What are the best specs to look for?

Question

I am looking to buy a 37" HD Flat panel LCD TV. What are the top specs to look for at that size?

Answer 1

The best way to buy any TV is to look at it for yourself.  Looking at the subtle details (coloration, black levels, clarity) can not be replaced by reading some kind of fact sheet.

Good specs to look at on an LCD are the Contrast Ratio, Response Time, and to a point Resolution.

Answer 2

Jake is basically right on, but I see your point too. However you need to know what the specs mean so you can interpret/prioritize them.

The 4 most important determinants of picture quality are dynamic range/contrast ratio; colour accuracy; colour saturation; and resolution .. in that order.

But specs lie.  Almost everyone will say contrast ratio is important -- and it is ... to a point. But here's an argument (1st link) for why CR is basically meaningless (It's written with front projectors in mind .. but works for HDTVs too).

Similarly, native resolution (not to be confused with input resolutions accepted) is potentially misleading since depending where you sit, the video processing capability of the display and the source material you may or may not see a difference between a 1080p and 720p display (Link 2 and 3) and the quality of the picture may differ greatly because of other characteristics (remember resolution is the 4th most important determinant of picture quality). Many experts have noted that a good 720p HDTV can give an as good or even better image than a mediocre 1080p HDTV.

Response Time may be important if you want to watch fast action (particularly for games), BUT LCD displays (which generally have slower response times than plasma) with faster response times compromise in other ways (and are generally never as fast as computer monitors).

Viewing angle is almost meaningless since no-one would sit 70-80 degrees off axis and anyway what defines the limit isn't usually specified (is it where brightness falls to 50% (one common definition) or 25% or what?)

Brightness can be important, but since most TVs are overly bright to give accurate colour knowing the brightness can be 1000 cd/m2 when you will need to adjust it to 200 to get correct contrast and colour doesn't really help does it?

So, realistically, decide on things like screen size and aspect ratio (although these days that will almost always be 16:9) so the TV will suit your room and intended viewing distance. Then decide whether you will benefit from -- and are willing to pay extra for -- 1080p (partly where you will sit, but also what sources you will use. HDTV is always 720p or 1080i ... only Blu-ray or PS3 (or other) games are 1080p). After that look for suitable models with high contrast ratio (but use your eyes to judge not the specs.). Consider other things like range of inputs and outputs (give flexibility) and whether you want to pay extra for things like 1080p/24 fps input capability (only matters if you have a suitable source such as some Blu-ray players). Finally, you need to consider operating cost (power consumption).

Ultimately it comes down to how it looks to you, plus the support/reliability record of the manufacturer ... and the price.