Which T.V. Should I Buy?
by Kevin Ray
hich TV Should I Buy?
If you haven’t purchased a new television or projector in the last five years or longer, and you are currently considering such a purchase; you’re in for a big surprise! As a contributing writer to the Bluffton Breeze for the last three years, I have written several articles on the topic of television technology, and I must admit that even I struggle to keep up with the latest and greatest in television and projector technologies. It is truly amazing how large, thin, and clear TV has become. Americans are discovering High Definition, and they are loving it! Unfortunately, confusion and misinformation have led to apprehension and frustration. The following Q&A should help.
Q: What size screen is right for home theater?
A: This is determined by the size of the room, and how far you plan to sit from the screen. If you sit too far away, the impact of the movie watching experience is diminished. If you sit too close, the scan lines and pixels in the screen become obvious and distracting.
Q: How do you determine the best viewing distance for different screen sizes?
A: Opinions vary on this topic, but the 4:3 screen ratio on standard TVs must be calculated differently than on 16:9 ratio widescreen TVs because the higher resolution found on 16:9 HDTV sets allows for closer viewing without seeing the scan lines and pixels.
Q: Is there a suggested viewing height?
A: The optimum viewing height is generally “eye level”. This is particularly important with CRT rear projection TVs which will lose brightness if viewed off-axis. LCD flat panels, DLP, LCD, LCOS, & SXRD rear projections can experience similar brightness shifts, but are typically much less sensitive to this phenomena depending on the make, type, and model. Plasma TVs and CRT (picture tube) TVs have almost zero brightness shifts and would be a good choice if you know that the TVs placement is going to be fairly high. There are a number of variables to consider with this question, but the bottom line is that if it’s going to hurt your neck, or adversely affect the performance of the TV, it’s too high.
Q: What is the difference between an “HD” television and an “HD ready” television?
A: An “HD” television has a built-in HDTV tuner, a 16:9 aspect ratio wide screen, and the capability to display at least 720-line resolution images. It also has built-in decoding for Dolby® Digital multi-channel audio.
An “HD ready” television can’t receive digital broadcasts without a separate HDTV tuner such as a Cable TV or Satellite receiver. These TVs do come with a regular NTSC tuner for standard analog broadcasts. Also, HD ready sets can have either a “square” 4:3 shaped screen, or a “rectangular” 16:9 screen. One quality that HD ready sets must have is at least a 720 line 16:9 image.
Q: How do flat panel LCD and plasma TVs work, and which one is right for me?
A: LCD TVs consist of two polarizing transparent panels with a liquid crystal solution positioned between the two panels. When an electric current is passed through the liquid, the crystals align so that light cannot pass through them. Each crystal behaves like a shutter by blocking light, or allowing it to pass through. The image is formed by the pattern established by the crystals. These TVs are not subject to burn-in, and they are 60% more energy efficient than tube type TVs.
Plasma TVs consist of two transparent glass panels with tiny cells called pixels sandwiched in between. Each pixel is subdivided into three sub-pixels that are filled with gases and phosphors that glow red, green, or blue when they are excited by electricity coming from tiny electrodes. These TVs typically cost less than LCD TVs of equal size, they can burn-in, but they have a 170 viewing angle, and they come in larger sizes.
Consult with a reputable electronics dealer before making a purchase so that they can ask you questions that you may not know to ask on your own.
This article provided by Kevin Ray of Custom Audio Video, LLC. Member CEDIA (Custom Electronic Design & Installation Association)
Thanksgiving Dinner and other Urban Myths
Did the Pilgrims and Indians feast on turkey, corn-on-the-cob and pumpkin pie? (Actually, no – none of these foods would have been on the menu!)
Is there a private club within New Orleans Square at Disneyland? (yes)
Your buddy sent you a note that promises that Bill Gates will send you $20 for every person that you forward the note to. Can this be true? (if only!)
If your cell phone rings while you are pumping gas, will it cause a massive explosion? (not likely)
Do North Dakota citizens really consume an estimated 4,518 pounds of french fries during an annual french fry feeding frenzy? (yes)
How do you find out the real truth to these and the multitude of ‘gee, guess what’ notes that fill our E-mail in-boxes (and we blindly accept as true and quickly forward to everyone in our address book)?
This is an easy one. There are several internet sites devoted to uncovering the truth in these notes, the most famous and reliable being Snopes.com - just go to and bookmark: http://www.snopes.com. You can search and read about any subject that you may come across. This site even gives the history of many old legends as well as the latest internet e-mail tales flying around the world. If you spend some time browsing the site, you’ll be amazed at the things you thought were true and aren’t, and the things that you thought were false, but actually are true. You can search for a specific topic using the search box – just enter a key word from the note you want to verify. Or you can browse any of the popular subjects listed on the page, like ‘Coke lore’. You can also find other sites that expose internet hoaxes by entering ‘urban legends’ or ‘hoaxes’ in your favorite search engine.
So the next time a friend forwards a note of tremendous importance to you, warning of something frightful, exciting or unbelievable, check it out before you forward it to a fresh batch of people in your address book.
For more tips, and archive tips, visit Webdesign by Jimbo
