[The G Man]

Ok ... my links aren't showing ... grrrr

[expatpat]

If you want HDTV, you will want the 16:9 screen.

[Future Snake Eater]

If I recall, this is your area of expertise...

[BrooklynGOP]

Get a plasma :)
..or at least HDTV.

[The Wizard]

I would recommend, a Sony 65 inch HDTV great set, can receive all forms of HDTV and in January 2006 when there is on HDTV, your TV will n ot only still be realtively new, it will work without costly accessories.

I have seen offers from places like Circiut City where you buy now and pay it off with no charges over 12 months...a great deal

[CROSSHIGHWAYMAN]

I bought a 55" Mitsubishi HD ready Diamond Vision widescreen surround sound TV 3 years ago.

Today's price is nearly $1000 less than I paid.

The picture quality is superb!!

We have many movie nights with friends.

Be sure you position the TV the optimum distance from your viewing position.......not too close to the screen.

My best viewing is from 12 to 15 feet away.

Good luck and enjoy...

[Allen In Texas Hill Country]

If you have a DVD player or expect to get one soon absolutely go 16:9. Make sure it IS HDTV compatible. Then for about $300 you can get an HDTV decoder. So if you can squeeze out another $300 its another reason to get 16:9.

I went total HDTV over 2 years ago. Would have done it sooner had I known the absolutely stunning pictures you get. OTA (over the air) is about 90% HDTV in prime time. You will not believe your eyes. If you are within 60 or so miles of the transmitting station put up a good UHF antenna and plug it into the HDTV decoder.

Make sure the TV input is compatible with output of the decoder. Go HDTV the Super Bowl was spectacular. I can provide you with more details of a $300 decoder and help in general.

[RedBloodedAmerican]

Do some price comparisons here.

http://www.pricegrabber.com/home_catpage.php/catzero=19/ut=429dc4688436b8ea

[SamAdams76]

If you buy from one of the major stores (Circuit City, Best Buy), they will push the "service contract" on you. If you resist, they will try to give you the impression that you will have costly service bills down the road. This is bull. Do not under any circumstances purchase a service contract or what they might call an "extended warranty."

I bought a 60" big screen TV from Circuit City five years ago and I got the "you'll regret it" treatment from them. They even said that they would probably have to send a technician out to my house once a year just to "keep it calibrated." Well it's been five years and the picture is as sharp as it was the day I brought it home.

Realize that employees of these discount electronics chains are under pressure to sell the extended warranties. This is how they make up revenue for having such low prices. These extended warranties are almost pure profit for them because chances are that your unit will never need servicing.

If in the rare case you do have a problem with your TV, you can get a repairman out to your house for a reasonable fee. Don't get one from the store though, look in the Yellow Pages for competent TV repairmen.

I don't know much about HDTV and plasma TV but I'm more than happy with the picture I get now with my conventional big-screen. Especially when I put on a DVD.

[Psalm 73]

Advice? Sure:
Shoot your TV and grab a book.
Well, you asked...

[shostang]

I have a 60" Hitachi Ultravision. I love it. It is a 1998 model. When you watch DVD's in widescreen, the picture is awesome. I have digital cable tv, so the picture is crisp and takes up the entire 60" screen. If you buy a 16:9 widescreen tv. You will only get full picture use when watching DVD's. When you watch regular tv on a 16:9, you will have black bars on the sides of the tv, so your majority of watching will be a smaller picture than if you purchased a standard big screen. This is something you should test before you buy at your local store. It is a huge difference. The life expectancy of big screens are around 10 years. HDTV won't be very popular for about 5 years or maybe even 10 years from now. Don't get me wrong, HDTV is the best picture, but you might get more economical enjoyment from a standard 60" diagonal big screen. By the way, buy a screen protector ASAP, to protect your investment.

[PoorMuttly]

Buy a radio.

[jhouston]

Do not look at anything BUT 16:9 format. Do get an HDTV ready (or compatable) set. You do not need an integrated tuner (they are very pricey with the tuner built in). You can purchase a Samsung 151 HDTV tuner on the web for $350. It's great, just hook it up to a garden variety antena and to your HDTV monitor (look at rear projection 40-60 inch).

You might want to check this place out - www.wholesaleconnection.com .

When I purchased 50" Toshiba and tuner, I priced them at BestBuy, CircuitCity, Tweeters and Sears and Wholesaleconnection beat them all by over $700 on the TV alone (Bestbuy - 2400, WC - 1700). The savings on sales tax paid for the $200 shipping charge. The shipper sets it up in your living room and removes all the packing material.

[On the Road to Serfdom]

Don't you make enought on your talk radio show to buy a better TV? ... If you will watch a lot of DVD's and/or real HDTV broadcast get 16:9 like others said. Only get 4:3 if you will be watching mostly standard TV for the next several years. If you get 4:3 make sure it "squeezes" the picture in 16:9 mode so you get as good a picture as if you bought 16:9 when watching DVD or HDTV.

[gov_bean_ counter]

How about a 12" Sony and a magnifying glass.

[destroid]

There is an excellent source of info here:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/

Look under the Display Devices forum. Many FAQs on the different styles of displays, aspect ratios, and occasional good deals.

[PMCarey]

While we're on the topic, is there any reason to buy and HDTV when you don't have cable or satellite reception? We live out in the country and there are no cable providers and I don't want to spend money on a satellite system, so we simply receive the broadcast signal. Given that, is there any reason to go with HDTV?

[Lonely NY Conservative]

My wife just got me a 42" 16x9 Toshiba HDTV for Christmas. I can't say enough good things about it - bright, clear, line-doubler makes analog signals look great, DVDs even better. I still haven't shelled out for an HDTV decoder - waiting for the HDTV TiVo DirecTV receiver coming out later this year which will do both over-the-air and satellite HDTV.

Two recommendations:

1. If you go HDTV look for one that has a DVI interface (or is DVI upgradeable). On the Toshiba only the 2002 and later model years are DVI upgradeable. DVI is a new interface which may or may not become the standard. There are many arguments about why it is a good or bad thing as it gives content providers greater control of HDTV content, but if it does become a standard you may need it to display a good deal of HDTV content (particularly PPV and HBO).

2. 16X9 works for me as I was most concerned with HDTV and DVD viewing (which fits 16x9 natively if you watch the letterbox DVD version) and the anamorphic modes work well for stretching 4x3 - stretches sides more than middle of the picture. This is opinion, as you will have gray bars either on the sides when viewing 4x3 material on a 16x9 screen or on the top and bottom when viewing 16x9 material on a 4x3 screen unless you use one of the stretch modes.

A good place for more technical information is the AVS Forum at http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/

[Mark17]

Get a High Definition set. NTSC is on its way out.

[Zathras]

First of all, figure out what you want to watch and how.
Alot of cheaper rear projections have poor off-angle viewing. Make sure you test view it side to side and not just centered.
Test view the type of media you will be watching and be sure to check out the translation modes for 16x9-4x3. Some systems have, IMHO have too much distortion when ie stretching 4x3 signal to fill a 16x9 screen.
Consider the lighting of the room you will be using it in. Too much ambient lighting can make a rear projection look washed out.

I use www.audioreview.com to get a general idea of product quality and likes/dislikes. The video section isn't as extensive as the audio but it would be a good place to start.