•4:01 PM
HDTV sets are here to stay. With prices anywhere from a couple hundred dollars up into the tens of thousands, it's important to do your research and find an unbiased review. Even though the salesman at your local best buy store is probably a good guy, you can often find some great HDTV deals online as well if you know what to look for. You want to know things like the type of HDTV you need, which resolution you want, what inputs the TV has, the right viewing angle, and the best contrast ratio to get. If all that confuses you don't let it. I'm here to help make sense of all the tech jargon and find the right TV for you.
Most likely you're a digital cable TV or satellite subscriber. Either way, the first thing you want to do is find out what kind of HD channel lineup your provider offers. Most major digital cable service providers like Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Charter, and Cox have great high definition channel packages with some great specials and discounts for new customers. Dish Network and DirecTV have the satellite picture covered with equally strong HD tiers. Your cable and satellite provider should have nearly every HD channel currently broadcast available, but make sure just in case before you purchase a new HDTV.
Once you've gotten a great high definition channel package from you cable or satellite provider, you'll need to decide whether you want to go with LCD, LED, plasma, or projection. Rear-projection based HDTV's are based on the oldest technology and usually have lower resolutions, contrast ratios and viewing angles. I usually recommend staying away from rear-projection HDTV's, but if price is a big hurdle you can find some really good deals on rear-projection televisions and you can at least put your foot in the high-def world. If you're budget isn't as restricted, most HDTV's produced today are LCD based. There's wide range of LCD HDTV's out there but for the best picture focus on TV's that have a 1080p resolution and stay away from 720p screens. These numbers refer to the screen resolution with 1080p being the best. You'll find some HDTV's that sport a 1080i resolution. While it's usually a better picture than 720p, the "i" in 1080i indicates that it's an "interlaced" resolution which isn't as smooth or clear as a 1080p "progressive-scan" picture. However, if you find a great deal on a 1080i HDTV, the price difference may justify the slightly lower picture quality. Plasma screen HDTV's were the first high resolution sets that really made everyone see what a difference HD made. The first plasma screens that came out, though, were prohibitively expensive costing thousands of dollars. Today, with competition from LCD HDTV's, the prices have come down considerably. Both plasma and LCD screens have advantages and disadvantages over each other and usually it comes down to personal preference. LED HDTV's are the latest innovation in the market. LED screens are LCD's that incorporate LED back-lighting to boost color range and contrast ratio while reducing energy consumption. Of course they cost more than standard LCD HDTV's and are targeted to those looking for the latest and greatest. For television connoisseurs, though, LED's offer the best picture and the slimmest profiles you can currently buy.
When you have gone through the options in HDTV sets above it is time to look at the features that make the television perfect for your home. The first feature you will want to look at is the connections. Be sure the set you are considering has the connection types you want and need. These will likely include PC connections, HDMI, audio and video ins/outs and perhaps an S video connection. Next is the viewing angles, you may have to look closely at the description for this information. This refers to how well you can see the set at specific side angles while maintaining clear picture. Basically, more is better, the further you can sit or stand to the side and still see the better. This gives you more options on living room arrangements. Finally, look into the HDTV sets contrast ratio. This is a measurement of the difference between the blackest black and the whitest white, again this is a time when you want bigger numbers, some sets have contrast ratios that are a million to one, which is awesome. The problem is each manufacturer may use a different technique for arriving at these numbers so you will also want to see the sets side by side before making a final decision. If the screen produces dull or lackluster whites and grayed out blacks, steer clear.
The marketing hype can be confusing, but even with it HDTV sets are truly amazing. Increased technology and demand have brought prices down to a reasonable level, allowing you to easily find a huge HDTV for under $1500. The only time you will have a problem is if you are uninformed, you may wind up with washed out color or low-resolution picture. If you pay, attention to the advice given above you should be fine when you head to the electronics or online store. Once you have a HDTV comfortably ensconced in your home it will change your television viewing forever.
Most likely you're a digital cable TV or satellite subscriber. Either way, the first thing you want to do is find out what kind of HD channel lineup your provider offers. Most major digital cable service providers like Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Charter, and Cox have great high definition channel packages with some great specials and discounts for new customers. Dish Network and DirecTV have the satellite picture covered with equally strong HD tiers. Your cable and satellite provider should have nearly every HD channel currently broadcast available, but make sure just in case before you purchase a new HDTV.
Once you've gotten a great high definition channel package from you cable or satellite provider, you'll need to decide whether you want to go with LCD, LED, plasma, or projection. Rear-projection based HDTV's are based on the oldest technology and usually have lower resolutions, contrast ratios and viewing angles. I usually recommend staying away from rear-projection HDTV's, but if price is a big hurdle you can find some really good deals on rear-projection televisions and you can at least put your foot in the high-def world. If you're budget isn't as restricted, most HDTV's produced today are LCD based. There's wide range of LCD HDTV's out there but for the best picture focus on TV's that have a 1080p resolution and stay away from 720p screens. These numbers refer to the screen resolution with 1080p being the best. You'll find some HDTV's that sport a 1080i resolution. While it's usually a better picture than 720p, the "i" in 1080i indicates that it's an "interlaced" resolution which isn't as smooth or clear as a 1080p "progressive-scan" picture. However, if you find a great deal on a 1080i HDTV, the price difference may justify the slightly lower picture quality. Plasma screen HDTV's were the first high resolution sets that really made everyone see what a difference HD made. The first plasma screens that came out, though, were prohibitively expensive costing thousands of dollars. Today, with competition from LCD HDTV's, the prices have come down considerably. Both plasma and LCD screens have advantages and disadvantages over each other and usually it comes down to personal preference. LED HDTV's are the latest innovation in the market. LED screens are LCD's that incorporate LED back-lighting to boost color range and contrast ratio while reducing energy consumption. Of course they cost more than standard LCD HDTV's and are targeted to those looking for the latest and greatest. For television connoisseurs, though, LED's offer the best picture and the slimmest profiles you can currently buy.
When you have gone through the options in HDTV sets above it is time to look at the features that make the television perfect for your home. The first feature you will want to look at is the connections. Be sure the set you are considering has the connection types you want and need. These will likely include PC connections, HDMI, audio and video ins/outs and perhaps an S video connection. Next is the viewing angles, you may have to look closely at the description for this information. This refers to how well you can see the set at specific side angles while maintaining clear picture. Basically, more is better, the further you can sit or stand to the side and still see the better. This gives you more options on living room arrangements. Finally, look into the HDTV sets contrast ratio. This is a measurement of the difference between the blackest black and the whitest white, again this is a time when you want bigger numbers, some sets have contrast ratios that are a million to one, which is awesome. The problem is each manufacturer may use a different technique for arriving at these numbers so you will also want to see the sets side by side before making a final decision. If the screen produces dull or lackluster whites and grayed out blacks, steer clear.
The marketing hype can be confusing, but even with it HDTV sets are truly amazing. Increased technology and demand have brought prices down to a reasonable level, allowing you to easily find a huge HDTV for under $1500. The only time you will have a problem is if you are uninformed, you may wind up with washed out color or low-resolution picture. If you pay, attention to the advice given above you should be fine when you head to the electronics or online store. Once you have a HDTV comfortably ensconced in your home it will change your television viewing forever.
About the Author:
Anna Sussman delves into the complicated world of cable providers to find the offers that deliver the biggest savings for consumers. Anna looks for the lowest Time Warner digital cable rates and discounts on Time Warner bundled services.
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