Contrasting food for thought

Yesterday I spent an informative 15 minutes in the TV-store looking for a new set. I had all my requirements with me (see here). I noticed that all LCD-TV's had two extra properties that sounded interesting: brightness and contrast-ratio.
The brightness varied from 400 Cd/m² to 650 Cd/m². The contrast ratio varied from 500:1 to 6000:1. The lady from the store informed me that the contrast ratio is the amount of colour differences you're able to see. And the higher the better. It turned out that the philips screen I'd been eying has a contrast ratio of 1200:1 whereas a similar looking (design-wise) Samsung set has a 4000:1 with the newer model having a 5000:1 ratio. These are big differences which has its impact on the price. The Philips costs €449,- where the Samsungs cost € 649,- and € 749,- respectively.

Food for thougth,
Zaaf