Samsung LNS4051D 40-Inch LCD HDTV
Definitely feel like I made the right choice in HDTVs
Like others, I took a long time before making the decision to finally purchase a large screen flat panel television.  Finally, with prices coming down so much, I decided to purchase one.  I bought this tv directly from Amazon.  They had an extremely competitive price, no sales tax, and were offering free delivery.  As has already been noted, that equated to hundreds of dollars of savings compared to purchasing the same tv at the local large outlet stores.   Initially, I narrowed my buying choices down to a 42\\" Panasonic plasma that had been highly rated, Sony Bravia LCD, or the Samsung that I ended up purchasing.  First I chose LCD over the plasma for several reasons:  1. plasma is newer technology than LCDs, so has less of a track record as far as known durability and working life; 2. LCDs for the comparable size weigh less and because of the technology they use and construction materials tend to be more durable; 3. LCDs use less energy and do not have the same potential noise issues (buzzing) that plasmas can have; 4. no burn in issues; 5. much less screen glare with an LCD because the display panel is not a shiny sheet of glass;  and 6. prices of LCDs have dropped to be comparable to plasmas.  Also, in terms of viewing angle, LCD technology has caught up enough that plasmas no longer have an edge in that one.  Finally with regard to contrast ratios, although most definitely plasmas generally have much higher contrast ratios, both static and dynamic, most manufacturers inflate their numbers, oversell the importance of these numbers and measure under the most extreme conditions that consumers don't watch their tvs under.  Whether you care about contrast ratio really depends on the ambient lighting situation, in very very bright light conditions (i.e. sun light) you may be able to tell the difference between two tvs where one has a higher contrast ratio.  But under normal indoor conditions, and especially in a dark room, and watching programming that is not in 100%black and white (I mean when do you watch something like that?) the need for the higher contrast ratio wont even come into play and the viewer in a darkened room watching normal programming will notice no difference between tvs that have different contrast ratios.  Then after deciding to get an LCD I ended up choosing the Samsung over the Sony.  After physically looking at both tvs in the stores multiple times I thought that Samsung had the better picture.  And money wise Samsung was a better bargain for the quality of tv you got. <br /> <br />As far as getting the tv, the delivery was a little delayed, and I was not all that impressed or happy with Amazon's shipper Eagle delivery service.  But hey, it was free, and when they did deliver it, it came in perfect condition.  Setting up the tv was easy, the main thing is to have the best connector cables (HDMI & component) and optimize, to the extent you can, the signal source to make sure you're getting the best picture out of the tv.  I have Comcast digital with a DVR, made sure to use HDMI connections (on that I didn't buy Monster, but an HDMI to DVI cable that cost a fifth of the price and works great also ordered from Amazon); and component cable for the DVD player.  Also made sure the output settings on the cable box were 1080i for HD broadcasts and 480p for standard definition broadcasts, and the DVD player set at 480p for progressive scan.   Picture looks beautiful.  HD channels are amazing in their clarity.  Even the standard definition programs look good on this tv.  I initially thought the sound was so so, but then used better RCA cables and it improved a lot.  Though, I have everything hooked up to a 5.1 surround sound system so don't really use the actual tv speakers much.  Overall I am very pleased with this television.  The picture quality is one of the best I've seen for the money.   The functions on the tv are easy to learn, the remote also was easy to pick up and just start using.  Also, the tv comes with plenty of inputs.  Though, I would have preferred if they had two component inputs instead of just one.  Finally, the tv physically  looks great, piano black, clean lines, a nice addition to the living room.  I highly recommend this tv. <br />