[Jeffhs]

One problem flat-screen TVs with LED backlights cannot have is inverter failure, as LED backlights do not need an inverter as do FPs with CCFLs in that position. That's one less thing to worry about going bad.

VK member andy makes a very good point regarding the reliability of flat screen TVs. I agree with him that the reliabilty issue has been overblown. As I have mentioned before in previous posts, my Insignia 19" LCD flat screen is five years old now (it was manufactured in May 2011) and is still working every bit as well as it did the day I bought it. I am expecting it to last a few more years, but if it doesn't, I have my 20-year-old Zenith Sentry 2 ready to replace it.

I think flat screens, which have been with us now for some time and have all but completely replaced CRT sets in American and Canadian homes, have come a very long way from the very first ones, which often did fail within two years or less (!) of initial purchase. Today's FPs, except the very cheap no-name ones (Polaroid, Element, Craig, et al.) found at CVS, Rite Aid or bargain-basement discount stores, are much more reliable, with most issues stemming from design flaws and/or from the use of very cheap (read $.05 or even less) capacitors and other parts. These are much more likely to be damaged beyond repair by lightning strikes and other electrical hazards, although any TV (FP or CRT), even the expensive large-screen ones, or other electronic device can be damaged by a close strike and certainly by a direct hit on the AC line from which the set is powered, or a strike on a cable line, although of course the cable box (if used) will likely be damaged first if lightning hits the cable.