Widescreen TVs Buyers Guide

Widescreen televisions are becoming more affordable and more people than ever are opting to buy them. The main drawback to owning one is that you need room to set it up and watch it comfortably. All offer flexibility in size and features.

Room Size    

It doesn’t matter how good the quality of the television is if you don’t have the right sized room for it. Widescreen television is viewed best if you sit between 1.5 and three times the screen width distance away. An example using a 42-inch widescreen television would require your viewing spot to be at least 5 1/4 feet away from the television. If you have a 60-inch widescreen, the distance for quality viewing would need to be 7 ½ feet away.

Standard Definition vs. High Definition

Standard definition will provide DVD quality picture viewing while high definition will provide much sharper clearer picture viewing and has up to twice the horizontal resolution and three times the vertical resolution of standard definition.

Resolution for High Definition     

High definition television must have a minimum resolution of 576 lines x 720 pixels @ 50Hz progressive (576p). HD can also be 720p (720 horizontal lines progressive) or 1080i (1080 horizontal lines interlaced).

Brightness

Brightness refers to how bright the screen can get, and is usually expressed as a figure followed by cd/m2 (for example, 1000 cd/m2). Cd/m2 is a measurement based on the light wax candles produce and stands for candela per square meter. A measurement of 1000 cd/m2, for example, means the set has the equivalent brightness of 1000 candles packed into a square meter. Obviously the higher the number, the brighter the screen.

Contrast

Contrast refers to how well a screen can produce black or white colors. This spec is usually expressed as a ratio, such as 1200:1 for example. This ratio specifies how many steps are built into the television to display full black and white color (how many shades of Grey it can produce). A high contrast ratio allows the television to display dark scenes with full detail that produces images with a smooth transition from light to dark areas without patches.

Resolution

Resolution refers to how many pixels there are on a screen. The higher the pixels, the sharper and more detailed an image is projected on the screen. Pixels are expressed as 1024x768 (the television has 1024 horizontal lines and 768 vertical lines of pixels). An important note is that high resolution doesn’t mean that the television produces high-resolution images. In order to produce high-resolution images, you need a good source signal or high DVD quality. In other words, you need a high definition signal that plays on a high-resolution screen.

Connectors

It is best to choose a widescreen television that affords you the ability to connect various components to. It should have at least one component connector, an S-Video connector and a composite connector. If you want the best video quality, look out for screens with DVI or HDMI connectors.

Price  

It’s always best to comparison shop when making a big-ticket purchase such as a widescreen television. Basically you can expect to pay anywhere from £864.89 to £2,882.54 for models with various features. The more feature rich the television is, the more you can expect to pay. A good quality widescreen television can set you back about £5,765.08.

Features to Consider

Here are some features to consider when making a decision about purchasing a widescreen television. The obvious features to consider are picture quality, brightness, contrast, detail, and lack of signal or video noise. Combine them with a good sound, a user-friendly remote control, and connection options appropriate to your level of use. Additional feature considerations include:

·         Vivid, natural and razor sharp images

·         HDTV Monitor for the highest quality display of HDTV signals

·         Progressive Scan for razor-sharp and flicker free images

·         3D comb filter to separate colors for a razor-sharp image

·         Active Control with Light Sensor to optimize picture quality

·         Superb sound reproduction for a cinema-like audio experience

·         Auto Picture to personalize your viewing

·         Ability to adjust the picture shape

·         HDMI for full digital High Definition connection

·         Component Video Input for top quality playback and recording

·         Side stereo AV & headphone jacks

Design

Widescreens come in a variety of designs. Gone are the days of huge bulky widescreen televisions. Offerings now include sleek, lightweight designs that can easily be moved from room to room. Slender designs also give you more flexibility when it comes to space.