haidcar wrote1) prices on 32" flat screens TV is not that hight to begin with, you can buy one from as slow as 300$ but a good model will set you back 400-500$. there might be some holiday promotions that you need to check them out.
2) make sure the TV supports 1080p, and 120hz refresh rate if you want the best gaming experience, (ps3, xbox360) and watching sports, and it should have at least 2 HDMI ports.
3) Sony, Samsung, LG are the best. I personally prefer Sony.
4) LED TVs are in fact LCD TVs, the only difference that LED TVs uses LED back light, while LCD TVs use CFL back lighting. LED back light is supposed better, providing brighter picture, higher contrast ratio, deeper black levels, all that while being more energy efficient that stand LCD TVs. There are two types of LED TV Edge lit, and full array lit. edge lit have the LEDs around the edge of the screen, while array lit have the led behind the screen. full array is supposed to give the better picture quality, but its thicker and more expansive that edge lit LED TV.
Plasma TVs are completely different concept they use a gas to produce the picture. Plasma TVs usually have the best picture quality and best black level, they are also the cheapest. however they suffer from burn in effect, if you have a static image on the screen (channel logo) it might leave a mark on the screen after a while. Plasma TVs are suited for large screen you will have hard time finding plasma screens bellow 40".
5) you need to look around, Sony World does some good promotions, I believe CTC Samsung does the same.
thank you haidcar for this interesting answer. I was just wondering if you have a particular sony or Samsung model in mind?
