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Step 1 - HDTV Buying Guide Introduction

Purchasing a High Definition Television can be a daunting task. There are so many TV’s to choose from, not to mention several different technologies to choose from! Making a decision on the kind of HDTV technology you want is one of the first steps you have to take. If you want a flat panel HDTV you pretty much have 3 options, LCD, LED or Plasma TV’s. Depending on what type media you will be watching or playing should dictate what type of HDTV you should get. Lets not forget to add price range, viewing distance and room lighting levels into the equation. In this guide you will learn how to buy your next HDTV, what technology will suite you best and where to find the best deal on the HDTV you decide to purchase. So do yourself a huge favor and take about 15 minutes or so and read our complete guide to buying an HDTV.

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Step 2 - Selecting the Best HDTV Technology That Matches Your Lighting Conditions

The first step is figuring out the lighting conditions in the room where your new HDTV will be. If the room has ample sunlight and you plan on watching TV during the day with the blinds open then you should be leaning more towards LCD TV technology. LCD TV’s or LED TV’s perform better in ample lighting conditions due to it’s powerful bulb or LED bulbs which is the main illumination source for the HDTV. If you have a dark living room or if it’s going to be a type of home theater with low light levels then Plasma HDTV’s should be a strong consideration because plasma HDTV perform better in low lighting conditions due to it’s lighting source. Plasma HDTV’s use neon and xenon gas as their lighting source, this makes plasma technology ideal for low light conditions because they give off less ambient light.

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Step 3 - Type of Media You Will be Watching

Another major factor that comes into play is the type of media that you will be watching. If you are going to be watching sports in HD then you want a TV with a quick Refresh Rate & Response Time. Plasma HDTV’s are naturally much faster in this arena then LCD and LED HDTV’s. Almost every plasma HDTV has an average response time of .002ms while the average LCD / LED HDTV has a response time between 2.4ms to 10ms. When watching sports and fast paced action movies response time is crucial to limiting the motion blur you may experience. Plasma TV’s have a history of performing better in fast action scenes. LCD’s have come a long way since their push into the market place. An LCD / LED TV with a 120Hz or 240Hz Refresh Rate should perform very well when watching sports or action scenes, so if you want an LCD/LED and plan on watching sports and fast action scenes spend the extra money for a 120Hz or 240Hz set. To sum it up, If your going to be watching TV in low lighting conditions most of the time then Plasma is the way to go, if lighting conditions is abundant and preferred then LCD / LED should be your choice. Sports fans, in low lighting conditions would be better off with plasma or an LCD / LED HDTV with a minimum refresh rate of 120Hz - 240Hz.

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Step 4 - HDTV Optimum Viewing Angle Guide

Off angle viewing is something that slips most of our minds, with the CRT’s of the past this issue was minimal. Flat panel TV’s which offer new solutions also pose new problems. Manufacture stated viewing angles are between 150° - 177°. Plasma HDTV’s offer greater viewing angles then LCD’s. Although LCD technology has improved in this area Plasma HDTV’s still offer better viewing angles due to the way plasma technology displays the picture. So, if your going to be sitting more then 90° off axis “that’s 45° left from center 45° right from center” then Plasma would do you more justice in the viewing angle arena due to it’s wider viewing angles. Below is a diagram to help put this in perspective.

Recommended

LCD / LED TV viewing angles

Recommended Plasma TV viewing angles

Optimal sitting position is at 0°

Approximately 12 Degree difference from Plasma to LCD / LED

So with a Plasma HDTV’s you get about 24 Degree more viewing angle, 12 degree to the right and 12 degree to the left. The average viewer finds that LCD’s/LED have sufficient viewing angles.

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Step 5 - Selecting The Best Screen Size

Optimum HDTV viewing distance is the distance that provides the viewer with the optimum immersive visual HDTV experience. Selecting the right screen size becomes another major factor you will have to decide.

Viewing an HDTV from a position where the display occupies a 30 degree field of view is widely quoted as the SMPTE or (SMPTE 30) recommendation. This recommendation is very popular with the home theater enthusiast community, it also appears in books on home theater design, and is also supported by a white paper produced by Fujitsu.

