Nearly every home has one and its probably the second
most used electrical appliance after the fridge, the humble TV is what
most people turn to for entertainment. With the advancement of technology
the traditional fat CRT TV's are long gone and are now replaced with
much more slimmer, feature packed flat panel TV's. However for those
that want theatre like sound and vision the projecter. The projector
is the ultimate piece of equipment for those that enjoy watching movies
at the highest quality. All the latest TV appliances has come about
because of the development of HDTV. HDTV is basically a high quality
signal which has better picture quality and surround sound. To cater
for HDTV new TV's are produced to handle these signals. Older TV's previously
used analog signals in which the picture was grainy. Some of the older
generation may not notice this but if you put 2 tvs one with an analog
signal and one with a HDTV signal you will be sure to see the difference.
For ease of terminlogy the TV's on this site will be referred to as
HDTV's. All TV's mentioned can handle the higher quality signal and
really if your buying a TV, you have to make sure it us HDTV ready else
you are wasting your money. Please browse through this site to find
the right TV at the right price.
Some Things To Consider When Purchasing a HDTV.
TV Size
The older you are the worst your eysight gets. Generally people go bigger
when they replace the TV. The size you go depends on room you have and
how far you expect to sit from the unit. Back in the old days a common
size was 68 CM and 100 CM, these were huge and suitable for all lounge
rooms. These days you can get projectors that have a viewing area of
greater than 3 metres. The measurement for a HDTV is from the 2 corners
diagonal through the middle. The most popular size currently is 106
CM, this fits most houses but if you have a big house then you may want
to go bigger. Best thing to do is measure your room and go to Harvey
Norman store and test the TV's on display. The other thing to take notice
is the colour, they usually come in black or silver, pick a colour that
suits your furniture.
Plasma Vs LCD
Debate has been raging on which type
of HDTV is best. Even some manuafacturers have joined and pushed one
technology against the other. Each technology has its own advantages
but the gap is closing with time and most people won't notice the difference
in quality. Here is my take on it. Plasmas are better overall for picture
quality just because of the technology its based on. However they are
heavier and use more power than LCDs. They also have glare because the
viewing area is glass where as LCD it is plastic. LCDs have lower response
times so fast action scenes or sport can seem laggy. LCD is the newer
technology and will begin to take market share as soon as manufacturing
processes improve and become cheaper. Plasma will be phased out because
of the limitations in size, they can't get bigger then 60 inches because
of its weight and the size of its glass it needs for the viewing area.
If you are after a standard 42 inch screen then both Plasma and LCD
are widely available. Anything smaller then you are better off with
LCD for the price and anything bigger Plasma is cheaper.
Brand
There are a ton of manufacturers of flat
panel HDTV's, some brands share panels or use generic ones produced
by another company. You will often see HDTV's with the same specs but
different brands and pricing. For example AWA HDTV's use the same panels
as LG for some of its LCD TV range. If you shop smart, you can save
over 30%, the only difference will be the badge, the remote and maybe
the look of the TV. Worth considering if your on a tight budget. Based
on internet reviews the best valued plasma hdtv's going around are the
pioneers and the best LCD hdtv's are the samsung. Have a look on this
site for links to these reviews.
Price
A TV is something you will be spending
considerably alot of time on. It is one appliance in the house that
may get replaced every 5 years so what you buy now should be useable
for the next 5-10 years. Whatever your budget is make sure you are happy
with the features and the quality it outputs. Have a look at this site
for TV's in your price range and choose the one that is best value and
then go to a shop and see if the quality is what you expect.
Features
HDTV's come with features that you do
need and ones that you don't and ones that are useless. What i expect
is inbuilt HD tuner, HDMI inputs, and a base that can swivel. Anything
else I would take as a bonus but would not pay extra to get it. The
most important thing is the picture quality. Make sure you are happy
with it.
Connections
There are different ways to connect your TV to different sources.
The most basic is through RCA cables, this can be component or just
a single analog input. The source you have will determine the picture
quality displayed. Most new TV's now come equipped with HDMI. HDMI allows
one cable for video and audio. These cables are best purchased on ebay
as they can be expensive in retail shops. Of course the DVD player or
reciever will need to have a HDMI output as well.
