Choosing a TV
Size: Gone are the days when TV viewing was restricted to the living room. These days there are TVs in bedrooms, kitchens and even bathrooms. Choosing the right one depends on a number of factors – what you’re watching, the size of your room and where you’re hoping to locate it. Remember, television screen sizes are measured diagonally from the top corner to the opposite bottom corner of the display.
If you’re looking for a general purpose TV for the hub of your home a 26-40 inch screen should be about right, depending on the size of your room and how far away from your sofa you’re planning to put it. You definitely need something big enough to see O’Driscall’s latest wonder-try in glorious detail, but you probably don’t want the front-row-of-the-cinema effect a massive TV in a small room will create.
For a kitchen or a bedroom, 15-23 inch screens are popular choices. They’re big enough for occasional or close-up games console use, without taking over the room.
Film buffs and sport fans looking for that something extra might want to push the screen size up to 37-52 inches if they’ve got the space. Sizes can go up to 60 inches, but expect a price tag just as big.
Widescreen: Old fashioned TVs had an aspect ratio of 4:3 - for every 4cm it is wide, it is 3cm tall. That resulted in a ‘square-ish’ picture, which cut off an awful lot of the picture when showing movies designed for the cinema. As TV technology has advanced, TVs have now adopted the standard widescreen 16:9 ratio, which delivers a picture much more like a cinema screen.
Flatscreens - LCD vs plasma: Flatscreen TVs use either LCD or plasma technology to deliver a high-quality picture from a unit that is much slimmer than the old CRT models, about 20-30cm deep. That means you can mount them pretty much where you want, provided you have the right equipment and a strong enough wall.
LCD TVs are lighter and use less energy, while plasma probably gives you the best picture for sports and movies – it’s great for fast-moving images.
LED: LED TVs do away with the fluorescent lamps seen in LCD TVs and produce even more colourful, detailed images, especially when dark colours are involved.
HD: LCD, plasma and LED technology has allowed for the development of HDTV - or high definition television. This delivers a high-resolution image that gives a sharper, more detailed picture with brighter colours than ever before.
HDTV images come in several formats: 720i, 720p, 1080i and 1080p. The number - 720 or 1080 – refers to the number of horizontal lines that make up the picture compared to the 576 on a standard definition picture. So 1080 HDTV is effectively twice as good as a standard definition picture because there are more to give more precise detail. The ‘i’ stands for interlace and the ‘p’ for progressive. Progressive is widely regarded to deliver better results, but even a 720i is pretty impressive-looking to someone used to standard definition pictures.
If you’re looking to buy a TV that you keep for a long time, it might be worth spending a little more now for the highest spec you can afford in order to ‘futureproof’ your purchase from new developments. 1080p is currently the top of the tree as far as HD is concerned.
HD ‘Ready’: If you buy an ‘HD ready’ television you’re not going to get HD pictures straight away. The picture quality will be great, but unless you sign up for an HD subscription through Sky or UPC, you’ll still be watching standard definition pictures. Soarview Irish Digital will have one HD channel in 2012, but it isn’t available in all areas yet, so make sure you check your region. Some new TVs will have MPEG4, Irish Digital sound and picture compatiblity.
Even if you’re not anticipating signing up to a HD service at the moment, it’s worth thinking about getting a HD ready television if you want to try to stay one step ahead - content is sure to expand. You can also use your HD telly to play Blu-ray discs or connect up your games console for a sharper, clearer, more colourful experience.
Frequency: For clearer, less blurry images, look at TVs with 100Hz/200Hz technology.
Connectivity: If you want that full cinematic experience, don’t forget to check the spec or have a look round the back of the screen to make sure you have all the inputs and outputs you need. You’ll be left frustrated if your new purchase hasn’t got the connectivity you need to plug in the Blu-ray, laptop and satellite box. A HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface) socket is essential if you want to plug in a Sky or UPC box. Make sure you’ve got at least two. DVD players will plug-in to a SCART socket – again, two can be handy - and you’ll need an aerial coaxial RF for your standard TV aerial. Outputs are important two if you want to hook your TV up to a stereo or surround sound system.
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