Brands to avoid? Yeah, Blaupunkt lol
The only brands where you can be reasonably confident about quality are Panasonic, Sony, Samsung, LG, Sharp,Toshiba and Hitachi. Even then I am not convinced about the last two.
Most of the rest of the TV market is made up of cheap sets mass produced by either Vessel in Turkey or one of the generic brand manufacturers in China. Underneath the skin they're all the same. It's just the badge and software that changes on those budget sets. Brand names that used to stand for something in the 80's and 90's have been cashed in. They're worthless now as any sort of indicator of quality or durability. It's sad but that's how it is now. The telly market is cut throat. Most people now buy smaller TVs from supermarkets along with their groceries or sight unseen from catalogues or the web. Little regard is given to picture quality. It's price and features only that act as the buying guide. You are as safe with Blaupunkt as you are with Bush, Technika, Polaroid, and Tesco's value baked beans.