Jun 25, 2010
So you decided you want to buy you first HDTV, but you should now that buying the right one it’s not as easy as just going to the store. You have to be careful about some things. Some of these things you need to be careful about are the same as when you decide to buy a monitor for your computer, so we think it’s a good idea to rely on these tips we are going to present in this article, if you truly are interested in buying a HDTV or even a computer monitor.
1. The first think you need to consider is that all the specifications that are released by the manufacturers are a bit exaggerated, so our first advice is not to only rely on them. Do not use the technical specifications of a product from manufacturer A to compare products from manufacturer B.
2. Do some research work on the internet. There are plenty of web sites that publish product reviews.
3. Visit the web site of the manufacturer and read all the information about the model you are interested in that you can find. If you can find that information about the HDTV of your choice online, then you can study it.
4. One recommendation is to get a plasma to view HDTV in subdued ambient lighting and a LCD with bright ambient lighting.
5. The next step you should take is to go visit a store, but, when you decide on a retailer you should consider that there are big retailers like Walmart, Best buy, medium retailers like Target and Sears and of course, the small retailers who are specialized in video and audio equipments. You should know that when visiting a big store, you will not get the same level of attention that you can get if you go to a small retailer. Small retailers often treat their customers with great attention, answering to each of the client’s questions.
6. When you finally decided about a store and go visit it, you will see running demo programs on the TV’s they have for sale, but don’t be fooled! They are specially designed programs to make everything look great. An interesting and important aspect is that all the HDTV displayed for sale are showing the exact video content, in the same time.
7. If the HDTV’s in the store are playing animated videos well you will have to ignore them because they are only artificial images and will not offer you great information. Another movie that doesn’t provide good feedback about a TV is a movie like Avatar.
8. When in store, the HDTV is often adjusted not so good, so you can’t really get a good idea about the quality of the picture and color in the store. But, if the quality seams great in the store, well that only means that the it can render better quality if you apply your own custom settings to it.
9. Another problem is that many retail stores use analog equipment to feed video to HDTV’s instead of digital mainly because it doesn’t cost so much. So, because of this, the picture quality might suffer. You should ask the store staff if they are using analog or digital equipments.
10. When you are going to the store to evaluate an LCD, make sure that you stand right in the center of it so you won’t get any problems based on the viewing angle issues.
11. When the TV’s are displayed in the store side by side, you might think that the most colorful TV with the best image contrast is better. Many TV’s come with this factory setting that exploits this.
12. Live video content is not good for you, because it keeps changing. Image slide shows work better for evaluation purposes. This way you can compare several HDTV’s at once. You also have to change the viewing angle, so view the picture from different positions.
13. Another good reason for going to a small retailer is that they often let customers bring their own Blu-Ray or DVD’s disks. This is a good idea because this can help you a lot to get a better picture about the quality of an HDTV.
14. Or, you can bring a USB drive where you can put your evaluation photos. Many HDTV’s now have USB support and, if you go to a small retailer, you can use them. You can put high quality photos along with your personal ones, this is the best way you can get an idea about the quality because you are very familiar with these images.
15. Ask the sales representative is they will let you use the remote control. If the answer is positive, you can use it to set the TV to Cinema Mode and play with the menus.
16. If you know what you’re doing, play with the settings while looking at the images you have brought and see if you can get a better quality.
17. Another important aspect is to verify the screen for reflections and stay away from glossy screens, they aren’t good. You can check the screen for reflections when the screen is dark. If you visit a big retailer and they won’t let you play with the remote control or bring your own content, just wait because many demo’s in the store will go black eventually. If you visit a small retailer, and you can use your content, bring at least one complete black picture.
18. The best time to check the brightness is when the screen is black. You should also inspect the screen for dead pixels.
19. The image on almost all HDTV’s will change if you view it from different angles. This is common with LCD’s but the same effect should also happen with plasmas. You will need an image so you can better evaluate the vertical and horizontal viewing angle. To get a better reference, you can view a picture that has a wide range of colors with a larger face.
20. LCD’s with In Plane Switching technology will not provide a powerful color shift because of viewing angle changes compared to other LCD’s, but they will provide a change in black brightness which can have a big effect when viewing dark content. So it’s a good idea to view a complete black photo from different angles.
21. The last thing you have to consider is that almost all HDTV bring a level of noise, mainly because of the power supply whine and fan. Noise is hard to evaluate in the store. So, you have to go real close to the unit, put your ear down and listen carefully.
