How to Buy a Serious TV

Today's mind-numbing array of serious, big-screen TVs can intimidate the uninitiated. But one fact will help you decide whether to get an expensive TV: The FCC has mandated that high-definition television (HDTV) will be broadcast by 2007. If you're investing in a big set, get HDTV. You'll get better performance from DVDs and digital satellite or cable systems, and when 2007 hits, you'll be ready.

Difficulty: Moderately challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Video inputs

1. Look at the size of your TV room. The bigger the screen, the farther away you need to sit for the picture to look good. One simple formula suggests that you multiply the diagonal size of an HDTV screen by 2.5 to 4 to get viewing distance. That means you'd watch a 30-inch (75 cm) TV from a distance of 70 to 120 inches (5 3/4 to 10 feet, 178 to 305 cm). Conventional (analog) TVs should be watched at twice that distance.

2. Get a widescreen TV if you can afford it. Widescreen DVDs and much HDTV programming are made for widescreen TVs.

3. Learn the difference between flat screens and flat panels. Flatscreen TVs have a heavy glass picture tube just like regular TVs, but are flat rather than curved on the front. Flat panels--which include plasma and liquid-crystal displays (LCD)--can be as thin as 3.5 inches (9 cm) and can hang on the wall like a picture.

4. Keep in mind that some flat panels don't have a TV tuner in them, requiring a home theater tuner, a satellite or cable box, or a VCR to tune in TV stations. Also, some flat-panel TVs can't handle HDTV.

5. Buy a rear-projection TV to get the best bang for your buck. Look at the TV from different angles to judge picture quality.

6. Shop for the best-quality video inputs. In descending order of quality, they are component-video, S-Video, composite-video and antenna/cable inputs.

7. Make sure that your TV has enough audio and video connections for your DVD, digital video recorder, cable, satellite, VCR and other devices. If you're going to connect your TV to a home theater system, don't worry about the sound quality from the TV's built-in speakers. (See How to Buy a Home Theater System.)

8. Future-proof your purchase. If you really can't afford an HDTV now, get one that's HD-ready or HD-upgradable. You can purchase an HDTV tuner in a few years when prices drop.

9. Shop for good prices. They vary by the size of the screen, but here are some ranges: Flat screens: $1,000 to $3,000; flat-panel LCDs: $1,000 to $2,500; rear-projection: $1,500 to $3,000; flatpanel plasma: $3,500 to $10,000.

Tips & Warnings

• Nothing ruins the effect of a cool-looking flat-panel TV like a tangle of wires and cables. If you're going to spend a wad on a high-end plasma model, run cables and wires inside your walls.
• Many projectors made for computer-based presentations also have S-video or component-video inputs. With a home theater system and a blank wall, you've got a big-screen TV.
• Spring for a plasma TV if your home theater is the center of your entertainment universe. These are the most stylish, the best-viewing and not coincidentally the most expensive. Make absolute certain that the plasma TV can handle HDTV, or you'll have to learn an expensive, painful lesson in a few years when all television signals are HD.

[jrm01]

on 1/31/2009 Obviously this is outdated and currently worthless info.

on 11/22/2005 Even higher quality inputs than component are RGB/VGA, DVI, and HDMI (which carries audio as well).