Big Screen TV Reviews.
All Brands, All Prices.

The reviews should be taken to heart. I have tried to provide ratings in several different categories, and also by brand.

Important Tip - Shopping online is a bonus because of your choice of selection, but most importantly free shipping is offered by some retailers. This is an extra bonus if you're considering a 70" inch TV that weighs over 300 pounds.

The TV is the most crucial element of a great home theater experience, accordingly it is also the most costly. That's why great care should be taken in your research and your choice of a TV so that you get the features and functionalities you want.

In the big screen TV reviews section you'll notice that surprisingly, the majority of TVs do a decent job. However, I've noticed increased price has no bearing whatsoever on performance. Remember that. Brand is probably your key in being happy with your purchase. Panasonic, Sony, Toshiba, and RCA are the leaders here. I own a Panasonic 36" direct view (cathode-ray) television.

Here are some reviews of leading Big Screen TV manufacturer offerings.
1. Samsung
2. Sony
3. Panasonic
4. Toshiba
5. Sharp
6. Philips
7. JVC

TV size. Believe me, it is possible to buy too big of a TV for your home theater system. I'm guilty of that crime! When in college, my roommate and I decided to buy a nice big 36" television for our home theater system. Unfortunately, when we brought it home and set it up it was much too large for the small living room we had at the time. I wish I had access to big screen TV reviews before I bought! Viewers were forced to sit too close to the TV and from that vantage point the resolution was bad and the horizontal display lines were clearly visible. So don't go out and buy that 56 incher just yet! The larger the room that will be home to your big screen TV, the greater size TV you can reasonably purchase. I cover more details like this one in the HT Room Design section of the site.

Take a look at the room in which you want to setup your home theater system. Where is the big screen TV going to go? OK, now take another look at the room. Will the big screen TV fit there? For this you must know its "footprint"; how much area it's base will occupy on the floor. Or, will it fit in your current entertainment system cubbyhole? OK, take one last look at the room, imagine the TV sitting in it's spot. Where will the people be sitting in relation to that monster TV? Probably too close for the size of TV you have in mind. Here are some guidelines.

Nowadays expect to pay $400-$500 for a good quality 27" set. This is the minimum size you should consider for home theater (I provide some ratings of 27" models in the big screen TV reviews). I actually recommend at least 36" or bigger. That will set you back between $700 and $1000. In the middle of that range are 32" sets which is what the majority of you will buy. They will cost anywhere between $600 and $700. Each of the different categories in the big screen TV reviews section covers these price ranges.

Now all of the sizes above are available as direct view (tube), plasma, etc. However, 40" is the current cutoff. Above 40", direct view is not an option. You will have now entered the realm of rear projection TV. Unfortunately picture quality suffers somewhat for the change in technology, but the image is larger. Your choice. The big screen TV reviews will definitely help.

I'm going to outline some key features to consider when purchasing a new television. Many of these functions are also considered in some of the big screen TV reviews.

Flat tube - The standard curved tube screen of the last 70 years has been challenged. Surprisingly, I don't see the difference in picture quality that the manufacturers claim and the pundits like to brag about. You're on your own with this one, but don't necessarily believe the hype - and definitely don't pay more!

Picture-in-Picture (PIP) - Once you've had it, you won't know how you did without it. PIP allows you to watch one channel, while in a section of the screen is another picture playing a different channel. That's right. You're watching two at once! Very handy for surfing for something else while watching a channel you're not sure you want to leave. Make sure the TV has two tuners built in for its PIP or else the cable hookup is messy and complicated.

Direct view or Projection? - I touched on this already in big screen tv reviews, but consider whether size is more important for you (projection set) at the cost of picture quality. Or is picture quality more important to you (direct view) at the cost of size (maximum 36"). Think about it.

HDTV? HD-ready? - HDTV sets are going to be the norm of tomorrow. Do you get one now? Up to you, but you will pay for it. I cover HDTV as a section in the big screen TV reviews. HDTV sets are considerably more expensive than other sets. HD-ready sets have the ability to display HD video but lack the digital tuner of HDTV sets. They are cheaper than HDTV sets but a digital receiver will be necessary down the road (~$650). Conventional sets will be able to display HD signals with the use of a converter but the video performance will of course be sub-optimal compared to HDTV.

Sound and Speakers - This is an easy one. You shouldn't even care that the TV you buy has speakers! You are going to be playing your sound through your fancy new home theater setup. The receiver and speakers of your home theater system take over for the TV speakers. In fact, you will want to shut off the TV speakers altogether when using your home theater setup. If not, the TV speakers will interfere and ruin the sound dynamics! Most TVs have a menu and options to shut off its speakers. You will also have to configure the TV audio output to recognize the receiver is taking over. Read the manual of your TV for home theater setup options.

Front Mounted audio/video Inputs - A huge bonus when hooking up camcorders for playback or hooking and unhooking video game consoles. Front mounted jacks save you from having to squirrel behind the TV and entertainment console to hook up your A/V accessories. Definitely recommended.

My TV is the favorite component of my home theater system. The big screen TV reviews section could conceivably be 1000s of pages long. But the reality is, from all of the sets, features and options to choose from, the best set is the one that you can afford.

Click to see my reviews for all types of big screen TVs.