Buying an HDTV: the 5 basic steps

Buying a new HDTV can be confusing and intimidating, but if you break the process down into smaller parts, it will start to make sense. The main factors to consider are:

1. Budget range
2. Screen size
3. Style (plasma, LCD, etc.)
4. Special uses
5. Options

Budget range

The first is the first. HDTV costs are more closely related to screen size, but also to display type, image quality, and brand. You’ll have to read individual set reviews for all the details, but here’s a general idea of ​​what you’ll get in each price range:

Less than $ 500: HD 20-inch LCD TVs and smaller, HD-Ready (without tuner). Integrated 15-inch HDTV tuner. You can find some up to 27 inches in certain brands, such as ViewSonic and Olevia.

$ 500 to $ 1000: 32-inch and smaller LCDs, built-in HDTV tuners, 50-inch and smaller DLP HDTVs.

$ 1000 to $ 2000: 46-inch and smaller LCD, 50-inch and smaller plasma, and 65-inch and smaller DLP HDTV.

$ 2000 to $ 4000: 52-inch and smaller LCDs, 60-inch and smaller plasma, and 75-inch and smaller DLP HDTVs.

Another thing to consider is the significant discounts you can find on last year’s models. HDTV technology is updated all the time, as is computer technology. If you can deal with not having the latest technology, you can find some amazing deals: 40 percent off, or more, on sets of just 18 months.

Screen size

It is important to get the right size HDTV for your viewing space. In the old days, the right-size TV was the largest you could afford, but today many people can afford a TV that’s so big that it dominates the viewing room, and they are forced to sit so close that blemishes on the screen, or individual pixels, are visible.

Another problem with sitting too close to a widescreen HDTV is that your eyes will shoot from one side of the screen to the other, as if watching a game of tennis from the center court. These rapid eye movements can cause dizziness and headaches.

First, look at the area where you will watch TV and measure the distance from the TV screen to the center of your sofa, bean bag, trunk, or whatever it feels like. This distance should be 2 to 4 times the diagonal measurement of the screen. Therefore, a 24-inch set would be good for viewing from 4 to 8 feet, a 50-inch set would be good for a range of 8 to 16 feet, and a 60-inch set would work well from 10 to 20 feet away.

Screen style

The most popular types of flat screen HDTVs these days are LCD, Plasma, and DLP. Cathode ray televisions are still around, and usually have a great image, but the larger CRTs are extremely heavy and bulky. Little by little they are losing the flatter profile technology.

LCD stands for Liquid Crystal Display, and it is the same type of display used in most new computer monitors (you are probably viewing an LCD screen right now), cell phones, and many other devices. LCDs work best when you want a medium or small set, need a lighter set, or watch TV in a well-lit room.

Plasma sets have a glass screen (as opposed to the plastic on the LCD screen) with an ionized gas sandwiched behind that creates an image when excited by electrical charges. Plasmas have a slight advantage over the image quality of the LCD screen, especially when viewed from an angle, but can have a brighter screen brightness.

DLP stands for Digital Light Processing. These sets use small swinging mirrors behind the screen to create an image. DLP sets are technically rear projection televisions, but are generally quite flat. They are cheaper than LCD and plasma in large sizes, but are often too heavy and thick to hang on the wall.

Special uses

What do you plan to do with your HDTV? Are you a gamer, sports fan, or movie buff? Different types of sets are great for slightly different things.

DLP televisions often have very bright screens, but they can lose detail in very dark scenes. This makes them great for watching sports, news, and outdoor scenes, but not so good for movies with lots of dark images. Plasma TVs have a great image and still look great when viewed from a wide angle, with no fading or color change. However, a room with many windows can create glare problems on the plasma glass screen. LCD televisions are much brighter in bright light, making them suitable for daytime viewing in bright rooms. In a well-lit room, an LCD television can look better than a good plasma television. And LCDs have a sharper, better resolution in medium sizes, making them ideal for use as an additional monitor for your computer.

Options

All HDTVs come with a slightly different feature pack. A tuner is required to receive over the air transmissions. Since they add expense and many people only use their HDTVs to watch cable, satellite, DVD, video game or computer inputs, they are not always included. Look for a built-in ATSC tuner or buy an external tuner for over-the-air broadcasts.

It is good to have good speakers built into the HDTV. But, if sound quality is really important to you, you will be better off with high quality external speakers.

Connections are important. You will want at least 2 HDMI inputs to connect to a cable box, DVR, or DVD player. Other types of connections, such as component cable and S-Video inputs, are useful in case you want to use external components that use these cables. And if you intend to use your HDTV with your digital camera, you will need a USB input or memory card.

Getting help

Using an online HDTV buyer’s guide can also help. Find one that balances enough attention to detail with a panoramic view.

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