Shopping for a TV these days sure isn’t what it used to be. In the old days, all you had to do was find out how big your next-door neighbor’s TV was, then go to Sears and buy one a few inches bigger. Now, with HDTV technology exploding in every direction, you need a deeper understanding of the options available before you decide what to get. It doesn’t need to be intimidating, though, if you break the decision process down into a few steps.

First of all, let’s assume that you want the latest and greatest type of TV, and that would be an HDTV (High Definition Television). The main factors to consider in choosing an HDTV are:

Budget Range
Screen Size
Display Technology (Plasma, LCD or DLP)
Picture Quality and Resolution
Known Issues

Budget Range

HDTV prices are linked to every factor in the above list, but the screen size and display technology tend to have the strongest influence. Here’s a rough idea of what to expect in the different price ranges (in US dollars):

Under $500: 24 inch and smaller LCD, HD-ready(without tuner) HDTVs. Some economy brands, like Vizio, ViewSonic and Olevia, might offer sets as large as 32 inches for under $500 during a special offer.

$500 to $1000: 42 inch and smaller LCD HDTVs, from economy brands and middle-of-the-road brands like Sharp, JVC and Toshiba. 42 inch and smaller Samsung 720p LCDs. 37 and 40 inch Plasmas, as long as they are last year’s model. Toshiba, Sharp, LG and the economy brands offer a few 1080p HDTVs in this price range.

$1000 to $1500: 46 inch and smaller LCDs, including some models of the Sharp Aquos and a few Samsung 1080p HDTVs, if they are on sale. 42 inch and smaller Plasmas. 57 inch and smaller DLP HDTVs.

$1500 to $2500: 52 inch and smaller LCDs, including older-generation Sony Bravias and most

current-generation Samsung 1080p LCDs. 50 inch and smaller plasma HDTVs. 73 inch and smaller DLP HDTVs.

$2500 plus: Everything else… the latest and greatest. 56 inch Sony Bravia LCDs, enormous Panasonic and Pioneer plasmas, and more.

Screen Size

Choosing the right size HDTV is more important than it might seem. Too small, and you won’t get the immersive TV experience you were looking for; too big, and you’ll feel disappointed at the imperfections you can see in the picture.

Look at the area where you’ll be watching the TV, and estimate the average distance a viewer will be sitting from the screen. For the best experience, your viewing distance should be 2 to 4 times the diagonal measurement of the screen. For example, a 50 inch set is best viewed from 100 or 200 inches, or 8 to 16 feet, away.

Display technology

The most common types of flat-screen HDTV are LCD, plasma and DLP. They are all fairly thin and reasonably priced. Projection and CRT HDTVs are out there too, but size and cost puts them off of most people’s radar.

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

Plasma sets have a glass screen (as opposed to LCD’s plastic) with an ionized gas sandwiched behind it that creates a picture when it is excited by electric charges. Plasmas have a noticeable edge over LCD in picture quality, especially when viewed from an angle, but may have more screen glare in bright light.

DLP stands for Digital Light Processing. These sets use tiny oscillating mirrors behind the screen to create a picture. DLP sets are technically rear-projection TVs, but are usually pretty flat. They are cheaper than LCD and Plasma in the large sizes but are often a little too heavy and thick to hang on a wall.

Picture quality and resolution

If you compare two HDTVs that are the same size and type of display, but have vastly different price tags, the reason is probably the picture quality and resolution. Lower-end sets tend to have a poor contrast ratio (the difference between the dimmest and brightest picture they can show), poor black levels (are black scenes totally black?), and inaccurate colors. Other problems with cheap sets can include motion blur, ghosting (just what it sounds like- faint echoes of images), and banding (horizontal or vertical lines that appear onscreen for no reason).

Resolution is the number of small dots that the TV uses to make up a picture, and has a direct effect on the sharpness. It comes in two levels, 720p and 1080p. 1080p is the higher resolution, and is really only necessary if your HDTV is larger than about 45 inches, or if you intend to use it as a computer monitor.

Known issues

Making an HDTV with a perfect picture is an incredibly hard thing to do. There are dozens of problems that can crop up, such as the previously mentioned banding and ghosting, and it really takes a cream-of-the-crop set to reliably avoid all of them. Lower-end HDTV makers make some high quality sets, of course, but in brand new models, there’s usually an issue or two that hasn’t been fully ironed out. That’s the downside of being an early adopter. Luckily, these issues are exposed on the internet immediately, so prospective buyers can wait until they have been dealt with. The best way to learn about these issues is to check the relevant online HDTV reviews written by actual HDTV owners, and see if there is a generally negative or positive attitude about the set you are interested in.

About the Author

Tom Webster is a researcher and copywriter who writes for FlatHDTV.net, a guide to the HDTV revolution.

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