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There are a lot of new TV’s available on the market these days, and it is a good idea to have a good understanding on what makes a TV good. The three most important things that you should look for in a TV are:
The size.
The resolution.
The technology.
The size of a TV is very important depending on the size of the room that you will be putting it in, and the distance that you will be away from it. The most popular size of TV on the market is 42”. A 42” TV is recommended for the average living room because it is best suited to be watched from about 4-6 feet away. If you are going to buy a larger TV 52” and larger it is recommended that it will be about 10-12 feet from where you are viewing it from. Watching a larger TV from too close can cause a large amount of strain on your eyes and can become uncomfortable after long periods of viewing. This is why it’s recommended that in the bedroom (unless you have a big distance between the bed and TV) you choose a smaller size (somewhere around 20” - 32”). But the size of the TV is irrelevant if you don’t have the proper resolution.
The resolution of your TV is very important, because it determines how clear and sharp your TV’s picture is. The first type of resolution is standard definition. Almost all TV’s before flat screen were standard definition. Standard definition means that your TV is drawing 480 lines on the screen to create a picture, but each line is not drawn all at once, first it draws every other line (the odd numbers), then it draws in the rest. Our eyes cannot tell that this is happening, since it happens so fast all we see it one full image. This process of drawing half of the lines then filling the rest in is called Interlaced Signal. There is also another process of creating the picture called Progressive Scan. Progressive scanning draws all the lines at once, and is sharper than interlaced. The other common type of resolution, I’m sure you have heard of, is High Definition (HDTV). A lot of consumers do not know what High Definition truly is, and TV salesmen love this. To get the best high definition you want 1080i or 720p (p=progressive, i=interlaced). True 1080i has 1080 lines vertically and 1920 pixels horizontally, this is represented by saying 1920x1080, and the other is 1280x720 (720p). There are many TV’s on the market that have different resolutions like (900x720), depending on what you resolution is the picture on your TV will appear stretched or compressed unless you have true 1920x1080 or 1280x720. Also there is no 1080p since there is too much data to transfer on today’s cable technology, so don’t believe anyone who tries to sell you a 1080p TV, because as of now (May 2008) it doesn’t exist.
There are several different technologies for TV’s that exist to date. The first kind is CRT (Cathode Ray Tube). This is the old technology used in TV’s that is more than 100 years old, and is dying off fast. CRT TV’s are those big heavy square TV’s that you probably still have in your house, and was the only type of TV available, until flat screen started coming into the market. Flat screen TV’s come in many different flavors, the most popular are: LCD, Plasma, LCOS, DLP, and the newest: LED. LCD is by far the most popular, over plasma because of plasma’s bad reputation for image burn-ins, and fragileness, also plasma is more expensive than LCD. Although, plasma screen TV’s are known to have a better picture than LCD. LCD is cheaper than plasma uses less energy and does not reflect sunlight like plasma. LCOS is almost the same as LCD but it is made from silicon, meaning that it could last 100 years. DLP TV’s have a nice picture like plasma’s because they create the picture by using thousands of mirrors to reflect the picture onto the screen; they are also cheaper than plasma screens. And finally the newest and most expensive type of TV is LED TV’s. LED TVs are bright, last a long time, are more expensive now, but will get cheaper as they become more popular, and are even being manufactured to be flexible, there are a few LED TV’s available, but I would wait a few years until the prices come down for this technology.
Hopefully this guide has helped you to understand more about the different types of TV’s available, and what you should look for when buying a TV.
The size.
The resolution.
The technology.
The size of a TV is very important depending on the size of the room that you will be putting it in, and the distance that you will be away from it. The most popular size of TV on the market is 42”. A 42” TV is recommended for the average living room because it is best suited to be watched from about 4-6 feet away. If you are going to buy a larger TV 52” and larger it is recommended that it will be about 10-12 feet from where you are viewing it from. Watching a larger TV from too close can cause a large amount of strain on your eyes and can become uncomfortable after long periods of viewing. This is why it’s recommended that in the bedroom (unless you have a big distance between the bed and TV) you choose a smaller size (somewhere around 20” - 32”). But the size of the TV is irrelevant if you don’t have the proper resolution.
The resolution of your TV is very important, because it determines how clear and sharp your TV’s picture is. The first type of resolution is standard definition. Almost all TV’s before flat screen were standard definition. Standard definition means that your TV is drawing 480 lines on the screen to create a picture, but each line is not drawn all at once, first it draws every other line (the odd numbers), then it draws in the rest. Our eyes cannot tell that this is happening, since it happens so fast all we see it one full image. This process of drawing half of the lines then filling the rest in is called Interlaced Signal. There is also another process of creating the picture called Progressive Scan. Progressive scanning draws all the lines at once, and is sharper than interlaced. The other common type of resolution, I’m sure you have heard of, is High Definition (HDTV). A lot of consumers do not know what High Definition truly is, and TV salesmen love this. To get the best high definition you want 1080i or 720p (p=progressive, i=interlaced). True 1080i has 1080 lines vertically and 1920 pixels horizontally, this is represented by saying 1920x1080, and the other is 1280x720 (720p). There are many TV’s on the market that have different resolutions like (900x720), depending on what you resolution is the picture on your TV will appear stretched or compressed unless you have true 1920x1080 or 1280x720. Also there is no 1080p since there is too much data to transfer on today’s cable technology, so don’t believe anyone who tries to sell you a 1080p TV, because as of now (May 2008) it doesn’t exist.
There are several different technologies for TV’s that exist to date. The first kind is CRT (Cathode Ray Tube). This is the old technology used in TV’s that is more than 100 years old, and is dying off fast. CRT TV’s are those big heavy square TV’s that you probably still have in your house, and was the only type of TV available, until flat screen started coming into the market. Flat screen TV’s come in many different flavors, the most popular are: LCD, Plasma, LCOS, DLP, and the newest: LED. LCD is by far the most popular, over plasma because of plasma’s bad reputation for image burn-ins, and fragileness, also plasma is more expensive than LCD. Although, plasma screen TV’s are known to have a better picture than LCD. LCD is cheaper than plasma uses less energy and does not reflect sunlight like plasma. LCOS is almost the same as LCD but it is made from silicon, meaning that it could last 100 years. DLP TV’s have a nice picture like plasma’s because they create the picture by using thousands of mirrors to reflect the picture onto the screen; they are also cheaper than plasma screens. And finally the newest and most expensive type of TV is LED TV’s. LED TVs are bright, last a long time, are more expensive now, but will get cheaper as they become more popular, and are even being manufactured to be flexible, there are a few LED TV’s available, but I would wait a few years until the prices come down for this technology.
Hopefully this guide has helped you to understand more about the different types of TV’s available, and what you should look for when buying a TV.
Guide created: 01/05/08 (updated 26/12/08)
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