My friend is a casual TV watcher with a playstation 3 and dvd player. He wants a new 46 inch TV, but knows nothing of LCD TV's (besides knowing he wants one). The only spec he know he wants is that it should be 1080i (as most LCD TV are). What other specs should he be looking for and what's a promising brand?

All depends one how much he wants to spend. Contrast ratio is one thing. Number of HDMI inputs is another.

I think 2 HDMI inputs average? Or at least that's probably what he wants. I'm not quite sure what contrast ratio is. I saw some high one for way more.

I think 2 HDMI inputs average? Or at least that's probably what he wants. I'm not quite sure what contrast ratio is. I saw some high one for way more.

For the high-end tv's 2 HDMI inputs are normal. The higher the contrast-ratio the better the TV is able to reproduce the black scale, which has been a weakness in LCD tv's before. Anyway, you should just tell him to buy a monster DLP TV for the same price as a 46" LCD. As in, you could get a 62" or higher DLP for the same price, and you wouldn't be able to tell a difference in picture quality, because there nearly isn't.

What's DLP?

What's DLP?


This is DLP:

Newegg.com - MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC WD65733 65" 16:9 Black DLP Technology 1080p Rear-Projection HDTV - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16889248014)

It is a competing technology, it's not as thin, but you get more picture for the money.

Oh, I think I read something about this a while ago. New type of rear projection developed by Texas Instruments to prevent "shaky" pictures and burned bulbs. Anyway, thanks for the info, will report back to friend about the findings. Thanks!

1080p is the best resolution.