OK, in a nut shell:

• LCD - It stands for Liquid Crystal Display and without getting too technical it is  the type of TV, the other is Plasma
• HDTV - High Definition TV
• HDMI - High Definition Multimedia Interface is a type of cable to connect electronics to HDTVs

Keep in mind, not all LCD’s are HD. Check the box, owner manual or the TV itself, if it’s HD it will say it somewhere.

If you are using cable or satellite, your good to go but if you are on an antenna or rabbit ears, you’ll need to buy a digital converter box by February of 2009.

If you’re one of the Flintstones, you may still be using an old-fashioned curved-screen television. It’s time to switch up to one of the new DLP TV, don’t you think?

All types of flat panel televisions - from LCD display televisions to plasma TVs and projector units, are superior to old screens in a variety of ways. They don’t lose definition when seen from the edges, making those least-desired seats in your living room perfectly acceptable. They also have significantly better resolution than old-style televisions. You may still be able to make out the pixels when you sit close, but because high def television sets use digital technology instead of less-accurate analog, they have a much superior picture, either in still frames or motion. And they are designed to work well with all the latest technology, from blu-ray to HDTV.

Up until recently, flat-screen sets have been on the expensive side, and a lot of people who needed a new set were waiting until the prices came down a little. Well - it’s time. Small LCD TVs cost what an old-fashioned television would cost, if you could still find them, and even the large screens are often under a thousand dollars.

Before you buy, though, you need to (more…)

This information is based on Consumer Report.

LCD and plasma TVs bought between 2004 and 2007 that have ever been repaired or had a serious problem.

Plasma

Panasonic 2%
Pioneer 3%
Samsung 5%
Phillips 8%

LCD

Panasonic 2%
Sony 3%
Sharp 3%
Samsung 3%
Toshiba 3%
JVC 3%
Phillips 4%
Hitachi 9%
Dell 11%

This data are based on nearly 75,000 reader responses about flat panel TVs to their Annual Product Reliability Survey conducted by the Consumer Reports National Research Center.