10 Tips For Buying Plasma Televisions & Other Big Screen TV's

When getting the right large screen TV for your needs, you will need to consider the display technology, your budget, your viewing preferences, and the proper screen size for your home theater room.

So lets get started with 10 Tips Before Buying Plasma Televisions or Other Large Screen TV’s.

1) How To Choose The Proper Large Screen TV Size For Your Home Theater Room...

Well, I’m one of those freaks that sits in the front ¼ of a movie theater so I like a really BIG screen, but for “normal” humans, the distance your seats are from your home theater television will determine the detail and the clarity of your picture. Until all HDTV broadcasting is complete, most of your TV viewing is still probably analog broadcasts and if you sit too close then its really not going to be very clear. If you only watch HDTV images then you might sit about 8 feet from a 46 inch large screen TV. The general rule of thumb for analog TV viewing is to sit about three times the distance from your TV screen based on the diagonal size of your screen. Meaning…if your plasma televisions or any big screen TV is 50 inches, then you would sit about 12 feet from your screen, but go ahead and move a few feet closer if you’re watching DVD’s or HDTV.
 
2) Should I Get A Box Type TV or A Flat Panel TV?

Flat panel plasma televisions and LCD flat panel TV’s are way cool because they are only a few inches thick, but your budget and need for optimal HDTV clarity are things to consider too. For optimal clarity with plasma televisions, you will need at least a 50 inch diagonal screen. If the thickness of your large screen TV isn’t an issue then you can buy a box type TV with full HDTV resolution for much less money and it will only be about 14 inches thick. If you insist on the thin display but can’t afford a 50 inch or greater TV than you can go ahead and buy smaller plasma televisions or LCD TV’s but you will be sacrificing some true High Definition quality.

3) Do I Really Need High Definition TV (HDTV) Resolution?

If you must have a thin flat panel TV display then you can get a 42 inch TV with DVD clarity, which is known as Standard Definition (480 lines) or Enhanced Definition TV (EDTV) for much less money than the larger 50 inch plasma televisions. Any programs broadcast in HD will still look way better than on any analog TV and DVD’s will look awesome.

4) Standard 4:3 TV verses Wide Screen 16:9 TV…

The 16:9 for wide screen TV’s is the ratio of the screens width to its height. Its also the standard for HDTV and will match most DVD and HDTV programs. Wide screen 16:9 displays are quite wide compared to the more conventional square shape of the standard 4:3 TV display. You should think about what kind of television you mostly watch. If you watch conventional TV programs on a wide screen 16:9 TV then you will see black bars on each side of the picture. You can stretch the picture but the display will be distorted. If you choose to get a standard 4:3 TV then get one with raster compression. That way it will maintain HD 1080i or 720p scanning lines so you can still get High Definition clarity.

5) An Excellent Money Saving Alternative To The Large Screen TV…

If large screen plasma televisions aren’t in the budget and you don’t care about the thickness of the TV, then why bother spending the extra money on a smaller flat panel display? You can still get excellent picture quality and long life (14 years plus) with the regular old Cathode Ray Tube type TV’s (CRT) for a lot less money than plasma televisions. The downside is limited screen size (40” maximum) bulk and weight. Panasonic, Sony, Samsung and Toshiba make excellent TV’s and non-High Definition programs and DVD’s will look excellent.

6) Front Projector verses Rear Projection TV (RPTV)…

If you still insist on a large screen TV but money is an issue then you might consider a front projector or rear projection TV (RPTV). The problem with front projectors is that your home theater room must be totally dark for viewing. That is not the case with a rear projection TV (RPTV). RPTV’s are less expensive than big 50 inch plasma televisions and most will give you full High Definition picture resolution with a life span of 7 to 10 years. The least expensive are the CRT rear projection sets available from 40 to 80 inches with 16:9 widescreen displays. They use three CRT tubes that must be regularly aligned to retain a sharp image. Be sure to get one with auto convergence or you will have to pay someone several hundred dollars to fine tune it for you. Just like regular old direct view HD CRT TV sets, rear projection TV’s are heavy and deep. The image looks its best in a dimly lit room and the screen looks dark when viewing from an angle.

7) LCD Rear Projection TV or DLP?

LCD rear projection TV’s and DLP TV sets are more expensive than CRT’s but unlike RPTV described above, they are maintenance free except for the bulb that lasts from 3000 to 8000 hours. You can replace it yourself and depending on the brand of TV set, it will cost you from $300 to $500. You can also view a DLP set in a room with normal light. DLP sets have a bright sharp picture almost equivalent to a CRT set. You will notice the picture becoming more dim at extreme viewing angles too. LCD rear projection TV sets are much better now than they used to be. High Definition sharpness and resolution is comparable to DLP and even better with some sets. Like DLP, they don’t require maintenance except for the replacement of the bulb. We don’t yet know what the lifespan of LCD RPTV’s and DLP is yet but it should be similar to a CRT rear projection TV.

8) How About Liquid Crystal on Silicon (LcoS)?

LcoS is purported to be a new technology that is supposed to be promising and able to produce greater clarity and resolution than LCD or DLP and at this time LcoS is more expensive than LCD or DLP.

9) Is Front Projection TV Viable For You?

There is no doubt that a huge movie theater like widescreen image has the most impact, especially when coupled with great speakers, but front projection TV will require a dark room. If not then the image will appear washed out. If your home theater room can be totally dark then a front DLP or LCD projector can be convenient, affordable and have great picture quality. Remember to factor in the cost of a good quality screen because you will lose contrast and brightness if you project the image on to your wall.

10) Satellite TV or Digital Cable TV As Your Source…

Satellite TV or digital cable boxes have the highest quality HDTV signals. With both the satellite receiver or digital cable box will receive and decode the High Definition signals as well as analog TV signals carried by the cable system. There won’t be any need for a separate HD tuner with either of these unless you are within range (about 30 to 40 miles) from a terrestrial digital HDTV broadcast. If you want to receive the terrestrial HDTV broadcast then you will need an HDTV receiver.

Other related articles you might be interested in:

- 10 Reason Why Satellite TV Is Better Than Cable TV.
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