School me on Flat Panel TVs and Black Friday shopping

Giggles_Funsworth

It's been a while since I've looked at TV specs and the last big ticket display I bought was a monitor. What should I be looking for in a TV? I've got my eye on the Sharp display Best Buy has in their Black Friday ad, but the full specs haven't been released.

I know I want:

LCD or LED (advantage with LED is just brightness and power savings right?)

>40" but <60"

1080p

Good contrast (what is good contrast these days?)

No real preference on brands but I don't want a shit TV.

Also I don't really know wtf is up with Hertz, lower is better right, what is acceptable?

Are there any brands/models I won't be able to buy a wall mounting kit for? I want to do that too.

Anything else I need to know?

Sentry

This is the forum for finding out what makes a good tv: http://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/141038/the-tv-thread-more-for-less#Item_248

This is one of many websites that will tell you what internet deals are happening at any given moment: http://www.techbargains.com/

Black Friday deals, especially with regard to door busters, are usually not worth the effort, as the stores will only have a few (possibly as low as 1) of the TV's being offered, and that guy who has been waiting outside Best Buy since Halloween is probably going to get it.

Giggles_Funsworth

Aware of the craziness. They're advertising they've got ten per store, and the one we're going to is in a fairly small town, in addition they're opening at Midnight and handing out tickets for the door buster items at 10PM. If we don't get one at ten we can always cross the street and see if the line is ridiculous at Target (also opening at Midnight). Worst that happens is we waste a few hours after we would have been done with the family meal anyway playing Super Mario 3D and reading books in front of the Best Buy.

superwoot

Here are my 2 cents really quick(I bought a 32'' LED):
-I took the advice of the guys at best-buy and went with an LED by Insignia(best buy brand).
-The TV is great, the gameplay is amazing, the cinema quality is great, and the sound is definitely decent. Also, the Insignia brand's have a "Game mode" that turns it from 120hz to 60hz(The more hertz means more frames per second).
-The insignia was cheaper by a large margin, the 4yr protection plan is cheaper than all the other 3 or 2 year plans, and its Best buy. As long as you don't break it, you can exchange it in house if it malfunctions.

The only thing I would recommend is go watch movies on them at best buy or something. The 120hz can really annoy some people. the extra frames per second makes everything look more TVish.... But most older blue-ray movies are 24fps or 30fps anyways. btw, there is a really good blog on tvs here:

http://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/141038/the-tv-thread-more-for-less#Item_41 (go to page 1)

superwoot

OH and black friday is a scam. Don't buy into it. The real deals come around mid december, as well as new products. How many times have you seen a dope, amazing new cell drop right before christmas? I bet you can think of at least once! Then what happens.... All the other cells go on sale right before christmas!!! lol

ChopperDave

I got a Samsung UN46D6500 earlier this year, and have been pretty happy with it: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004O79SBM. It's already good value for the price, and when I bought it this summer Amazon ran this awesome deal where I got a Bluray player and two free 3D glasses for free -- maybe they'll do something similar for Black Friday?

The newer D7000 and D8000 models are more expensive and slightly fancier, with a built-in internet browser, QWERTY remote, and a 240hz refresh rate. Honestly though, when you get upwards of 120hz it gets really hard to tell the difference... I certainly can't see it, and professional TV reviewers generally can't either. And who browses the internet on his TV, really?