| Shop carefully and speak with a well-informed sales person. Televisions should be marked to indicate if they have a built-in digital tuner. Televisions labeled as “digital monitor” or “HDTV monitor” or as “digital ready” or “HDTV ready” may not have a built-in digital tuner. Without one, those TVs will need a set-top converter box to access a digital picture. Every analog television will need a converter box. Be sure to ask your retailer if the set you are purchasing has a built-in digital tuner.
Prices for digital televisions continue to drop. Cost varies widely depending on the size, the level of capability and the options provided. Digital televisions shipped to retailers after March 1, 2007 must contain built-in digital tuners. It is recommended that the height of your high definition set should be approximately 1/4 the distance from the screen to where the viewer will traditionally watch.
Digital televisions come in two levels of picture quality:
- Standard Definition TV (SDTV):
Basic digital television displayed as 480p scanned vertical lines in 16 x 9 format.
- High Definition TV (HDTV):
The best quality digital picture, 16 x 9, widescreen display with at least 720 scanned vertical lines or 1080p scanned vertical lines that offers exceptional clarity.
Just because a television set is digital, does not mean it is a high definition television. If you want a true high definition picture, make sure you get a high definition set. A high-definition TV (HDTV) is a digital format that features much higher horizontal and vertical resolution, which provides a much sharper picture than today’s standard definition TVs. The best HDTV utilizes 1080p lines on the screen.
Display Format
You will be able to choose between the following display technologies:
- LCD (liquid crystal display)
LCD acts like a venetian blind, opening and closing depending on the current which allows light to pass through and controls what colors the viewer sees. If you’ll be putting the set in a bright room or if you’ll be playing video games, LCD is better. LCD has sharper detail and handles glare better. It also weighs less than plasma, which is a plus if you’re going to mount the screen on the wall.
- Plasma
Plasma involves different technology. The picture appears because hundreds of thousands to millions of tiny glass plasma cells react to the electric impulses. If you want to watch sports, plasma is best because it reflects actual speed. Generally, the color is better as well.
- DLP (Digital Light Processor)
DLP sets utilize a sophisticated microprocessor chip embedded with an array of millions of microscopic mirrors to project a digital video signal onto a screen with the help of a light source and projection lens. DLP television sets are somewhat bulkier than LCD or plasma sets.
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