How To Buy A TV

Plasma Vs LCD - Among  plasma, LCD, and LED LCD  your best bet is plasma unless you're looking for a set 42 inches or smaller. If you watch TV in a room full of windows with no curtains, then get an LCD.

Refresh Rate - For an LCD, this is the number of times per second a screen refreshes it's image measured in hertz. This does not apply to plasmas. The standard is 60 Hz, 120 Hz is much better, and 240 Hz is overkill. Just look for the words "refresh rate" not scenes per second (SPS) or TruMotion.

Buy Cheap HDMI Cables -Cheap HDMI are as good as expensive ones. So don't spend more than $5 max.

The 411 On 3D - Active glasses are expensive are heavy and use batteries. But they provide full resolution. Passive glasses are cheap, but since each eye only sees half the image, you're getting only half the resolution. Also the worst 3D is among the best of 2-D TVs.

Forget Smart Features - Don't concern yourself with built in smart features like Hulu Plus, Netflix, and HBO Go. All are available on a $100 Roku 3 external device.

Forget About Ultra  UHD - Ultra UHD known as 4K TV provides 4 times the number of pixels  as full HD. But its a waste since nothing is broadcast in Ultra HD.

Prices You can pick up a good 42 to 50 inch TV for about $700, and you can get a great one for $1200 to $1500.

Inputs - Good TVs have at least 4 HDMI inputs.

Best Brands -Companies like Samsung, Sony, Panasonic, LG and Sharp have been around a long time. So they have huge repair networks and easy to find parts. Other brands may not.

Sound -In general, the thinner the  TV the worse your speakers will be. So either get a sound bar or learn to appreciate sound without the bass.