Big Screen Buyers' Guide: UPDATE
Taking the plunge with a big screen television? Here's 10 questions you should be asking yourself before you hit the shops.
Taking the plunge with a big screen television? Here's 10 questions you should be asking yourself before you hit the shops.
2. Where in the room should the TV go?
Where you want to put your new telly can have a large effect on the type of screens you should be looking at. If you've got a spare wall that you think needs a bit of sprucing up, then a flat screen plasma or LCD are your best bets. If you're happy to put it on a stand or on shelving with other components, then throw in wider rear projection screens or even wider CRT televisions into the mix. Just remember that if you're planning on wall mounting, you need to be sure that your wall can take a plasma or LCD screen's weight. Plasmas and LCDs may be light compared to other types of TVs, but they can still weigh upwards of 20-30kgs. Mind you, Panasonic's 65-inch Viera TH-65PV600A tips the scales at a massive 79kg!
If you want a full refresher on the different types of television technologies out there, have a look at our Quick Guide to TV types. There are basically four different types of television -- direct view tube TVs, plasma, LCD and rear projection. Direct view tube TVs are the televisions you grew up with -- they're the bulky CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) sets that most people still have. While they are quite heavy and take up a lot of space (particularly in these large sizes we're exploring), direct tube TVs still offer outstanding quality pictures at an extremely reasonable price.
Plasma screens, along with LCD screens, are what you should be looking at if you're after a set that will give you high quality mixed with good looks. Plasma and LCD screens are also your best way into the digital television world, particularly if you're keen on experiencing high definition TV. There are of course differences between plasma and LCD (read our article on plasma vs LCD to see what's right for you), but the rough rule of thumb is that plasmas are cheaper on a screen inches per dollar equation.
Rear projection televisions used to be as bulky as their direct view cousins, but some of the latest models being released are becoming extremely thin and stylish. You can't quite mount them on a wall, but some rear pros, such as the 70-inch Sony Bravia KDS-70R2000 can offer almost as much style as a panel display at a much lower cost per inch basis.
To be able to display HD, your new television must have a minimum resolution of 576 lines x 720 pixels @ 50Hz progressive (576p). HD can also be 720p (720 horizontal lines progressive), 1080i (1080 horizontal lines interlaced) or 1080p (1080 horizontal lines progressive). The 1080p format is the latest and greatest, appearing in high-end television models designed for Blu-ray and HD DVD video players.
If you want the best television experience, go for a set that can display HD (the sales collateral on these sets will usually say something like "HD Ready"). Bear in mind though that not all television shows are being broadcast in HD quality. For more information, check out our feature on digital TV in Australia.
Contrast is how well a screen can produce blacks or whites. This spec is usually expressed as a ratio, such as 1200:1 for example. What the contrast ratio measures is how many 'steps' the screen has between displaying full black and full white -- in other words, how many shades of grey it's capable of producing. A set with a high contrast ratio can reproduce dark scenes with plenty of detail, producing images with a smooth shift from light to dark areas without any patches.
Resolution essentially measures how many pixels there are on a screen. The higher the number of pixels, the sharper and more detailed an image the screen can produce. You'll often see this spec expressed in two figures, such as 1024x768 (which means the set has 1024 horizontal lines and 768 vertical lines of pixels).
But remember that just because you have a screen with a high resolution doesn't mean you're always going to see high resolution images. Your source signal (such as the TV signal or a DVD) needs to be equally high -- you'll need a high definition TV signal playing on a high definition resolution screen to get a true HD experience. In fact, normal analogue signals may even look worse on high res screens because they can expose the poorer signal's faults.
7. What do I want to plug into my new television?
Gone are the days where all you needed to plug into a TV was a video player and your antenna. Before you start your TV trek, you need a list of what types of other equipment you'll want to plug into your proposed new screen to make sure that firstly, it has the right inputs, and secondly that there are enough inputs to accommodate all your gear. Gear you'll probably want hooked up includes DVD recorders, video players, game consoles, digital set top boxes, or even things like photo printers and handheld multimedia devices (like a camcorders). Of course, you may want an AV receiver to be your input centre instead, but it won't hurt to have a big screen with an extensive array of connections.
The types of connectors a screen sports are also important. The most advanced and future-proof connections are the all-digital HDMI ports that can carry high definition video and several digital audio channels all on the one cable. You should also look for at least one component connector (for the best analogue video signal), along with some S-Video and composite ones -- for connecting devices like camcorders and cameras on an ad-hoc basis, these ports should be in accessible locations on the side or front of the television panel.
9. How much do these things cost?
The good news is that big screen televisions are becoming cheaper every day. The cheapest 42-inch plasma TVs are now well and truly below AU$2000 -- street sales prices are even better. Of course these are not the latest and greatest models; large plasmas with 1080p resolutions can soar up to AU$17,449 for a big 65-inch screen.
Even though LCDs are still slightly more expensive than plasmas on a per inch basis, the disparity is diminishing. Today, 40-inch LCDs carry RRPs from as low as AU$2699. Again these models have lower specifications, but even 40-inch 1080p LCD offerings are in the AU$5000 range.
Rear projection televisions, if you have the space, may represent the best value of all. Some 56-inch models are under AU$3000, while giants up to 72-inches can be found for less than AU$6000.