I'll ask the hubby about the tv thing when he gets home. He knows more than me about that kinda stuff.

Does this help any?

http://www.digitaltrends.com/home-theater/led-vs-lcd-tvs/

yes, it tells me that the lcd can have led backlight... full array is better but that probably won't be what is in the 200.00 tv! lol! but while the other (I guess non full array led) look so much worse in the article pic, IRL I probably won't notice it - at least w/out a better tv in front of me to compare with... so i'll go with what I can afford. the 200.00 tv! thx!

wendy, let me know what dh says. maybe he'll know if my thoughts (above) are correct. that's what I get from WBs article.

We had to replace our TV last year and bought an LG. Seems fine. The only complaint is the sound is weird. I corrected it by turning the base all the way up and that helped with the tinny sound that actually hurt my ears. There is a speaker jack and it just came to me I could plug in my little speakers for better sound. Will have to try that. DOH on me. Our TV was 199.00 shipped from Rakuten. We got 100 off because I got a credit card through them. Waited until that was all set up them bought the TV.BUT you only have X amounts of months to do so with the card and I think it is now 50.00 instead of 100. Heck some one going to give me 100 for opening a credit card I will do it.

As far and the LED/LCD I am clueless. I just let Joe deal with it and if this TV goes out and Joe is no longer here I will not be buying another one. I can watch any TV I am interested in, which is very little, on my computer. We get no local stations and I am not going to pay for TV.

I've been fine with my 20.00 used big monster. I switched to using the one my sister gave me because I thought the sound would be better - and it had the jacks in back for adding speakers if not. it only worked for a few months tho, so back to using my old one. i'll go ahead soon and buy another for my bedroom for now - with the capability to add speakers. and put this one in the other room.

I have noticed that the sound gets so much louder at commercials. I notice it mostly at night. that bugs me a lot - it seems blaring at night.

I'm not a fan of these new smart tvs - maybe the 199.00 one isn't smart. I can hope so!

The sound getting louder at commercials is to draw your attention to them. They seem to think making it louder is better. Makes me crazy. No idea what a smart TV is either. I have not tried the speakers yet. Maybe I will do that tomorrow.

I read this online - 'Tiny LEDs are already replacing the tubes that light up LCD HDTVs to make dramatically thinner televisions.' that tells me that the LED is the inside light and the LCD is something different

The tubes mentioned are roughly comparable to the fluorescent tubes you see in the ceilings of commercial buildings. LEDs not only allow for thinner TVs; they also tend to provide a more consistent backlight than tubes.

I also read that on a tv 40" or less 720p will not be noticeably different than one at 1080p.

True -- when you're watching the TV at typical distances (say, across a living room or bedroom). You would see a difference if you stuck your face up against the screen, but I think it's unlikely you'll do that. :-)

I would not go out of my way to buy a 720p TV instead of a 1080p TV. But in your case I would not pay more for a TV just to get 1080p.

I do plan to go for one that is 32" - larger than I'm used to but it won't take up more space than this 'ol tub here .

One thing to be aware of is that new TVs have screens which are shaped differently. The screen on your "ol tub" is roughly square. New TVs have screens which are far more rectangular.

When I bought my first high-definition TV, I was replacing a 20" "tub". To get a picture that was just as tall as the 20" TV, I had to buy a 26" high-definition TV. You didn't say how big your old TV is. But keep in mind -- maybe even measure -- how tall your current TV's screen is; you'll want a TV with a screen at least that tall.

Also keep in mind that the new TV will be much wider than your old one. Make sure the new TV will fit where you want to put it.

I can get one for around 199.00 at W or another local appl store. W has one for 158.00, a TCL that has roku, but it is Chinese made. other brands are like Vizio, Sanyo, Samsung, RCA. any of those seem fine to me. the RCA has a dvd with it.

"Chinese made" is not necessarily a bad thing. They're pretty much all made in China now. Even if the TV is assembled in another country, the vast majority of the parts are from China.

As other posters mentioned, stick to name brands. But beware: some brands from the past are now merely labels. Admiral, Emerson, Magnavox, RCA, and Westinghouse used to be name brands, but that was years ago. They're now just labels.

The best TVs you can buy in the U.S. right now come from Sony or Samsung. LG and Panasonic are a bit further down the pecking order. Some people put Sharp and Vizio at this level; I don't put Vizio there because I think there's a little too much inconsistency in their supply chain (see the next paragraph). Sanyo is one of Funai's brands; it's OK but not great. TCL and HiSense, as native Chinese brands, seem to have growing positive reputations.

The reason to think twice about lesser-known brands is what happens if you have problems with the TV a couple of years down the road.

I don't think any current TV has 20-30 years in it like some of the old tube TVs did. But the no-name TVs often mix and match parts on the assembly line based on the best price for the lot. And the company's service network typically is far smaller than the bigger names. The cheapest no-name TVs are essentially disposable if they break outside of warranty. Save money buying one knowing you're gambling on ever being able to fix it.

Might also want to consider:

http://www.cnn.com/2015/02/11/opinion/schneier-samsung-tv-listening/

Steph, the hubby wasn't very helpful. But you are right, yes.

About the pots, I have thrown out everything with Teflon long ago due to flaking in your food, etc... The possibility was enough for me. It has been a good 16 years with plain, uncoated stainless steel cookware and it has been very easy to maintain. Things still clean off it fine.

handmethathammer - thx for the info on the pot. I'll look for a SS one. I only need one about 4 qt. I know growing up we didn't have this non stick stuff and had to clean pots... couldn't have too hard since we were kids doing dishes and mom never complained! besides, i'll only use it for soup - so unless I fall asleep and forget it i'll be ok. Anyway if I do that I'd probably have a bigger problem than a pan to clean... over the yrs I've used mostly corning ware but the larger pots are too heavy for me these days.

steve - thx for all your info. I did read about the LED being the back lights... what was confusing was then looking online and when filtering to limit a search, they list tvs by LED or LCD or ? whatever else...

I won't choose the 720p unless it's a good deal different in price. I surely won't be up that close to the screen for anything... I spect if I think these old tube pics are good I'd be fine with a 720p tho.

the 'tub' I have now is 26" or so. there's a few inches all around it of tv 'frame' - more on the bottom w/the buttons. so I think the 32" will be fine. I did measure mine and the new one might be an inch or so wider - but I have the room for that in the space it will be. I just won't have that big black framing around the screen anymore.

i'll probably stick to vizio, Samsung or even sanyo. I tend to stay away from odd brands if I can. I try to stay away from buying Chinese when I can... not possible for parts. if the tv lasts 20 yrs, it'll probably outlive me...

thx again for all the help!