Led Slingers

Many consumers own HD televisions of varied brands, styles, and technologies. Of these, your average buyer will look at the multitude of specifications and numbers associated with the HDTV under scrutiny, without any real understanding of what these numbers and figures mean in practical terms. This guide will set out briefly explain what these terms and figures mean and what you should look for as a potential buyer of a new HDTV.

Standard versus High-Def

If you’ve never owned an HDTV, you might wonder what the big deal is. Why pay for a new TV just to watch the same television you’ve always watched? Until you have an HDTV in your home, you can’t experience the difference. Seeing a display at Best Buy doesn’t cut it! An HDTV opens the door for many forms of entertainment. Digital programming is offered by cable and satellite providers. The Blue-Ray movie format is stunning and in many ways is superior to an authentic movie-going experience. If you enjoy video games, HDTVs are capable of displaying the Xbox 360, Playstation 3, or even your personal computer. With technology improving and evolving from month to month, if you don’t own an HDTV you may find yourself behind the curve. If you make the purchase, you can still do everything you’ve done with your old television set, but HDTV offers much more.

HDTV and Television Technology

Undoubtedly you’ve heard many different fancy acronyms associated with HDTV technology. Here is a quick rundown of the important TV types. The most popular and widely used type of HDTV is the LCD display. LCDs are often referred to simply as ‘flat-panel,’ and the name stands for liquid crystal display. Electric currents are run through transparent electrodes within the screen, changing the colors. LCD displays are cheaper and easier to make than plasma displays. Plasma displays are another common HDTV type. They can be produced in larger scale, have a wider viewing angle, and are generally brighter than LCD displays. They are more expensive as well. Both forms of technology produce thin displays that are more portable than past TVs and are mountable almost anywhere. The debate over which is better continues.

There are other common HDTV types as well, including rear-projection HDTVs. Rear-projection HDTVs are more closely related to older, standard-definition televisions. You may have heard of a DLP television before – DLP is simply the latest rear-projection technology from Texas Instruments. As the name suggests, the image is projected onto the back of the screen, the same way you may have seen some of the first big-screen standard-definition TVs doing before they began enclosing the entire screen into a box. Today’s technology improves on the picture quality enough to reach high-definition standards. Rear-projection HDTVs are the cheap, entry-level televisions you can find on a budget. CRT (cathode ray tube) displays are based on the technology seen in boxy computer monitors. CRT is the rear-projection technology which DLP replaces. Rear-projection HDTVs are far bulkier than LCD or plasma displays, but the technology continues to evolve to the point where even some rear-projection HDTVs are capable of wall-mounting.

The various types of HDTVs fit different needs and budgets. The more you spend, the better the image will be and the more long-lived the TV will be. For a new buyer who is simply looking to have a cheap HDTV, rear-projection is not a bad way to go.

Resolutions

The biggest concern when buying an HDTV is the maximum resolution. The number of pixels can vary depending on if you have a widescreen or standard aspect ratio, but what you need to know is the difference between the various resolutions. Standard definition TVs run at a resolution of 480i. The ‘I’ stands for ‘interlaced,’ and the ‘p’ found at the end of some resolutions stands for ‘progressive scan.’ These terms have to do with how the images are processed and displayed, and how they trick the human eye into seeing moving images from the jumble of pixels on the screen. What one needs to know for our purposes is that progressive scan resolutions come closer to reproducing what the human eye sees in reality. Other standard resolutions are 480p and 525p (which is technically EDTV – enhanced definition television – this is not very common). The ‘480’ resolutions are 720×480 pixels.

High-definition resolutions begin 720p (1280×720). 1080i (1280×1080) is the next step up, providing a sharper image that appears to move slightly less smoothly than progressive scan resolutions. 1080p (1920×1080) is the latest and greatest resolution, providing the viewer the highest resolution available while using progressive scan display technology to produce a smoother image. The average person has difficulty telling HD resolutions apart, because the truth of the matter is that they are all gorgeous. If you compare 720p or 1080i to 1080p, there is a very noticeable difference. The 1080p resolution provides great potential for the high-def entertainment world in which we find ourselves. If you are looking for an HDTV that will remain of use for many years to come, you may have to pay a little extra for one that supports 1080p resolution.

High-definition Connectors and Cables

So if HDTVs are so useful for so many different media formats and gadgets, how do I know which TV works with which devices? The simplest way to do so is check for compatible video inputs on the TV, comparing these with the output for the device in mind. The most common and standard HDTV cable is known as a component cable. It has the red and white audio cables that you’ve seen coming from the back of older TV sets and stereos for decades, along with three video cables which are red, blue, and green in color. Almost every HDTV you could conceivably purchase will have these inputs, and they are commonly used for everything from digital cable boxes to gaming consoles.

A less common cable in use is a VGA connection. You may recognize a VGA cable as the type of cable used with a computer monitor. I can also be hooked into an HDTV with the appropriate VGA input, allowing for high-def displays for gaming consoles and PCs. Some HDTVs also have DVI, a digital connection also commonly found in use with PCs.

The highest performing HD cable out there is known as HDMI (high definition multimedia interface). HDMI provides a fat pipe between a device and its display, and is the easiest way to squeeze glorious 1080p from a device. The ease-of-use is unparalleled – HDMI cables have one simple jack on either end. HDMI is the latest and greatest and usually comes hand-in-hand with any TV capable of rendering 1080p resolutions.

Other Details

Some other specifications to look out for when buying an HDTV include the aspect ratio, response time, and viewing angle of the display. Aspect ratios can be confusing, but there is one simple concept to remember: the higher the first number (10,000:1, for example), the more expensive the display will cost. The aspect ratio indicates how close your set comes to ‘true black.’ The closer the TV comes to displaying true black, the more vibrant other colors will appear in contrast. What’s so great about a higher aspect ratio? Well, that is a matter of some debate. HDTV manufacturers will latch onto a specification and try to sensationalize it to a degree, in order to impress the consumer. The fact of the matter is, the human eye is only able to distinguish the difference up to a point. I do not recommend breaking bank to buy a top-end HDTV based on its high aspect ratio. There are so many factors which effect the practical effect of a high aspect ratio – even having light-colored paint on the walls in your viewing area can interfere. It’s not as major a sale point as many believe.

Response time is a minor issue in a display unless you plan on using it for some seriously hardcore gaming. The response time is measured in milliseconds (ms), and the lower the number the better. When gaming, the response lag becomes noticeable when it reaches 20ms and above for most gamers. It measures the time it takes for a pixel on the display to go from black to white, or from white to black. It should be self-apparent that in a constantly changing display, you want your viewing experience to be as smooth as possible. Lower response times are better, but are rarely a critical issue. The viewing angle is also a relatively minor concern or most buyers. Depending on your living room’s furniture arrangements, it might matter to be able to view the screen from way off to one side or another. Most HDTV owners have it set up as their centerpiece, with a comfortable couch centered on the HDTV. Unless you expect to have a lot of viewers off to the side, it’s not a major concern.

When buying an HDTV, the buyer must be wary not to overbuy. It’s far too easy to buy the first pretty TV you find, but you could be paying for features that you don’t need at great cost. Decide what kind of use your HDTV will receive before you even start buying. Hopefully the information in this guide will help you make that kind of decision. Carefully weigh your needs against your budget. It doesn’t always pay to buy the most expensive set in the shop.