Understanding Hd Tv: A Guide For The Technologically Impaired
For those of us who aren"t to keep on getting a new TV to begin with, and maybe aren"t quite sure what was wrong with "old definition" ò€“ you"ve come to right place. Whether the old one finally bit the dust, or you"re just trying to keep up with the Jones", the mysteries of HD TV are fraught with acronyms and high-pressure sales people who insist "they"re not paid on commission."First of all, realize that in order to watch high definition TV, you need HD programming. This is something different than what your old TV could handle. You can pick it up over-the-air with a special antenna, but most folks wind up going with cable or satellite TV. This offers more channels in HD, and since regular definition looks less than desirable on a new HD set ò€“ its probably a choice you should consider. In most cases, basic HD programming won"t cost you a whole lot more than cable or satellite in regular definition. And, if you go with an HD programming package, you"ll be able to get all those great sports packages (life NFL Sunday Ticket) that everyone"s talking about.
Second, what"s all this 1080P and 720P business? When you go to buy your new TV, you"ll see a lot of 1080P stickers slapped on sets. What"s the difference between this and a (often cheaper) 720P set? The resolution ò€“ or the number of tiny colored dots that make up the picture. Does this mean the 1080P set will look better? Sort of. If you have a small TV that"s at a normal distance you probably won"t notice a difference. If you"re sitting 5 feet away from your 52" plasma, you"ll probably like the 1080P picture better. But there"s no reason to be scared of 720P ò€“ it"s still high definition. And contrary to popular myth, no HD TV can convert your standard-def programming into high definition. It just stretches it, and can often make it look worse.
Next, consider what kind of technology TV you"re interested in. If you"re in the market for a flat screen, LCD, LED, and Plasma will make up your choices. Plasmas are less expensive, offer similar (but a tiny bit less) quality than LCD, but have trouble at high altitudes. LED is the latest, greatest, and brightest, but it"ll cost you a pretty penny. LCD is the current market leader, merging value with great picture quality. You"ll find that prices for large sets are significantly higher than with plasma though. If you"re not dead set on flat screen though, consider DLP. It"s a light, thin projection set ò€“ but can offer huge sizes at much cheaper prices.
Finally, when it comes to hooking up your set, don"t opt for the really expensive cables. Unless you live in a huge computer laboratory with massive amounts of interference, there"s no reason to get the extra shielding that comes with really pricey HDMI cables. A quality power strip/surge protector is often a good investment, though ò€“ especially if you live in an area with frequent outages.