Purchasing a new flat panel TV is unnecessarily confusing for many.  Almost as much as price and size matter, knowing the viewer’s preferred picture matters as well.  Of course, that viewer may be you.

After satisfying their size, budget, and longevity concerns, many buyers will say that they want the best picture.  It’s this last point where the confusion can be avoided.  How?  They should figure out if “best” is for them.   For our purposes here, “best” will be defined as the TV having the most accurate image as determined by standard display testing using test equipment.  There are some relatively easy ways to decide if “best” is for you.  First, consider that the best picture has little to do with how vibrant the image looks in a room with electric or natural light. At roughly 4 times the resolution of even your best flat panel TV, the finest picture resolution by far is what you’re seeing at your better movie theaters (i.e. Some movie theaters show beat-up prints or digital movies, so we can’t count those.)  Well, that’s a pretty bad picture the theaters have got going—until the lights go down.  With the lights up, it’s washed out.

Like in the movie theater, if you go for the absolute best picture in your home then you need to watch with the lights very low.  This is because if your TV is adjusted to show maximum resolution, it won’t look too good with the lights up.  Right off the bat, our group of people who truly want the best picture has gotten a lot smaller.  If you’re someone so ruled out, then worrying over the absolute best picture performance might be a waste.

Of course, the best approach to buying a TV is to buy  from an experienced audio/video systems designer.   But, if you also like to learn on your own, a relatively fast (i.e. about 1 hour) and easy way to learn how to discriminate among displays, and to learn if “best” really interests you, is to watch the video portion of a particular test DVD.   I have personal experience using Joe Kane’s Video Essentials, so I can recommend that one.  For purposes of learning what makes a good picture, it doesn’t matter which version of Video Essentials, but if you think you will use the disc to maximize the picture on your new TV, then get the Blu-ray version.

If you’re so inclined, you could supplement the above knowledge by reading flat panel display reviews in Widescreen Review, Sound and Vision and Home Theater Magazine.  I’ve found that all of these offer good information.  (I’ve seen misleading information in the New York Times and Consumer Reports—so beware.)  After reading two issues worth of reviews from each of these you’ll come away a bit smarter.  But, you really won’t know what they’re talking about without doing the test DVD exercise I mentioned.  And, unless something dramatic changes, I’ll bet you a steak dinner that if you read these reviews start to finish you’ll realize that the best displays are mostly plasmas.  (This is a heated issue for people who aren’t videophiles—but videophiles, and testers–know it to be true.)

If you want to spend still more time, and poorly, deciding which display to buy then:

1. read the manufacturer’s performance specifications.  (For maximal waste of time, look at the contrast ratio.)
2. compare displays by viewing them at a large retail chain.
3. skim TV equipment reviews and don’t read between the lines for the acknowledgment that the piece under review isn’t the best.

I’ve found that most people would be much happier had they spent less on their TV and put the extra money towards an automated remote.  One button press and you’re watching TV, one button press and you’re watching DVD, one button press and you’re listening to music.  A system that is so easy to use is the stuff of make-believe in most people’s minds.  But, give them such a remote, and they’ll never go back.  Give them the “best” picture, and they may resent the fact that it’s achievable only in low light.