That Perfect Holiday LCD HDTV

With the Christmas season nearing its pinnacle for 2008, many consumers may still be looking for that "Big Ticket" item. One item that is on the minds of many consumers may be a brand new, state of the art, LCD HDTV. Don't fret about buying that "perfect" gift for your special someone as long as some basic guidelines are followed. Always do a little or even a lot of research when it comes to choosing which item to purchase.

The staggering variety of TV's on the market today may cause some confusion if you don't know exactly what you are looking for. The very first thing that seems jump in to the human thought process is size. And yes ladies, when it comes to buying a flat panel TV for your significant other, size does matter. The general rule being - bigger is better! But in the event that getting a smaller unit would be a better fit, then don't worry, those are available as well.

Pricing - Have done a little research of my own on this issue, I have found that a decent 27 to 31 inch display will set you back anywhere between $250 to $500. Most in this range were available with the added bonus of being HD. Prices definitely escalate from there. I found a 50" LCD HDTV going for $3,600; however, it did include all of the bells and whistles.

Specifications - This is the part of the shopping adventure that causes the most anxiety related headaches. Knowing exactly what you are looking for will help relieve some of that stress. Doing research based upon your needs is paramount to making the seamless transition from owning an ordinary, bland or just plain antiquated, television to owning a state-of-the-art, high performance piece of hardware for your hope theater. As a consumer a few things to consider would be what kind of components can be attached to your new TV. Do you want to have the ability to plug in multiple media sources such as gaming consoles, PC, video cards, audio input/output jacks and the list goes on and on.

Performance - Getting the performance for the price you are will to pay can be a little daunting. A few simple guidelines are the key in this. Obviously having a beautiful, bright picture is number one. Look for TVs with at least at least 1080p resolution, a very high contrast ratio of at least 50,000:1 - the higher the ratio the better - and a response time of 4ms or better - the lower the number is on response time, the better. I won't bore you with any of the techno-babble, but if you use these figures as a basic guideline, you'll end up as another satisfied customer. Another performance point to look for is the maximum viewing angle. Meaning, at what angle do the images look like a photo negative. The closer the number is to 180 the better.

Looks - The aesthetics of the TV is the consumer's sole responsibility. Some models come with a hue effect giving off a certain color surrounding the exterior of the unit. And yes, basis black is the basic color, however, most models can also be found in silver or gun-metal grey.