So you’re in the market for a new HD TV, but aren’t too sure on what to look for?
Well here are some helpful tips that will get you the best TV for your budgets price.
I am going to keep it digital, so sorry CRT fans.
Rodder XP
Click "here" for the rest!
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So you’re in the market for a new HD TV, but aren’t too sure on what to look for?
Well here are some helpful tips that will get you the best TV for your budgets price.
I am going to keep it digital, so sorry CRT fans.
Here is the Squad XP break down.
First Question: What should I buy; Plasma, Flat panel LCD, DLP, Rear projection LCD or LCOS? This day in age the difference in quality and price is not much, or at least not as much as it used to be. They all have their strengths and weaknesses, and I am here to tell you, what to look for, what to look out for, what would be best for your needs, and your Pocket book. Here is the Squad XP break down!
Plasmas are known to be the heavier and pricier due to the glass screen. Plasmas in my opinion have deeper more vibrant colors compared to LCD’s, and unlike LCD’s Plasmas can be easily visible from any angle in a room.
The down sides are:
• Cost; they are more expensive than most LCD’s. Waste a bit more power than LCD.
• Chuck it; the plasma technology just very slowly degrades over the years and as it degrades the screen gets darker and darker, and once that happens there is no fix. You throw it out. (Newer plasmas do last long about 5 to 7 years before you start to notice the darker images)
• Break in period; plasmas do have a break in period, so read your manual. (Normally first 100 hours.)
• Burn in; Plasmas are more susceptible to burn in, so if your going to be gaming don’t pause the game to take a dump and make a sandwich. ;)
• Weight: because they are heavier I have noticed that it discourages the DIYer from mounting it on a wall.
Good things:
• Quality: the Colors in my opinion look better than on most LCD. (Isn’t that the most important thing.)
• Visibility: like I mentioned above the screen can be easily visible from any angle in a room.
• Response times: always quicker than LCD. (Post HD2)
Flat panel LCD are known to be the lighter and cheaper of the two. Can be confusing due to the many variations and added technologies that help them compete with plasmas.
There aren’t many down sides if you buy a pimped out one. But this break down will help you understand what each thing does.
• IPS: helps over come the off angle viewing in rooms. Won’t look like you have a privacy screen over the TV. (In Plane Switching)
• Motion delay or Motion Blur: Plasmas are known to have motion blur when there is any type of fast paced action scene on the screen. To help with that there are LCD’s that offer 120hz displays over the standard 60hz, where the motion blurs are more noticeable. So if it’s a gaming TV you’re going to want the 120hz refresh rate.
• LED LCD: overcomes the lack of colors in the standard LCD. Looks a whole lot better next to a standard LCD especially when displaying HD content.
Good things:
• Weight: Lighter, thinner and how do you say,… “more wall mountable”. ☺
• Cost: Less power hungry, but can be just as costly as a plasma when you get in to LED, IPS, and 120hz pimped out models.
• Availability: most stores carry more LCD’s than plasmas simply because they are cheaper than plasmas.
Not so good things:
• Black levels: don’t look as good as a plasma.
• Visibility: sucks with out the IPS technology. Possible screen burn in on
• Refresh rates: not good for gaming with out the 120hz models, can get motion blur with out it.
• Quality: colors don’t look as warm and vibrant without the LED LCD’s.
• Chuck it: same as plasma when it dies, it dies. You can’t replace any bulbs, just put it in the trash.
DLP Digital light projection. Oh no! They aren’t thin and sexy like the Flat panel LCD’s and the Plasmas. But they are a good alternative.
Good things:
• Weight: They are light, not that you would be able to mount it but you wont need a super sturdy TV stand. ;)
• No need to Chuck it: DLP’s have excellent lamp life on certain models. The cost of the lamps some times can be just as much as you paid for the TV in the first place so do your research before you make your purchase. Plus low chances of screen burn in on high-end models.
• Cost: Cheap! You can get a really good-sized DLP for a lot cheaper than a LCD or plasma of equal size.
Not so good things:
• Quality: It is projection based, but this isn’t your grandfather’s old projection TV. Color representation is very good not as good as a plasma but better than most LCD’s. So image quality isn’t too good on older models pre HD2. They also have potential for the “Rainbow effect” not too common in HD3 and dark chip models.
• Versatility: they run about 12” -18” deep so you wont be able to mount it.
Rear Projection LCD: it shines a light through three LCD panels, taking their red, green and
blue moving images along for the ride. Rear-projection LCDs are known
for high resolution, which means that more often than not, they can
meet the demands of HDTV at a low price.
Good things:
• Weight: Like DLP’s they are lightweight.
• Cost: Cheaper than DLP.
Not so good things:
• Quality: Very similar to DLP, its name says it all Projection. Newer models have better contrast ratios than older ones. Not susceptible to screen burn in or the dreaded DLP “Rainbow effect”. Rear projection LCD can get “screen door effect” where the image quality is as if you were looking through a screen door, grainy. Newer models have excellent clarity but colors are light and not as vibrant as any of the other types mentioned above.
• Chuck it: No need to chuck but you may as well, Lamp life sucks on these. If you have to replace the bulb you may as well chuck it and the money you would have used for a new bulb use it towards the purchase of a flat panel LCD or Plasma.
• Versatility: Can’t mount it.
LCOS: Liquid crystal on silicon works just like a DLP, but with out the mirrors it uses liquid crystals instead of individual mirrors.
Good things:
• Quality: Excelent color representation. LCOS uses a 3-chip system, one chip for each color. (RGB) It also has excellent response time and not susceptible to screen burn in. Quality is as a good thing for the price.
• Cost: Cheap, not as cheap as Rear projection LCD’s; but gives DLP good competition.
• Weight: lightweight, but like all projections not wall mountable.
Not so good things:
• Versatility: not mountable.
• Chuck it: once lamp dies out you may as well, some lamps are just as expensive as the TV’s. Research the lamp life its measured in hours.
Second Question: Now that you have hopefully selected what type of TV you want. What is it going to be used for?
Gaming: If your buying a TV for gaming uses, this is for you.
• Size: keep it between 32” – 42” max, reason being is because if its any bigger your eyes would have to pan the screen way too often and you will miss important details.
• Definition: 720p or 1080p; that is the question! If you want to buy a hard-core gaming HDTV and you follow the size tip above go with 720p. Reason being is that the human eye can’t tell the difference between 720p and 1080p on a TV smaller than 42” and 720p TV’s are significantly cheaper than a 1080p. Yes, most games, and HD DVD’s are 1080p but your Xbox 360 Will down scale it to 720p. 16:9 aspect ratio is also a must.
• HDMI: always a must! Try to make sure your TV comes with a minimum of 2.
Movie Awesomeness: If your buying a TV to display HD content in your own home Cineplex.
• Size: It really does matter in this case. Try to get the biggest possible for your space. If you plan to mount it on the wall try to draw out the TV in its exact dimensions on the wall with some chalk. You really want the biggest possible but you don’t want it to look exaggerated or too big for the room. (Trust me if you are married your wife will appreciate this.)
• Definition: 1080p all the way especially if you go 47+”. It will really help make the difference. 16:9 aspect ratio is a must.
• HDMI: always a must! Try to make sure your TV comes with a minimum of 2.
Well that’s it for now if you have any questions or comments on this article you can direct them to me at RodderXP@SquadXP.com
