New Televisions
Purchasing a new TV has got a lot more complicated than ever before and the last few years has birthed a whole pile of new myths so lets have a look shall we?
TV Types
CRT’s
Your Dad’s TV is now called a CRT Television. There is nothing wrong with this tube type of TV if all you do is watch broadcast TV, use a VCR to tape your favourite TV shows and rent the odd DVD. The best news is that these sets have tumbled in price and a 27” is less than $300.
LCD TV’s
This technology is the same as the screen on your laptop. They range in size from 20 inches up to 60 or so. The good news is they are great in sunny rooms (less glare) and use 20% less energy.
Plasma TV’s
These have really improved in the last couple of years. They have better blacks than LCD’s but are very reflective, heavier than an LCD and use more power. There used to be a concern about how long they’d last but the newer models will go for over 60,000 hours or 24 years.
LCOS
Same as an LCD but uses silicone for extremely long life.
DLP
Uses thousands of little mirrors to reflect the image to the screen. DLP’s are cheaper than plasma.
Resolution
This is the key difference with new TV’s over the older models. Your Dad’s TV had 480 lines of resolution with 240 refreshing with each pass.
Newer versions, called “Enhanced Display” or “ED”, are “progressives” and light all 480 lines at the same time making for a sharper image.
“HD” or “High Definition” TV’s are the about to become the standard so if you’re in the market this is the kind you want to purchase. There are two types the 1080 lines of resolution that charges half the lines with each pass or the 720 Progressive that, yes, you guessed it, lights all 720 lines with each pass. Check out each style to see what you prefer.
4:3 vs. 16:9
These two numbers represent the relationship between the length of the screen and the width this is the aspect ratio. Older style TV’s had an aspect ratio of 4 units wide to 3 tall. New sets called wide screen are 16 units wide by 9 units tall.
The world is going wide screen to accommodate the full size of a movie screen so look for a 16:9 widescreen TV.
Viewing Distances
I have to laugh when I see a 62-inch TV shoehorned into a 10” by 15” living room. First it looks ridiculous, but in reality you will have to sit too close to the set and the screen will look blurry and pixilated.
Here is a little chart to help you figure out what size you should purchase.
Screen size Min. viewing distance Max. Viewing distance
26” 3.3 ft 6.5 ft
34” 4.3 ft 8.5 ft
42” 5.3 ft 10.5 ft
50” 6.3 ft 12.5 ft
65” 8.1 ft 16.2 ft
Connections
This can get really confusing really fast. What you want to see is as many varied connection options as possible so that you can plug in antennas, VCR’s, Satellite and cable boxes, DVD players, game consoles, Blu-ray players, PVR’s, TiVo players computers and other HD sources.
Don’t get talked into purchasing a set that only takes the latest and greatest as we all have a VCR kicking around and you never know when you want to watch an old tape of the kids when they where young.
Chris Brown
TV Types
CRT’s
Your Dad’s TV is now called a CRT Television. There is nothing wrong with this tube type of TV if all you do is watch broadcast TV, use a VCR to tape your favourite TV shows and rent the odd DVD. The best news is that these sets have tumbled in price and a 27” is less than $300.
LCD TV’s
This technology is the same as the screen on your laptop. They range in size from 20 inches up to 60 or so. The good news is they are great in sunny rooms (less glare) and use 20% less energy.
Plasma TV’s
These have really improved in the last couple of years. They have better blacks than LCD’s but are very reflective, heavier than an LCD and use more power. There used to be a concern about how long they’d last but the newer models will go for over 60,000 hours or 24 years.
LCOS
Same as an LCD but uses silicone for extremely long life.
DLP
Uses thousands of little mirrors to reflect the image to the screen. DLP’s are cheaper than plasma.
Resolution
This is the key difference with new TV’s over the older models. Your Dad’s TV had 480 lines of resolution with 240 refreshing with each pass.
Newer versions, called “Enhanced Display” or “ED”, are “progressives” and light all 480 lines at the same time making for a sharper image.
“HD” or “High Definition” TV’s are the about to become the standard so if you’re in the market this is the kind you want to purchase. There are two types the 1080 lines of resolution that charges half the lines with each pass or the 720 Progressive that, yes, you guessed it, lights all 720 lines with each pass. Check out each style to see what you prefer.
4:3 vs. 16:9
These two numbers represent the relationship between the length of the screen and the width this is the aspect ratio. Older style TV’s had an aspect ratio of 4 units wide to 3 tall. New sets called wide screen are 16 units wide by 9 units tall.
The world is going wide screen to accommodate the full size of a movie screen so look for a 16:9 widescreen TV.
Viewing Distances
I have to laugh when I see a 62-inch TV shoehorned into a 10” by 15” living room. First it looks ridiculous, but in reality you will have to sit too close to the set and the screen will look blurry and pixilated.
Here is a little chart to help you figure out what size you should purchase.
Screen size Min. viewing distance Max. Viewing distance
26” 3.3 ft 6.5 ft
34” 4.3 ft 8.5 ft
42” 5.3 ft 10.5 ft
50” 6.3 ft 12.5 ft
65” 8.1 ft 16.2 ft
Connections
This can get really confusing really fast. What you want to see is as many varied connection options as possible so that you can plug in antennas, VCR’s, Satellite and cable boxes, DVD players, game consoles, Blu-ray players, PVR’s, TiVo players computers and other HD sources.
Don’t get talked into purchasing a set that only takes the latest and greatest as we all have a VCR kicking around and you never know when you want to watch an old tape of the kids when they where young.
Chris Brown
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