Help me buy my first HDTV! Will 60HZ cut it?

I'm finally making the move to HD... It's a bit late, I know, but I've kind of been dreading it. TV buying is expensive, to start. And yeah, the TV I have now is letterbox, and it's only SD, and it's a bulky CRT unit... but man, I love the thing. The colors are vibrant, the picture is sharp, and since it's a CRT there are no ghosting or input lag issues.

If it was widescreen, I'd just stay right where I am. The problem is, more and more games are being developed with a widescreen focus in mind. HUDs for letterbox TV's are getting worse and worse, and not having the additional screen space in FPS games is becoming a serious disadvantage. I keep noticing times when I would have seen someone that shot me in advance, if I had had a widescreen. So I want to finally make the move up.

Now for my needs:
My budget is limited. It needs to come out less than 500 bucks total, with tax and warranty.

Luckily the screen size isn't a big issue. I game in my bedroom, and never sit the TV very far away. Anything from 28" and 40" is acceptable. I'm shooting for 32".

It's mostly going to be a 360 gaming TV, with competitive multiplayer in mind, so it's important that the response time is quick, and there's no input lag.

Vibrant colors and sharpness are important to me, viewing angles less so, as long as I can sit in one spot and see the whole screen well. I find ghosting to be a huge annoyance, so the less issues a TV has with it, the better.

I can go with a 'monitor', though I'd really prefer something that has 2 HDMI inputs and meets the other qualifications. Any TV would need 2 HDMI. Any Component/Composite/DVI inputs are a bonus, but not necessary.

The more current the better... I've heard good thing about LED's and Samsung's are on sale for Black Friday and seem highly rated. 3D would be great, but not at the cost of picture quality.

Additional Questions:
Does 1080p Vs 720p matter on a screen size of 32"? How about a 38"? I know many games only run 720p, but I may be using this TV a while, so if 1080p makes a noticeable difference I'd like to try to future proof a bit.

120Hz Tv's seem a little out of my price range... will 60Hz do the job well enough to purchase? I could compromise and get a monitor of smaller size with fewer connections if it's that important.

Is it worth going LED over LCD?

Should I go with a 3 year warranty, or buy a 1 year, or stick with limited manufacturers?

TV's I've been considering:
http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-UN32E...TF8&qid=1353349147&sr=8-1&keywords=un32eh4003

You mention ghosting (or similar) multiple times. The refresh rate is going to be the number one reason for that to occur. You probably don't want a 60Hz TV, and you definitely don't want a plasma.

LED is just LCD with a light. Hard to say which is better without knowing what kind of lighting it will be in. Honestly I can't generally tell any difference between the two.

If it's taken you this long to get a flatscreen, get one that's 1080p. Your next upgrade will probably be to holodeck.

[quote name='JMusic']If it's taken you this long to get a flatscreen, get one that's 1080p. Your next upgrade will probably be to holodeck.[/QUOTE]

True that. Whatever they had in the movie Paycheck. :lol:

I enjoyed that movie Paycheck.

http://www.amazon.com/Westinghouse-...168&s=electronics&sr=1-1&tag=besttvforgami-20

This one is cheap enough, and has 120 HZ refresh... but is Westinghouse a good brand to buy?

A huge misconception about TVs and Gaming is 60hz to 120hz. The fact is an LCD/LED use a 120hz engine to decrease motion blurring, however many times they shut it off to increase response times to the TV. Read http://www.overstock.com/guides/best-features-for-gaming-televisions

it seems to be a good article read, btw any questions send me a message I sold TV's for 2 years. Oh and DO NOT BUY WESTINGHOUSE

[quote name='JMusic']You mention ghosting (or similar) multiple times. The refresh rate is going to be the number one reason for that to occur. You probably don't want a 60Hz TV, and you definitely don't want a plasma.

.[/QUOTE]

Just a quick question, why wouldn't OP want plasma?

Plasma's have higher refresh rates (600hz, I believe) and since the OP is worried about ghosting, wouldn't a higher refresh rate be better for that. Always heard that plasmas were good for fast moving like sports and games. Also, recent plasmas are a lot thinner now compared to older models

Tbh, I don't notice anything wrong with my 60hz when I game on it. Each to their own, I guess.

[quote name='JMusic']You mention ghosting (or similar) multiple times... you definitely don't want a plasma.
[/QUOTE]

Yeah this is absolutely false.

Plasma televisions have much better refresh rates (600Hz vs 60 or 120Hz) than LCD or LED TVs and do not have to worry about ghosting issues like LCD and LED TVs.

Plasma TVs are a great bang for your buck and the picture quality is fantastic. From my experience LCD TVs have a "colder" look while plasmas have a "warmer" look if this matters to you. Some say that plasma look better with movies while LCDs are better for gaming.

When I first purchased an HDTV years ago I ended up returning a Samsung LCD (top of the line) because of ghosting issues and instead went with a Panasonic Plasma. Don't regret my decision at all. The one knock on plasmas is that they will use more energy than LCD TVs.

Before plasmas would have issues with size and burn in but the plasmas of today are much thinner (almost as thin as most LCD) and burn in isn't really a problem especially after the 200 hour mark.

I'd recommend a Panny plasma if you are looking for quality picture. If you are set on LCD or LED, Samsung and Sony are the best bet for picture quality.

And as far as 720p and 1080p, from my experience unless you are going to go with a 42-50+ inch TV, you really cannot tell the difference with 1080p unless you are sitting 2-3 feet from the television.

There's a chart online explaining that the human eye blah blah blah....

http://carltonbale.com/1080p-does-matter/

Same some money and stick with 720p unless you are using the TV as a close computer monitor.

[quote name='antlp89']And as far as 720p and 1080p, from my experience unless you are going to go with a 42-50+ inch TV, you really cannot tell the difference with 1080p unless you are sitting 2-3 feet from the television.

There's a chart online explaining that the human eye blah blah blah....

http://carltonbale.com/1080p-does-matter/

Same some money and stick with 720p unless you are using the TV as a close computer monitor.[/QUOTE]

Much thanks! According to that I should go with 1080. It will be typically 4 feet or closer. I actually kind of want a smaller screen size so that I can put it close... maybe that's backwards thinking? XD It's for personal use, and I may use it as a monitor from time to time when I'm gaming and such, so...

Id go for a plasma. Better refresh, better colors and with the new tech very thin, lower power consumption and better blacks. Panasonic is the way to go for your money too.