If you’re looking for a flat-panel HDTV with the best picture and sound quality for the money – and don’t mind if it doesn’t have 3-D capability or some built-in internet gimmicks, get a Hitachi LED TV like this one. It has a sharp picture which it can upsample smoothly to 1080p even from standard-definition (SD) programs. Those are still surprisingly common on cable and satellite, and SD sources include 480-line DVD players and VHS tapes. (Yeah, I still have and watch those occasionally!)

This 46″ Hitachi L46S604 is also a Best Buy in Consumer Reports, which rated it highest for both picture and sound. Hitachi is a reliable, high-end brand, but somewhat hard to find. It’s designed in Japan but assembled in Mexico, like a lot of TVs nowadays. I am very happy I discovered it a nearby Sears Outlet store (brand-new, not refurbished) for about 0. That’s about the same as from online retailers, but with the assurance of being able to exchange it easily and without huge shipping costs if there was a problem. I have read it was also available at Sam’s Club, but I’m not a member.

The picture is beautiful and very sharp and smooth, whether in true HD from Blu-Ray or off-the-air, or from VHS tapes. Blu-ray and off-the-air HD is startlingly sharp, and prompted me to turn down the “Sharpness” setting on movies. When I look hard I can detect slight variations in brightness and the blacks are probably not as black as on the best plasma sets, but unless you have something to compare side-by-side, I think you’ll be more than satisfied with it. The 120Hz processor smooths out choppiness compared to 60Hz on rapid scene movements. One nice thing is that you can adjust the intensity of the motion compensation from lot to high, and if you don’t like the effect, you can also turn it off.

It wouldn’t be fair to compare it with 600Hz plasma for motion reproduction, but in my opinion the superior upsampling of DVDs and clear sound (and lower energy consumption) more than compensate for that. I should note that I was initially dead-set on buying a plasma, probably a Panasonic; but after reading detailed reviews on CNET and Amazon, and shopping around, this Hitachi LCD was a better deal and had many advantages, such as much less reflection, no risk of burn-in, and a brighter picture (when desired for daytime viewing).

But the best thing about this TV may be the sound quality! It really seems that NO OTHER TV from any other brand sounds as good!

Am I nuts, recommending an HDTV for sound quality? Of course, purists might be using their surround-sound system for audio and the TV is strictly a monitor. I also use my high-end surround system for movies and TV, but as in many families, the wife and young kids generally can’t be bothered to use a ,000 7.1-speaker audio setup. They just want to watch a TV show like “Dancing with the Stars” or cartoons. And truth be told, with sound is this good, I also don’t fire up my 750-watt AV receiver and 350-watt sub just to watch the news or to channel-surf. But I’m glad I don’t have to compromise a lot and put up with the tinny, unnatural sound emanating from most other HDTVs, which is a major annoyance for many. The differences in sound quality among TVs are subjectively much greater picture quality.

Another thing I like about this TV are the large number and variety of inputs: 4 HDMI (including 1 with optional analog audio, needed for some PCs); 2 component video + stereo audio; 2 S-video (VERY unusual nowadays) or 2 RCA composite video with stereo audio; and 1 S-VGA (PC) + analog 3.5mm stereo audio. It also has a built-in USB port for viewing photos as a slide show from memory sticks, which is wonderful. There’s also a 3.5mm/mini stereo headphone output.

The remote has large, clear buttons and backlighting as well as ability to control a DVD player, satellite/cable box, and VCR. The menu interface is also clear and easy to understand. Changing channels is quick, and displays the channel and station letters in an elegant white-outlined box in the upper right-hand corner for a few seconds.

As for the lack of built-in internet capability: If you want to browse the internet via TV, just connect your own PC or Mac to the TV, either via the HDMI or SVGA inputs. If you want to watch downloaded movies, if I am not mistaken your PC or Mac will not only be able to get anything that the latest high-end TV can and more, but for less money, and record it on the hard drive to boot. The only real issue is placement, but there are very compact network PCs and media servers designed for that.

This Hitachi TV outputs audio via both analog stereo RCA jacks and Toslink digital optical audio. (However, the Toslink output only works for TV broadcasts, not for any input sources.) This is very important for connection to an AV receiver without built-in audio delay…