TVs: the knowledge...

Fwd Tech  Monday 05 October 2009

In the market for a new television? Don't do anything before you read this...

You’ve waited an eternity for your old cathode ray telly to cop it, and now it’s finally died. New TV time! You’ve hit the shops with a wodge in your wallet, only to be met with a wall of identical flatscreens, all decked out in “piano” black and draped with the same confusing plugs, ports and acronyms. Want to know which one to plump for? Read our TV buying guide and you’ll soon find out.

LCD vs Plasma If you’re a home cinema purist, plasma TV screens still have the slight edge thanks to a slightly deeper contrast ratio (IE Blacks look blacker, whites look whiter) and a wider viewing angle. But LCDs have caught up in almost every other aspect, with issues like blur a thing of the past – and they’re a lot cheaper too.

Definition There are two major resolutions squatting under High Definition’s umbrella. 1080p (1980×1080 pixels), and the not so sharp 720p (1280×720). If you’re maxing out on a big living room gogglebox, you’ll want the full HD experience of 1080p, but if you’re buying a smaller screen for somewhere you sit at a distance, like in your bedroom, unless you’ve had an eyeball transplant from a hawk, you won’t be able to spot the difference: in this case, go for the better brand and better display, even if it’s lower res.

Viewing distance Bigger isn’t always best in this instance. How far is your sofa from your TV stand? The best viewing distance depends on that, and the resolution of the screen. You’ll get the best picture with a HDTV at about 2.5 times the diagonal width of the screen, so grab a ruler and start measuring.

Contrast ratio You’ll see TVs on the shelf battling it out in the “dynamic” contrast stakes with absurd numbers like 50,000:1. Be wary of these: they’re a non-uniform measurement of the difference between the darkest black and lightest white on a TV, rather than the actual colour range of a set. Ultimately, it’s about what you can see with your own peepers, not the numbers some suit’s plucked out of the air.

HDMI cables Tread carefully here, as HDMI cables send digital signals, so they either get through or they don’t. It’s as arbitrary as that, so the quality of the cable just doesn’t matter. Buy cheap. The only thing you need to do is make sure you buy a cable that’s long enough, or bendy/tough enough for your home setup.

Number of ports Think about all the things you’re likely to hook up to your new HDTV: a Blu-ray player, a console or two, the list goes on. It all adds up, so don’t settle for fewer than 3 HDMI sockets on the back. And if you want to connect a PC, you might want a VGA or DVI socket too, though more and more new computers come with HDMI these days.

General buying tips Even if you’re planning on buying online to save yourself some wonga, you’ll want to check out such an expensive buy in person first. Do you like the finish? And more importantly, how does it handle standard definition TV? You’ll still be watching a lot of it for the next few years, so don’t be afraid to bring along a DVD to ask the rep to whack on for you, or check out the Freeview signal on it. Good luck!

Want to know something else about TVs? Drop us a line in the comments section. And don’t forget to check out our TV best buys...