I recently bought a new TV after 4 years. I documented the process here medium.com But when should you buy a new TV? What features do you need/want?

For me, TV watching comes down to how effectively does it display the type of content I'm interested in. For sports, 1080i, for dramas, 720P. For movies, 1080p at 24fps.

My TV is always located in a dark room, so lighting issues aren't a problem. The upside is that deep blacks matter a great deal more than in a semi-lit room.

Since all my inputs come from 3rd party boxes, the TV UI doesn't really play a role.

I think 2D picture quality is always first. For some people gaming is a consideration.

I agree with you (all of the types of content I mentioned were 2D). We're nowhere near the point at which 3D content is more than just a sales gimmick, which is a problem because the discussion about what makes for good picture quality gets lost in all the marketing bullshit.

The flipside is that understanding what makes for good picture quality is hard. Even I would take a while to process all the data in the article below.

In general, what you see in a big box store is way too bright. TV manufacturers jack the brightness because we think it looks good at first. It looks vivid. But when you get that home it will exhaust you.

With every new TV, turn the brightness down.

Isn't the problem that the overhead lighting will screw up any realistic in-store evaluation? I pretty much always make up my mind about {electronic device} online before I go into the store.

It's only if something looks horribly, horribly wrong in person do I go back to the drawing board and consider a different device.

I think it's a combination of things... overhead lighting, source material, calibration. A store is not a place to audition a TV.

12 times better than HD is on its way. bbc.co.uk