Since I'm a bit of a techie and always have been, let me impart a little wisdom gained through experience when it comes to buying things.
1. Always do your homework. Read CUSTOMER AND Expert reviews at places like Bestbuy.com, amazon.com, and other electronics places.
2. When you buy, honestly....even if you decide to buy online, buy from a place that you can return it locally if you need to. Also, you'd be surprised, places like walmart.com and bestbuy.com and other local vendors often carry MANY more models online in addition to what they carry in their stores. Anyway, the ability to easily return something and not risk it get lost or damaged in the mail or not credited properly or having to incur expenses to ship it will seem like a Godsend.
3. When you buy it from a local place or even an online place that has a local avenue to return it, always go for the extra service plans, especially for t.v's. The newer technologies such as LED, LCD, and Plasma are nowhere NEAR as sturdy as the old-time CRT t.v. types. Some people have had the old tube televisions and monitors for 10-15 years before they even have one hiccup and then after a simple repair they can go another 10-15 years without even blinking. That technology has been around since 1934 (Germany) when they were first produced commercials for television sets. THAT is why they last such a long time, because we've had umpteen years to perfect them. But Plasmas, LED's, LCD's? Plasmas have only been around on a wider scale for 14 years, LCD's for around the same time frame if not a little less, and LED based technologies (Basically, they're all LED backlit LCD displays as opposed to being backlit by CFL tubes) for only around 3 years, although one trial model was available in 2004 but was still in its infancy.
So, what does this mean? Not enough time has passed for these technologies to be perfected very well, so when you buy make returns easy, extend the warranties, and do your homework! And this isn't just for tv's, but anything, really. Computer monitors, phones, stereo equipment...whatever you buy, protect yourself!