THX recommends that the “best seat-to-screen distance” is one where the view angle approximates 40 degrees, (the actual angle is 40.04 degrees). Their recommendation was originally presented at the 2006 CES show, and was stated as being the theoretical maximum horizontal view angle, based on average human vision. For consumer application of their recommendations, THX recommends dividing the diagonal screen measurement by .84 to calculate the optimum viewing distance for a 1080p resolution.

Calculating which HDTV screen size suites you best

Start off by measuring the distance “with a measuring tape” from the where the screen will be directly to where your eyes will be, “not to the front of the sofa but where your head & eyes will be, make notes of the exact distance. There are several recommended distance guides from manufactures to independent Home Theater companies. We decided to go with the middle of the road guide, other guides can be see on our Complete Optimum Viewing Distance Guides page.

Ok, so you measured the distance from your HDTV’s location to where your eyes will be. Now review this guide and find the screen size that corresponds with the distance you measured. If you want a home theater type of visual experience “closer to the screen” then you should go with the minimum distance to-size in your range. For a less immersive experience go with the maximum distance to-size in your range. So get your measuring tape and select your screen size below.

This is one of the most widely utilized Range Guides from Crutchfield™. See our Complete Optimum Viewing Distance Guide for more information on this topic.

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Step 6 - Selecting The Best Native Screen Resolution

The Market Currently offers 2 major Native Screen Resolutions, 1080p and 720p.

Your obvious choice would seem to be the higher number, 1080p. This is not the case, depending on the type of media you will be viewing should dictate what resolution would suite you best. Another words, why would you spend the extra money on a 1080p HDTV if your not going to be viewing any 1080p or 1080i content?

Okay, now you might be wondering if you should spend the extra dollars to get a 1080p HDTV. Hopefully we can help you weigh the pro’s and con’s. As Blu-ray Disc storms the market 1080p is becoming a desired native resolution of the many instead of the privileged few. As technology improves we are sure 1080p will become a broadcast standard, when? We don’t know or will begin to pretend we do. But what we do know is that technology catches up, and usually at a high rate of speed. Use the graph below to determine what resolution would suite you best, remember that 1080i (interlaced) will look better on a 1080p HDTV then on a 720p HDTV because the TV won’t have to up-convert the image. So, if you plan on watching sources that output in 1080i you will get a better picture with a 1080p HDTV.

Remember that a fixed pixel display                        (LCD / LED / Plasma) has to up-convert or down-convert an image if the output source does not exactly match your HDTV’s native resolution.

UP-Converting

Okay, If the input signal source (Cable, DVD, blu-ray, etc.) displays more pixels then the displays native resolution loss of visible detail and sharpness will occur. The picture still looks good, just not as sharp, showing slight visible degrading of picture quality is normal in this case.

Down-converting

In-turn, if the input signal source outputs fewer pixels than the native resolution, you will not experience any extra sharpness from your television, nor will the picture be degraded.

Is 1080p right for me?

So, we will revisit the question; is 1080p worth it? If your going to have a Blu-ray™ player, most definitely! If your going to be watching over 40% 1080i content then yes you will get a better picture viewing 1080i content with a 1080p HDTV.

Is 720p right for me?

Will you be using a Blu-ray player, or a DVD player? Remember DVD players output at 480i or 480p, Blu-ray players output at 1080p. Watching DVD’s on a 720p HDTV looks the same as it does on a 1080p no better, no worse. On the other hand watching a Blu-ray™ Disc

on a 720p HDTV will not look as good as on a 1080p HDTV.

What type of broadcast content will you be watching?

Will you be watching HD “High Definition” content or SD “Standard Definition” content? If your going to be watch less then 40% HD content and don’t plan on getting a Blu-ray™ Disc player then a 720p HDTV should wow you just as much as a 1080p HDTV will.

What’s the best resolution for gaming?

Keep in mind, that advanced gaming systems like the Xbox360 and the Playstation 3 have a HDTV/HDMI output option at 1080p. These 2 systems will still look good played on a 720p TV but better on a 1080p TV because the HDTV will not have to up-convert the image to match it’s output resolution. If you don’t use the HD output then it won’t matter which resolution you use choose because it will output at a lower resolution then 720p.

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Step 7 - What Brand HDTV should I buy?

On this site we reviewed 20 different HDTV manufactures and over 107 HDTV’s, depending on your needs should determine what brand will suite you best.

The HDTV market place is very competitive! Different manufactures offer different features and specifications

to their consumers. To get you started we will highlight some of the Major HDTV manufactures.

