42 in tv

[meckpj]

So ive never bought a tv before in my life and i have no idea what to get.

I know i want a 42 in and something i can plug a computer in to and has a couple of hdmi inputs.

I thought i heard that lcds were better then plasmas, is that true? Is there a brand that is better then others? Is there brands to stay away from?

Overall the tvs have so many numbers and things on them that i dont know what they do so im just real confused. Any help would be great im just really lost.

Thank you for your time if you help me out.

[IceWeasel]

if you plan to use it as a monitor I would suggest getting a 1080p model, because it will support higher resolutions.

there are different levels of brands that tend to be broken down like this:

Entry-level => Vizio > Olevia > Westinghouse
Mid-level => Philips
High-level => Samsung > Panasonic > Sharp

this is purely from memory, so i may not have all of my facts straight. plasmas are known to have better black levels, but i believe LCDs have a higher refresh rate (?). i think most people that use HDTVs as monitors use LCDs over plasmas.

[IceWeasel]

depending on your budget, you could get the following:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8955302&type=product&id=1216424111160

with the Xbox 360 combo and $200 NFLshop.com gift card... that's a pretty sweet deal! You could just try to return or sell the Xbox if you want to cut the overall cost down.