I’ve seen a WIDE range of LCD picture quality, even on new models in the same size/price range. I saw a cheap $800 Samsung that was unwatchable around super bowl time in the store in 2008, it had AWFUL viewing angles and its “black” was yucky grey. Then I’ve seen pretty decent LCDs with good viewing angles, but they weren’t 100% perfect either, they had only a slight viewing angle issue. http://www.google.com/search?num=100&hl=en&lr=&q=lcd+screen+quality+crt&as_qdr=m&btnG=Search Also keep in mind TVs are calibrated to be super bright in the showroom both to overcome the birght light and because the brightest picture grabs consumers’ attention and that’s the one they’ll likely buy. http://www.google.com/search?num=100&hl=en&lr=&q=hdtv+calibration&as_qdr=m&btnG=Search It’s true of all display technologies AFAIK. I think consumers like it that way as well. I’ve never heard a non technical person ask me to calibrate their TV, or even ask what that means. I KNOW a lot of consumers never calibrate their TVs properly. Then there’s LED backlight LCDs Vs. cold cathode fluorescent backlit LCDs. I’ve been told that many manufacturers outsource the making of the display and may even switch suppliers during a production run. I don’t know first hand if that’s true. I’ve seen many CRT monitors with junk circuitry in them, and that caused more problems (blur, bad black levels, washed out picture) than the actual tube itself. Also, CRTs loose their brightness over time. Normally, you shouldn’t compare your new LCD to a 15 year old CRT that’s run 12 hours per day everyday. One exception is the Samsung SyncMaster 930B LCD (NOT MINE!). Horrible rubish. Bad vieing angle, motion blur, “kinda black” blacks, and light leakage. My 1995 cheap Acer picture tube monitor IS better than this. My laptop LCD actually has color issues around the edges of moving objects but when they hold still it’s fine. I’ll tolerate it a little on portables, not on my main monitor. It’s really not that simple to compare X is always better than Y. I’ve seen plasma has better viewing angles than the best LCDs in the store next to it, but LCD has a sharper picture and plasma flickers. http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=plasma+flickers&btnG=Google+Search No display technology is perfect yet. When I choose replace my imperfect tube with something else that something else WILL NOT be another imperfect display. I’ll look at LASER TV when it comes out to see if the hype is really worth it, but I don’t think I’ll buy one. ALL MODERN TELEVSIONS HAVE DRM!!! 
:r :r :r :r http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=hdcp&btnG=Search HDCP and the DMCA give Hollywood control over what hardware manufacturers can sell and what features they can include. http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=dmca&btnG=Search Remember VCRs? We’ll have no new cool gadgets like that without Hollywood’s permission, and they didn’t give permission for the VCR in the first place, so we’ll have no cool gadgets like that in the future.
