hz is only relevant on LCD/RP.
Plasma is fast enough that 60Hz will do.

1080p is only important when you factor in your viewing distance. For 37-42" if you're sitting 12ft away there is virtually ZERO benefit to a 1080p set.

For 4-5ft away there is a benefit.

Plenty of 720p TV's score higher than 1080p tv's overall. For example, a 720p Panasonic plasma will knock the socks off a 1080p Vizio.

Refresh rate is pretty irrelevant too. You've been watching 60Hz your whole life. The vast majority of people won't notice 3:2 judder.

[Anonymity]

Thanks to everyone for their advice.
My parents will definitely not being using the system for gaming.
Right now they just have a standard DVD system but will likely have whatever TV I get until the day they die and so I want to try to get something that would allow them to upgrade to either an upconverter or BLu-ray player if the mood should hit them in a few years.
The TV they have now is so old it cannot go past channel 36 so I thought I would try to bring them up to the current century and buy them a nice gift with an upgraded TV around the 500-800 dollar mark.
The TVs I have looked at so far seem to be 1080p but a low contrast ratio or 700p with a high contrast ratio. I am certain whatever I buy will be better but I wanted to try to get them the most bang for my buck.

[My_Two_Cents]

What are you looking to spend? (sorry, just saw it in your last post)

The Panasonic TH-42PX80U is probably the best TV for your $$ these days. I highly doubt your folks would want/need anything better than a 768p set, and this one is tops. Blu-ray looks fantastic on a 768p set. Don't let folks convince you that you MUST get 1080p in order to enjoy BD, because you don't. There are many other factors that affect picture quality besides TV resolution.

As mentioned earlier, forget about the 50,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio crap you see being marketed. It means absolutely nothing in terms of picture quality. Refresh rates shouldn't be a concern, though 120Hz is probably recommended on an LCD (though you'll be hard pressed to find a ~42" 120Hz LCD for even close to the price of the set I've linked for you).

[kpkelley]

IMO, the key to great pq is black level and native contrast.

What size tv are you looking for? In that price range you can get 1080p plasmas at 42" or LCD's at 37" or 720P Plasmas up to 50"(if you can still find the deals). If you are serious about this give us some parameters and we can perhaps suggest a few for you to look at to make your decision.

[BACsader]

Originally Posted by kpkelley

IMO, the key to great pq is black level and native contrast.

What size tv are you looking for? In that price range you can get 1080p plasmas at 42" or LCD's at 37" or 720P Plasmas up to 50"(if you can still find the deals). If you are serious about this give us some parameters and we can perhaps suggest a few for you to look at to make your decision.

Ditto!