I searched and shopped, learned about all the 720p/1080p stuff. I basically knew what I was looking at when shopping the units. I shopped them for more than 4 months almost like a religion. I ended up with a 47" Toshiba Regza this last January with all the latest and greatest/updated techno BS. If you like things like surround sound, PC connections, front or side connections, HDMI connections are a must! The more the better for future gizmos you might want to hook up and have digital capability. The Toshiba had it all, and I found it at the lowest price at the time of $1,399, no shipping, no tax. It arrived with no damage. I bought a wall mount from Best Buy and had the thing up and running within an hour.
Now, Picture quality? The 46" Sony Braiva was hanging on the wall at Best Buy right next to the Toshiba I bought. The Sony's picture was hands down a better picture and both units were priced at $2,100. Just because the Sony was clearer on display doesn't mean it's better. The Toshiba could have been on a different loop connection and not receiving as good a signal as the Sony. (marketing trick perhaps) Anyway, I believe the Sony Bravia to be the better unit in the long run. I talked Best Buy management into knocking the Toshiba down to $1,700 + tax. I could only talk him down to $1,900 on the Sony Bravia. The online price of the Toshiba was the selling point for me. I have Dish Network HD programming and it is doing a very good job. I've not had any problems with it. I have heard Horror stories of any Panasonic LCD TV.
I also shopped the 52" Sharp Aquos. I had read many good reviews about them online. I had seen a couple in action and they seemed to fit my dreams of what I wanted in a T.V. They were still too proud of them price wise.
All of the LCD units have been dropping fast in price lately. One can find a good 720p fairly cheap, but, don't expect to get the most out of Blue Ray discs or some of the newer quality digital cameras and such.
Very few people can tell the actual difference when viewing 720p vs. 1080p. I didn't want to invest just a few bucks to buy yesterdays technology.
I have a Denon 7.1 surround sound receiver connected to my Panasonic BD-30 7.1 surround sound Blue Ray player. I have the Blue Ray fed through the Receiver, then off to the T.V. I have the Dish Network receiver connected to the Toshiba T.V., then the T.V. fed back to the Denon. All are connected via HDMI. HDMI cables will cost you from a 1/2 to a full tank of gas each. I have to have 4 of them to make my setup do what I want it to do. All my Movies play through the surround sound. The T.V. can just use the built in speakers, or I can make it come out through the Denon Receiver. This is really nice when you come across a good concert playing on an HD channel and you want to enjoy it to it's fullest.
All I can say, is when shopping, make the price the last thing you look at IF you want to have all the latest and greatest technology. If you only want a big screen TV, then by all means, save some money and shop price/quality of the manufactuer. I did my homework for over 4 months on the subject. It's a whole new world when T.V. shopping vs. what it was 10 years ago.
The Vizio brand wal-mart sells has a very good picture. The Samsung units are very good too. It all depends on what you want. Buying a new T.V. these days is harder then buying a new vehicle.
Here is the link for the site I finally found mine at, and posted below it, is a link that might help you find what you want, at a lower price. Beach camera no longer carries the unit I bought.
BeachCamera.com
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I wish you luck. It was a very tough decision on what I went with. I would have bought the Sony if I could have found it around the same price. Remember to pay attention to the number of HDMI inputs. 3 is good! I hope I have been able to save you some time and frustration.
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