Flat panel televisions are craze today. With high-end features and panoramic images, LCD TV’s are dominating the market. Hope you are not feeling lost in the world of glitz and glamors of LCD screens. One of my friends made a very apt remark once, “Every thing looks the same and good in a show-room” Indeed. Though there is no logical explanation, but this happens. So before you bring this expensive gizmo home, how do you decide which LCD is the best for you? You don’t want to mess up your viewing experience, do you? Here are 8 suggestions.

What is LCD?

First things first. Let’s start from the basics. You need to know that there is no liquid inside LCD TVs. These work on basic architecture of pixels. There are columns of liquid crystal molecules (a special chemical compound) that make up the pixels on LCD TV’s, hence the name Liquid Crystal Display. So, without further ado, lets get on with the business.

1. Place to Position the LCD TV

Most of the LCD TVs are either wall or table mounted. In case you are planning to position the LCD TV on wall make sure its no where near the fireplace. Heat may deteriorate the performance and longevity of your LCD. Think of place that has proper ventilation and connection access. Before you set out to buy the page measure the width of the space where you would accommodate the TV. Make sure the width of the TV you are buying is one or two inches shorter than the measurement.

2. Scaling

Sometimes your TV shows artifacts. The edges are jagged and there may be inconsistencies in details. This is due to poor scaling.

Now, what is scaling? Its a process through which the video processor in the television matches the resolution of an incoming signal with the native pixel processor. This implies that the high resolution signals are downscaled and the low resolution signals are upscaled. This ensures that the pictures are TVs native resolution.

3. Contrast ratio

This is a feature that you must scrutinize for any LCD TV. The contrast ratio is essentially the degree of variation between the darkest and whitest parts of the image. A low contrast ratio means dark images appear muddy and gray, whereas the light images fade out.

A contrast ratio of 1,500:1 or higher is acceptable for LCD TVs. For a 32 inches set, contrast ratio less than that would be a waste. Though in modern day LCD TVs, I will suggest you to go for a product that has at least a 10000:1 or 15,000:1 contrast ratio.

If you have enough money to spend, you can go for Sharp (100000:1) or LG Scarlet (50000:1) products too.

4. Native Pixel Resolution

Flat panel LCD TV sets can accommodate only a fixed number of pixels on the screen surface. So the best bet would be to get a LCD with high native pixel resolution. Normally the 23-inches LCD TV have a 1280×720 (720p) or 1366×768 (768p) native pixel resolution. This should be the minimum pixel count for any LCD TV you buy.

For even more scintillating pictures, go with the 40-inches or larger TV that offers a 1920×1080 (1080p) native pixel resolution. Especially for those looking to play the Blu-ray Disc player this is almost indispensable.

5. Motion Response Time

Watching sports or action movies on LCD TV’s was never a satisfying experience with delayed motion response time. This has long been a handicap with LCD technology. LCD’s were not good at displaying fast moving images. This features has been improved upon over the years and now we can see a decent improvement. But you shouldn’t vouch for that only.

Look for the Motion Response Time in ms (milliseconds). Usually a response time of 12 ms is standard. The optimum is 8 ms.

6. Brightness

Already you are acquainted with the importance of brightness in TV. Lack of brightness make the picture muddy and soft. The best place to check-out brightness is a dark room. The brightness capability differs with viewing distance, screen size and ambient room light.

Brightness of 550 cd/m2 or higher is considered as standard. Don’t feel low if the numbers confuse you. Follow your instinct to see if the screen is bright enough to your eyes.

Again some of the LCD TVs have night viewing options with blue screen. So, if there is one, turn it on in the dark room and see how much do the dark scenes reveal.

7. Viewing Angle

In LCD TVs its crucial that you check the side-to-side viewing angle. Further make sure that the prime viewing angle offers a good view. The viewing angle ranges from 160 degrees to about 180 degrees for most of the TVs these days.

Take a test. Move 45 degrees either ways from the center viewing point. If the picture seems to fade or shadows appear, avoid the set.  For many members viewing from different angles, this can be a backbreaker.

8. Tuner and Connection

Well you don’t need to be a geek to check this.

Most of the recent LCD TVs come with built-in ATSC and NTSC tuners. The ATSC tuner would be receiving over-the-air TV broadcast signals only after February 17, 2009. In case you are looking to enjoy the HD cable you would require a QAM tuner. It is required to receive and decipher HD-cable programming without a cable box.

Further make sure that your LCD TV has a HDMI input. This is used to connect the HD sources such as Satellite Boxes, Upscaling DVD, HD cable or Blu-ray Disc player.

If your chosen brand satisfies you in all 8 categories, then the TV is a recommended buy. Don’t just trust the stickers around it. Be an inspector yourself and choose what is best for you.