LCD TV buying guide

[ZXR]

Hi,
I'm wanting to buy an LCD tv to replace my ageing analogue tv. I've seen a few that I like on paper but the images on screen don't look that impressive in reality.
Most tv shops such as Currys / Dixons etc have all their tvs run off a dvd player which obviously shows off the tv's best capabilities but when switched to Freeview off air pics look blocky and lacking in contrast even on BBC 1 / Itv which tend to have higher bitrates than say Five US . Is Freeview really that poor ?
Another question is watching Freeview I've noticed poor definition in the darker areas of the picture such as blockiness and poor rendition of darker colours. The effect is similar to those 1980's pop videos where the colours looked like they were pastel pictures without much definition in the darkr greys of the image.
My question is what do I look for or ask for to ensure that I get a tv which at least matches the picure rendition of my 14 year old analogue tv ?
Can anyone recommend a good shop to buy from with knowledgeable staff rather than the usual 'Saturday staff ' that most high st. retailers seem to rely on these days.

[buildersmate]

John Lewis for TVs.
Personally I rate Sony for LCD. There are about 5 different quality ranges - denoted by an alpha character in the product code. From memory the W and X are the higher quality products.

[ACtheTROLL]

If you go to Currys / Dixons etc ... the first thing to ask for is an assistant that can stay out later than 7:30!

no use looking on paper ... however good the spec it's the picture wot counts. (panasonic are supposed to be top notch (I prefered my tosiba))

having said that what HI-fi has a review of just about every telly in the universe

you do need to visit a shop with the biggest selection the signal should be spot on ... and I think a couple of visits - but also bear in mind when you are playing with the buttons .... you are not the first ....

my telly picture is pretty good ... it has the usual settings plus picture temperature .... and a thing called black stretch which increases the contrast.

got to say I took at least a week tweaking the settings and we took a couple of weeks to get used to the picture ... but now .... accept no substitutes

my personal preference is for a 32" (viewed from about 14 foot)... one of our neighbours has a 52" job ... and it hurts my neck ... but it's a personal judgement

[MrBounty]

I would also advise that anything over 32", you should seriously consider Plasma.

With regards to the dodgy picture when viewing in shops, i did ask a shop assistant why that was and he told me that it was due to the shop getting one tv signal in, then that signal being distributed to however many tvs there are in the shop - obviously, by the time the signal gets to every tv, the pitcure quality will reduce dramatically.