Many people consider black level to be the best judge of a TVs' picture. This is essentially how well the set displays the blackest blacks. Are they deep black or a muddled grey or somewhere in between. Solid reproduction of black's allows a TV to give you a picture that pops off the screen. One good indicator is the set's contrast ratio. Generally the higher the contrast ratio the deeper the blacks. But be aware that many manufacturers provide artificially elevated contrast ratios (dynamic) to boost the number.