I am looking to buy a TV in advance of my move to the States in March (or as soon as I arrive, but probably now) and was having a quick scout around.

I want to spend as little as possible and I don't necessarily need HD TV but I do want a flat screen so that it doesn't take up too much space. My TV right now at home is 28" and I am happy with the size but bigger is always better I guess. The most important things are:

A - A good picture (by good I mean clear and good colours etc - I am happy with my current non HD pic on sky digital but HD is of course amazing... provided it doesn't cost too much extra?)

B - Reliability.

I had a look around and thought this looked nice:

http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/JVC-3...oductDetail.do

Any views? Any suggestions? I bought the DVD player that was highly recommended on a recent thread from Amazon and figured you guys are far more techie than me....

Absolute max spend $1000, ideal spend $500 (or as little as possible really I guess but realistically...)

thanks guys, appreciate your help muchly.

$500 to $1000 will buy you a 28" TV. When you get here join Costco...they will be cheaper than CC. CC charge a restocking fee if you return it (as do most if not all electronic stores)...Costco do not. You should have waited before buying the DVD player they are generally much cheaper here than in the UK.

http://www.costco.com/Service/Featur...uctNo=11239331

Thanks for the advice. FYI, dvd player was and tv if bought now will be bought from the us (thanks to my girlfriend in MN)

Best places to look for info:

USA LCD TV Forum: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?f=166

UK LCD TV Forum: http://www.avforums.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=155

I included both UK and USA forums so you can get a balanced opinion. The UK forum will often have information on what the 'international' or USA version of the screen is called. A google will usually show it up in any case.

Don't get put off by a lot of the horror stories (remember that people will only generally post if they have a problem).

IMO you'd be better off going for a Samsung/Sony/Sharp rather than JVC, but I haven't done any research for a while. I did a lot of research before buying mine a year ago and ended up with a Sony 52"XBR and it's absolutely stunning (but not exactly cheap either).

There's plenty of good, general advice on the UK forums so I'd maybe start there.

Have fun shopping!

If I have any time today I'll have a look around and try and post back. I'm interested in something similar for another room in the house.

Always check the warranty period ..some can be a low as 90 days ...

old school DLP instead of LCD would get you a massive screen for a lot less money, but then bulbs can be a problem, depends on warranty...and with LCD's, check warranty to see how many dead pixels are covered before it's replaced, and that the warranty will actually last...

Just remember that there will be no more standard def TV over the air starting next year. So if you buy a standard def TV you will need a cable/satellite box or an HD converter.

Good advice on the Costco option, Sam's Club is something else to check into for cheap deals as they also have a paid membership, although make sure you get a reputable brand.

Circuit City and Best Buy are not necessarily the "best buy".

www.vanns.com pretty goos place to get a tv

My advice is to get one with the most possible inputs in the back, but I'm a bit of a geek. I have 8 inputs and I'm already using 7. Not sure what to do when I get an HD-DVD player....

DVD1
DVD2/VCR
Sat 1
Sat 2
Cable Box
Playstation
Mac Mini

i agree, gotta love extra inputs

We bought a Philips 28" and a 32" HD LCD when we first got out here about a year and a half ago, the smaller one cost around $400 I think and we got the 32" one on sale for $700. Both have been fine, we even have the Philips DVD recorder which has also been great. I too agree with the others about the outputs, with your DVD player, cable/sat and gaming systems you need as many as you can get!

You will be hard pushed to buy a TV that isnt HD ready these days.

On the broadcast issue i think you are getting analogue and digital mixed up with SD and HD.

TVs a year and a half ago...Ah the good old days