A few friends asked my advice when looking to purchase a new TV. Here is a quick guide of the various TV Specs to consider when looking to purchase a new TV, ordered from most important to least important.
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Size and Resolution
How close will you be sitting to the TV? The bigger the TV, the farther you will need to sit and the more expensive the TV will be.
Resolution of 720p vs 1080p? Always go for 1080p, especially if you're getting a TV over 32". The difference is very noticeable in larger TV's. Also, if you plan on watching TV in HD, why waste it on a 720p TV?
Resolution of 720p vs 1080p? Always go for 1080p, especially if you're getting a TV over 32". The difference is very noticeable in larger TV's. Also, if you plan on watching TV in HD, why waste it on a 720p TV?
Below is a chart of screen size, resolution and viewing distance to help you decide what you need. (Original chart here)
Type
Plasma, LCD, and LED TV's are all very similar nowadays. In order of best to worst is LED, LCD, then Plasma. LED has better contrast (black is blacker!) than LCD. LED also uses less electricity than the others. That being said, unless you're a picture snob and have the TV's side by side to compare, the difference is negligible.
Refresh Rate
60Hz, 120Hz, 240Hz etc. Honestly, my TV is 60Hz, and I never noticed a problem. The higher the refresh rate the clearer fast moving images are, like for watching sports games. So, higher is better, but in my opinion, it's really not an issue.
Connections
Cheaper TV's tend to skimp out on inputs. Consider what you need to plug into your TV currently and what you might need to plug in in the future. I would try pretty hard to get one with at least 3 HDMI, 1 Component (the 5 plug one, Green, Blue, Orange, Red, White), and a digital audio out (for surround sound).Viewing Angle
I definitely recommend seeing the TV in person and turned on before purchasing. Some TVs lose picture quality if not viewing directly in front of the TV. I am not positive if this is a brand, type, or brand and type issue.
This happens with my 32" LCD TV, but not my 42" LCD TV. I noticed it happening to some Vizio TV's at Sams but not others, and I forgot to see if they were LCD, LED, or Plasma.
On the other hand, if you never plan on looking at the TV from an angle, then you have nothing to worry about.
This happens with my 32" LCD TV, but not my 42" LCD TV. I noticed it happening to some Vizio TV's at Sams but not others, and I forgot to see if they were LCD, LED, or Plasma.
On the other hand, if you never plan on looking at the TV from an angle, then you have nothing to worry about.
Brand
Research your brand and read reviews about various TV's made by that brand before making the decision. Name brand TV's (Panasonic, Toshiba, Sony, Samsung) are usually safe decisions and have good customer service. I read that Vizios are pretty good for the price, but they tend to have poorer picture when viewing at an angle. Again, unless you're a TV snob, the pictures are very similar. Name brands like Samsung do seem to have richer colors when side by side with cheaper TV's. Will you notice that when the TV is sitting in your living room? Doubtful.
Smart TV / Wi-Fi
I would not pay over $60 extra for a Smart TV if having Netflix, Pandora, etc on your TV is very important to you. You can just buy a Roku at that point and plug it in.
Note the difference between "Internet capable / Internet ready / Wi-Fi ready" and Built-in Wi-Fi. The former terms require either running an ethernet cable from your router to your TV or buying an additional piece for the TV (~$80) to get the Wi-Fi. Built-in Wi-Fi can use Wi-Fi out of the box.
If you get a Smart TV and cannot hook it up to the internet, then the whole Smart thing is pointless because you won't be able to use it.
4 comments:
I use this chart as a guide for size/resolution: http://www.engadget.com/2006/12/09/1080p-charted-viewing-distance-to-screen-size/
Also, I'm pretty sure that Samsung and LG are the only companies that manufacture the display glass - everyone else buys from them.
Very nice! I'm going to steal that.
I have heard of the ridiculously high resolution in passing, but seriously... I don't see a point in higher than 1080 unless your TV is HUGE. That's like saying you can output 200 frames a second when the human eye can only process 20-60. What's the point? You're not going to see it.
One thing you didn't mention about plasmas, they have the highest refresh rate of all TV's. You might not notice the difference, but once you've seen sports, video games, or action movies on one, its easy to notice the difference. We had a kid's action movie (Journey 2) playing on a 70 inch LED, and it blurred so badly, we had to move the movie to a plasma.
Oh, and about the 4K TV's, I'm sure they will be coming sooner than later. GoPro just released their Hero 3 Black, which takes video at 4K resolution (which is acctualy 3480x2160). I honestly don't see the point, but if I've learned anything, its that most consumer's don't care. They just want to show off to others how top of the line their purchase is.
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