Sony Bravia KDL-40S2000 40-Inch Flat Panel LCD HDTV
THE best HDTV for the money, period!
Like many others, I did all of the research and parked myself in the TV showrooms of Best Buy, Circuit City, Sound Advice, etc. and I can tell you without a doubt, that this 40\\" Sony Bravia had the best picture and sound quality of them all. Even beat out the 37\\" Sharp Acquos! <br /> <br />First of all, I am convinced that LCD is the way to go over plasma. My friend just bought a Samsung 42\\" plasma, and although the salesman told him that they corrected the burn-in problems with the newer generations, he can clearly see the ghost images of the 4:3 pillar bars when watching a 16:9 broadcast. He also told me that his TV gave off quite a large amount of heat. Those 2 aspects alone were enough to persuade me to go LCD. LCDs use less energy, burn-in is impossible, they are immune to glare (especially helpful if your room has a lot of southern exposure), and are much less delicate when handling. If you even lean a plasma TV too far to one side, your TV may be cooked! <br /> <br />Are there any flaws to LCD? Well I did notice a slightly less vibrant color palette than a plasma, and they say that the blacks are not as true as a plasma, but NOT if you get the Sony Bravia. The 1300:1 contrast ratio brings out the clearest details with the black levels like any plasma I've seen. The color reproductions are also flawless. Some LCDs have limited viewing angles, but this Sony has almost no angle distortion for 180 degrees off center. <br /> <br />I have it hooked up to a DirecTV HD receiver via HDMI and the resolution, color, contrast, and sound are excellent. I have heard that the screen goes blank when switching between HD and standard def channels if you use HDMI. That, my friends, is a known flaw with most cable set top boxes, NOT this TV! It switches perfectly fine with DirecTV receivers. I have a Sony \\"upconverting\\" DVD player and it's hooked up via companent cable, and movies have never looked better!  <br /> <br />That brings me to my ONLY flaw of this TV. ONLY 1 HDMI INPUT!!!! WHY??!! I cannot fully utilize the upconverter of my DVD player without the HDMI connection, but it is a very miniscule negative. Component cable is still HD and produces very palapable images. I have my digital audio hooked up through an ONKYO stereo receiver. I highly recommend either digital optical or digital coaxial cable for sound, if possible. These receivers have come way down in price so I think it's worth the extra couple of hundred bucks for premium 5.1 Dolby and/or DTS surround sound. It will truly complete your home theater.  <br /> <br />Anyway, I hope I'm coming across loud and clear when I say that this is simply the one HDTV to get. I would not go larger than 40\\" on an LCD. The 46\\" had some definite pixalization and I agree with another reviewer that the extra large screen technology for LCDs is not quite there yet. <br /> <br />Bottom line, I've only purchased Sony TVs for the past 20 years, and they have yet to give me a reason to do otherwise.