Since this is for in-laws and (agreeably) older people
, you should not worry about IPS or VA panels. Just demo in the showroom for all LEDs in the price range (budget) and choose the best you like. While demo'ing, do the following:
- visit a multi-brand shop rather than a single brand as this will be the best place to compare various models
- showrooms set the picture mode to Vivid/Dynamic that accentuate brightness, over saturated colours, etc. This is not how we watch at home. Change the setting to "Natural", "Normal" or "Standard".
- do a factory reset as well for these settings; insist with the salesman to do what you tell him to do. He will say that, that is not how it is done; these are factory settings, etc. Tell him to do it your way or you will walk away.
Then ...
- first check with the worst quality source such as a news channel
- next check with a non-HD sports channel, non-HD entertainment channel, etc.
- next check with HD channels
- look out for colours, sharpness, blacks/dark area details (e.g., a cupboard in the shadows, does it show clearly?), etc.
Trust your eyes.
Next is haggle and bargain. There may not be much bargain with Sony but others are flexible. Croma is also adamant on pricing. Visit lesser/smaller stores which may be more flexible.
