Hi-Definition TVs are the hot item right now in consumer electronics, capable of displaying sharper, clearer and more colorful pictures than their predecessors. But there are several things the savvy buyer needs to know before investing in an HDTV.
HDTVs are divided into three main categories: Plasma, LCD and rear-projection. Each has its advantages and disadvantages that students should consider before buying.
Plasma screens use thousands of tiny gas plasma bubbles coated by phosphor and charged by precise electrical voltages. In English: each bubble is like a microscopic lamp that emits one of the primary colors to make up a picture.
According to Steve Mcalister, Senior Sales Associate in the HDTV department of Circuit City, plasma screens are better for viewing from a distance, and outperform LCD and projection screens in fast-moving applications such as gaming. Plasmas also offer 16.77 million colors, the widest range of all the displays.
In its infancy, the technology was prone to instability and a short life span. Now those problems have been reduced to rumor by recent technological advances.
“Plasma lasts much longer these days, about 60,000 hours,” Mcalister said.
The downside: plasma screens are more susceptible to glare and “screen burn,” which is caused from still images being displayed too long. Mcalister said buyers should look for a feature that refreshes to remove “screen burn” when shopping for plasma.
LCD, or liquid crystal displays, are comparable in price to plasma screens and offer most of the same features. The tiny liquid crystals are colorless and react to different degrees of electrical current. Light is passed through the crystals and is colored by a separate filter to create the image viewers see.
LCDs offer higher resolutions by size than plasma screen and have better image stability, which reduces eye fatigue. Mcalister said this makes them better suited for up-close viewing.
The downside: LCDs tend to lose image quality and color when viewed from an angle. They are also more likely to blur during fast motion on screen, and have lower contrast ratios, which make darker colors appear shallow.
Last but not least is the year-projection display. Sometimes labeled as DLP, or simply “projection,” these displays have good picture quality and are more economical. “You can get bigger screens at less expensive prices,” Mcalister said. They handle fast movement well, and offer a comparable amount of color depth at an affordable price.
The downside: Projection TVs require more space and tend to be much larger and bulkier than their LCD and plasma counterparts. Mcalister said while projected images may suffer from a slightly lower quality picture, they still are capable of displaying remarkably sharp images.
Mcallister offered a few more tips for students who are ready to enter the world of high definition.
Size does matter, according to Mcallister, and you do not want a screen that is too big for you to handle.
“A good rule of thumb for projection TVs is to sit three times the size of the TV away for optimal viewing.”
In other words, don’t cram a 70-inch screen into your tiny living room. It will make the picture blurry and put strain on your eyes.
Think about the future – look for features your next generation of entertainment will support, like HDMI inputs and 1080p technology.
Knowledge is power, educate yourself. If you have an idea of what you want, it’s much easier to find the right HDTV.
“I recommend you do some research beforehand and have a good idea of what your budget is. Just because its not a top name brand, doesn’t mean its not a good TV,” he said.
Stephanie Canedo, marketing sophomore, has never watched an HDTV.
“I have a TV that’s as old as me,” she said. “I’ve never really watched anything in HD, so I don’t really see what the big deal is.”
Many students who have seen Hi-Def said they enjoyed the quality. “It was like an ocular orgasm. The only reason I don’t have one is because I don’t have the money, and I don’t have any children to sell on the black market to obtain said money,” said TJ Stokes, industrial engineering junior.
—–Contact Jimmy Garrett at [email protected]