Thing No. 1 Go HD.
Even for programs that are not being
broadcast in HD, HD display can still provide a sharper picture.
Plus, a lot of the good stuff is being broadcast in HD and more on the
way not to mention all your DVDs. If you’re subscribing to
Digital Cable or Satellite, you really only need an HD monitor since
the signal is already digital. The following will help you
understand this thing called HDTV: High Definition Television is a
function of the program first being recorded in HD, the signal being
sent in HD (or digitally) a tuner that can decode HD (this may or may
not be built into the set – it doesn’t have to be if you're getting it
through your digital cable or satellite set top box because the tuner
is in there) and an TV/Monitor capable of displaying an HD
picture. Some of these will provide a better picture even when
all of them are not present but all four are required for 100 percent,
true HDTV.
Thing No. 2 Don’t read reviews more than a few months
old.
The market has changed dramatically. The plasma people
used to point the finger at LCD and say Plasma blacks were blacker (LCD
technology had light leaking through) and that there was more
distortion when viewing at an angle with LCD as well as blur with a
fast moving picture. It used to be that if you wanted a big
screen (over 42”) Plasmas were more available and cheaper. All of
this has gone away and LCDs have caught up and surpassed Plasma in
these areas plus, they are cheaper, lighter to ship and available in
ginormous sizes. The pundits are expecting the Plasma market to
flatten and eventually die by 2010.
Check reviews out here: cnet.
Thing No. 3 Decide if you’re 1080p ready.
The high
end of the market is 1080p – sometimes referred to as True HD or Full
HD. This is the highest quality picture around although,
absolutely nobody is broadcasting in 1080p yet. (If you were geek
enough to sit through Star Wars Episode III and you happened to be in a
theatre equipped with 1080p projection, you saw it as George Lucas did
shoot the film in 1080p digital video.) You’d think they’d leave
it at that, let us decide and leave us alone…but, not so fast
trigger. A 1080p set will deconstruct a 1080i signal (which some
content IS currently broadcast in – can you believe this?) and put it
back together again in 1080p. One day, after all kinds of
governmental, FCC gobbledygook transpires, 1080p will be the broadcast
standard. However, we’ll be damned if we know when that is.
Thing No. 4 Get a wide screen.
All your DVDs and more
and more programming are formatted for wide screen. The square
sets either show black bars above and below or they distort the
picture. Not cool. We believe that they will be sorry unless
we’re talking about a small TV for the kitchen or something like
that. Otherwise, the trend is toward larger and larger screens
(42”+) so don’t feel like a stupid couch potato American for having a
giant TV – everyone’s doing it.
Thing No. 5 The world is flat (and dark).
The flatter
the screen, the less picture distortion and glare you’ll get from light
sources in the room. Also, the darker the screen when turned off,
the higher contrast the picture will be. You’d be surprised at
how different screens look when they are off. Some are slightly
green, some are a dark grey. Put everything on black for the best
picture.
Thing No. 6 Accessorize on an as-needed basis.
High-quality
coaxial and AV cable will improve the experience by degrees if this is
the central home theatre in your home and you want the most intense
experience. If you’re really playing in the deep end of the home
theatre pool, look for a comb filter on the TV – this is a whole
colors/lines/resolution thing. Most high-end TVs will have plenty
of outputs for speakers or video cameras, but if you’re going smaller
or lower-end, just make sure it has the outputs that you need.
After that, you’re on your own with progressive scan, channel block,
picture-in-picture, commercial skip timers and other such
gadgetry. We cannot know everything that goes on inside your
life. You have to make some decisions yourself. Go on now, you
can do it.
Thing No. 7 Decide on extended warranty based on the cost of
the set.
Truth is, most TV sets do not need repairs.
However, if you’re spending a small fortune, you’re probably scared
because if you are the unlucky exception, the repairs are also a
fortune. The high-end sets like LCD, Plasma and CRT-based
projection are highly integrated systems, meaning, when one thing
blows, the whole thing is blown. Everything needs to be
recalibrated…it’s a bad scene.
Thing No. 8 Buy online.
The bricks and mortar retailers
(both electronics superstores and mass merchandisers) cannot compete on
selection with the online powerhouses like www.amazon.com. The
mass merchandisers and warehouse stores suck even more on selection –
they tend to offer low-priced “copy-cat” brands almost exclusively and
the service blows. You can get the lowest price, the best
selection and great service with an online retailer plus, you don’t
have to carry it in the house. People seem to be happy with their jronline and buydigg purchases. Sometimes you can
score no shipping costs and, with those NYC-based electronics giants
like Crutchfield’s, unless you live in the state, you won’t be charged
tax. Of course, you already know to check pricegrabber.com or nexttag.com -- look for 5 star average ratings with over 10,000
reviews
Thing No. 9 Don’t be a dork.
Our superstore sales
people tell us they are dumb-struck (and they’re not the brightest
bulbs on the tree to begin with) by how many people return TV sets
because they don’t fit in the space or figure out that they can’t fit
it in their car or that they don’t know how they’re going to get it out
of the car and into the house. Then there’s always the Kramer
situation – don’t know where they parked the car. Take a moment
to get it together people. And, delivery is a nice splurge.