Does anyone understand the technical data about LCD TVs?

[SlightlyMadSky]

Looking at a 15.4" Widescreen LCD

has a 500:1 contrast ratio
500CD/M
1024 * 768 resoluction
HDMI

Is that good, bad, indifferent?

Contrast ratio is the difference between it's brightest and blackest settings. Goto PC world or somewhere and you'll see all the cheaper LCD monitors (like mine, 300:1 contrast ratio) go from dark grey to white. Pay more and you get a better contrast. And in night scenes, things actually look black as opposed to dark grey.

500Cd/M - Candles per metre squared = Brightness of the screen. More brighter the better, I think.

1024 by 768 is the number of pixels on screen. More pixels, finer picture. If you've got windows, right click on the desktop, click 'properties', click on the 'settings' tab and play with the screen resolution slider to see what effect the different resolutions have on your computer. Should give you an idea of how things would look on your TV.

HDMI - This is where my tech knowledge runs out. Wikipedia says High-Definition Multimedia Interface is the replacement for SCART and Co-Ax interface standards, so you might need to check compatibility with videos, Dvd players digiboxes etcetera.