Stuck on how to pick a HDTV? What does everything mean; 1080i and 1080p, the response time, the contrast, etc
It’s a minefield and if you don’t know where to start you’ll get burn’t.
To help, you need to understand some terminology, you need to find out the basics of picking a good HDTV and what specs to look for in a good set.
Basic Things You Need To Know On Picking A Good HDTV
As many HDMI ports as possible
Low response time (8 milli secs or below)
High contrast ratio
HD ready logo
High resolution
Buy a set from the best - Sony, Samsung, Panasonic, Sharp and Philips
Things to Look Out For
Good brands to buy from If your totally stumped then you can't go far wrong if you buy from proven HDTV manufacturers.
Sony excel with LCD, Samsung and LG excel with LCD, Philips, Pansonic sharp offer first class Plasmas, LED and good LCD.
High contrast ratio A high contrast ratio, for example 6000:1, ensures the better the images will appear against a darker background.
Low response time 8 milli seconds or under
A low response time ensures smooth, lifelike motion and reduces motion blur. This is especially good for gaming
Multiple connectivity At least 1 HDMI port (2 or more is a bonus)
High Resolution The higher the resolution the better picture and more detail.
Useful Info/terms
Resolution The display resolution refers to the number of pixels in that can be displayed. Put simply the number of columns and rows of pixels creating the display (e.g. 1366×768). Important for picture quality when you pick a HDTV.
HDTV Resolutions The higher the resolution the higher the detail.
480p - 704x480 progressive scanning
720p - 1280x720 progressive scanning
1080i - 1920x1080 interlaced scanning
1080p - 1920x1080 progressive scanning -if you can pick a HDTV at max Hd all the better
Pixels The small blocks that make up your picture. Each pixel will display a red, blue and green element to make up your image.
Line A row of pixels
Scan The difference in how HDTV’s display the individual lines.
Interlaced Scanning Shown by the letter "i" (1080i for example) allows a whole frame to be redrawn in a 30th of a second.
Progressive Scanning Shown by the letter "p" (1080p for example), frame is redrawn in a 60th of a second producing a better picture
Aspect Ratio The ratio of the width of the screen against the height of the screen. HDTV’s are widescreen (16:9) and regular TV’s are 4:3.
HDMI High-Definition Multimedia Interface is the future of connectivity for a lot of home entertainement gadgets.
One HDMI port is ok but it is wise to get two. If you want to hook up your PS3 via HDMI (for the best image) then three HDMI ports would be ideal.
