If you are looking for the best LCD TV kind of depends on how you define “best”. If we’re just going to go with what’s typically seen as top of the line, that would be the biggest, clearest HD set you can find, but size isn’t always all that important. If you’re moving into a small apartment, a dorm room, or you need a TV for your bedroom, size can even be detrimental to space management.
Not to mention, for most of us, “best” also means “best priced”. Why spend two grand on “top of the line” when you can get “good enough for me” for a fraction of the cost?
With that in mind, here are a few of the LCD TV’s considered “the best” based on a few characteristics: Image quality, price, and size (both screen size, and space management-wise).
Big Screen
Vizio L32
At around $600-$700, this is one of the best big screen LCD TV’s you can get without taking out a loan. Never heard of Vizio? So what? It’s quality that counts, not brand names. Any electronics salesman is probably going to try to tell you differently, that you’ve got to go with the $1500 Sony blablabla, but if you just want quality at a low price, the Vizio L32 gives sharp image quality, has a nice 32 inch screen, an adjustable backlight, and HDMI and PC inputs.
Some consumer reviews have noted that the set’s greyscale tracking isn’t quite perfect, but you can expect about the same picture quality you’d find with similar flat panels that cost twice as much.
Best Price
Hitachi 19WDVB
For the absolute lowest price, you’re not going to get a big screen TV. This doesn’t mean you can’t have great picture quality, though. Hitachi offers a few TVs like this one, priced remarkably low, between $100-$300. This one has a nineteen inch screen, 500:1 contrast, about 1,300,000 pixels, NICAM stereo sound, and inputs for HDMI, SCART, component and PC. Good picture quality, good sound, and a nice manageable size. If you just need a quality flat screen for your bedroom, office, or dorm, you could spend three times this much and not do too much better for quality.
Samsung LE19R88BDX
The Samsung LE19R88BDX has a slight edge over the Hitachi 19WDVB thanks to true surround sound and color enhancer, but usually goes for about a hundred bucks more. Most of the details between the two are about the same, but you will get slightly better color and sound with the Samsung.
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Nice writeup and comparison. Would have liked to see more models reviewed/side by side comparison though. Personally, I bought a Samsung LCD about a year ago, got a great price, and I’ve still yet to see a monitor beat it.