The Top 7 Major HDTV Manufactures

Samsung, LG, Sony, Sharp, Philips, Vizio and Toshiba. They all have a wide variety of HDTV’s and Competitive pricing. They all have several different Series of HDTV’s, depending on what your needs are should determine what series you decide to purchase.

Following close behind the TOP 7 are JVC, Hitachi, Panasonic, Mitsubishi, Zenith and RCA. They are known for quality but are not as popular as the Top 7. They also offer competitive pricing and several different series to suite your needs.

The Budget HDTV Manufactures

The best thing about a free market is healthy competition, on the rise are; Sylvania, Insignia, ViewSonic, Polaroid, Olevia, NEC, and Westinghouse. These Budget Manufactures offer HDTV solutions at low competitive prices. They all have different series to suite different viewing needs. They do lack some of the bells and whistles of the Major brands but that’s how they keep the manufacturing cost relatively low.

Selecting the Brand that suites you best should be dictated by a few deciding factors;

1. Your budget

2. Manufacture specific features & specifications

3. Look and feel

4. Warranty

5. Availability

6. Company Reputation.

Remember, When your deciding on the manufacture to purchase ask yourself these questions, it will help you decide!

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Step 8 - How To Get The Best Deal on an HDTV

Okay, by now you should have a good idea on the technology type, resolution type and the screen size that would suite your best.

Now it’s time to find the best deal on the HDTV you decided to purchase. Should you go with traditional methods like shopping at retail stores? Or should you buy online? Remember, an HDTV is defined by it’s features, specifications, series, and manufacture not where you buy it from. If it’s new it does not matter where you get it from because the warranty is from the manufacture not the retail store. You can usually find the best deals online, this is because retail stores have a higher markup to cover their overhead, marketing budget and one of the biggest expenses, employees.

First option If your looking to have an HDTV installed your options range from buying at a retail store and having them deliver and install it, which usually cost more.

Your second option is to buy it online and have a local AV company install it. The installation cost are comparable to those of a retail chain but you buy the TV cheaper because you saved dollars buying it online.

Third option, Buying it online Installing it yourself

“it’s pretty easy” Almost every HDTV comes with it’s own TV stand, making it easy to setup in an entertainment center. You can even buy a wall mount online and have it shipped to your home along with your TV, they are relatively easy to install and comes with installation instructions. Doing this way will save you the most money.

Lets revisit the question, Where can I find the best Deal on an HDTV? The answer is; mostly online stores, ok great! But... What online stores? Well, It depends who is offering what deals at what time. Go ahead and relax we have done all the hard work for you! In this next section you will be give given the tools to research, review and compare hundreds of different HDTV’s, the best part is; once you find the HDTV you want to purchase in our Review Center you can scroll to the bottom of the review page and get instant offers on the model your reading the review on from some of the highest volume HDTV sellers online!

HDTV Deal Finder

In addition to the shopping engine on the review pages we have a built-in HDTV Deal finder that allows you to shop, select, read consumer reviews, research the seller and add it to your shopping cart without ever leaving our site! Once you decide to checkout you will be redirected to that stores secure server to pay for your purchase! Best of all our HDTV Deal finder is powered by Amazon.com™ a well respected, well known online retail outlet.

Step 9 - Research and Compare

Your #1 Most Trusted Source for LCD TV Reviews, LCD HDTV Buying Advise, LCD TV comparison, Plasma Television Reviews, LED TV Reviews, Complete Ratings on LCD & LED TV’s, HDTV Articles and Complete Guides on how to purchase your next High Definition Television!

TIPS

If you have multiple sitting areas that are more than 3 feet apart in distance from the TV screen, you will have to determine which sitting area should take priority and use that measurement

       OR

If your want to optimize both sitting areas you should measure the distance from the nearest sitting area to the farthest sitting area then divide it by 2 and add that number to the distance of the closest-

-sitting area, Example: Your sofa is 5 feet away from the TV and your arm chair is 9 feet away. That’s 4 feet difference, divide 4 by 2. So you have 2 feet, add this to the 5 feet for a total of 7 feet, now look it up in the ranges guide above.

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Thanks for helping us find our TV, it’s a samsung and we love it!

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Thanks for helping us decide which type of HDTV to get, it’s confusing. We really like the comparison and the lcd vs plasma guide, thank you.

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