Buying a 42-Incher. LCD, HELP !!

First of all, Mods: I did search, and the info helped, what i am looking for is specific and updatedinput since some new technologies seem to be emerging plus the fact that not all brands are available here. Just stating for the record.

Hello everyone,

I'm looking into getting a good 42" HDTV for the family, 720p probably since 1080p is VERY overpriced here in Egypt. Preferably LCD but i'm willing to look at plasmas too.

Big note : The only brands available here are the following: Philips, Toshiba (mostly Regza), Sony (but not the high-end Bravias), Samsung, Benq, LG, VERY few models of Panasonic and some weird brands like "Hisense", "Universal", probably some chinese shit.

So please answer me the following:

- What specs are the "bare-minimum" acceptable? Response time, contrast ratio, etc?

- Are some brands superior to others?

- The set will be used mainly to watch movies/TV, almost no gaming will be done in it, but i might get an Xbox 360 sometime soon so it would help if it was ready for that in case i use it on their set (heard motion-blurring can be a dog on those things)

That's all, general advice and product specific if you have the experience/time, money is not a big problem since it's for the family home so dad's paying. But i don't wanna advise him of anything too expensive. Also, they're big fans of bright lights so please keep that in mind.

Thanks in advance

Jam it back in, in the dark.

But if LCDs are equally "shit", what's the alternative? Plasma? If so, gimme an example what to look for.
What's the minimum acceptable response time these days?
And the JVC you saw, which model was it?

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Dudes, DUUUUDES..

THANK YOU everyone, seriously.

But please, although you're all probably right in your views, you bashing Megalith because he said CRT's are the best is totally wrong. CRTs ARE the best image quality, HD CRTs, that is.

You may not have seen good CRTs, but i'm telling you, the difference is big enough to notice, they are superior to both flat screen formats.
This may sound weird, why then am i looking for an LCD?
The thing is : I have young brothers and sisters, and they tend to watch the TV from up close. If health is of any importance (and it is to us), a set with little to no radiation is an obvious advantage. Hence the preference for LCDs over Plasmas and then CRTs.

Also, the ergonomic factor is a big plus, as i read somewhere on the AVS forum, flat screens have a high "WAF", Wife Approval Factor. I just add "MAF" , and even "FAF" and it seems pretty obvious what i should be looking for.

That said, thank you all for your input. I'm currently looking at a sharp Aquos 42" set, which looks absolutely stunning (With no "red push" and an EXCELLENT viewing angle). I especially love the black levels on it. Might reaaally get it.

Thank you all again !

Edit: Oh one more thing, can you recommend any HD videos i can download that i could use to "tweak" the set (forget AVIA and such, i mean a regular HD video , also to show off the detail)

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Thanks ever so.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?