About: Flat panel televisions are quickly becoming quite commonplace on store shelves and in consumers’ homes. LCD flat panel televisions, with their decreasing price points and performance improvements are becoming a very desirable alternative to the standard CRT set. However, before you jump at the latest “great AD deal” on an LCD flat panel television, there are some useful tips to take into consideration.
1. Find a place to put your LCD television
2. Native Pixel Resolution
3. Scaling
4. Motion Response Time
5. Contrast Ratio
6. Brightness
7. Viewing Angle
8. Tuner and Connection Considerations
1. Find a place to put your LCD television
Since LCD TVs are very thin, they can be either wall or table mounted. For a wall mounted LCD TV, avoid placing over a functioning fireplace. The heat from the fireplace may affect the performance and longevity of the set. If you are using the provided table mount, take a tape measure to the dealer with you so you can make sure that the entire width of the set will fit in your space. Make sure you leave one or two inches on each side, the top, and back, for ventilation and connection access.
2. Native Pixel Resolution
LCD flat panel sets have a fixed number of pixels on the screen surface. The key is to get as high a native pixel count as possible. Most LCD TVs 23-inches and up in screen size offer at least a 1280×720 native pixel resolution. This is the minimum pixel count you should look for.
You may also notice native pixel resolutions on some sets listed as 1280×768, or 1366×768. In addition, some larger screen LCD TVs now offer 1920×1080 native pixel resolution, which is even more desirable, but costly.
3. Scaling
Scaling is a process where a television’s video processor will match the resolution of the incoming signal to its native pixel resolution. This means that lower resolution signals will be upscaled, but the processor will downscale higher resolution signals so that they can be displayed at the TVs native resolution.
Poor scaling can result in artifacts, such as jagged edges and inconsistent detail. It must also be noted that results also depend on the quality of the incoming signal.
4. Motion Response Time
The ability for an LCD TV to display fast moving objects has, in the past, been a weakness of LCD technology. However, this has improved dramatically. This does not mean that all LCD TVs are created equal in this area.
Check the specifications for Motion Response Time (ms = milliseconds). A good LCD TV should have a Response Time of either 12ms or 8ms, with 8ms being optimum, especially if you watch lots of sports or action films. Be wary of LCD TVs that do not list their motion response time.
5. Contrast Ratio
Contrast ratio, or the degree of variation of the whitest and darkest parts of the image, is a very important factor to note. If the LCD TV has a low contrast ratio, dark images will look muddy and gray, while light images will look washed out.
A good contrast ratio to have in an LCD TV is 1,000:1 or higher. Anything less than 1,000:1, especially on a set that is 30-inches or larger, may not provide an optimum viewing experience.
6. Brightness
Without sufficient brightness your image will look muddy and soft, even in a dark room. Viewing distance, screen size, and ambient room light will affect the need for more brightness capability.
A brightness rating listed as 550 cd/m2 or higher is good, however, don’t get bogged down with the technical number listed, just make sure the screen is bright enough for your needs upon your own visual inspection.
7. Viewing Angle
Make sure you can view the image on the LCD TV from the sides as well as the from the prime viewing area. LCD TVs typically have a good side-to-side viewing angle, with many going as wide as 160 Degrees, or about 80 degrees from the center viewing spot.
If you find that the image begins to fade or becomes unviewable within 45 degrees from either side of the center viewing spot, then it may not be a good choice where you have a large group of viewers sitting in different parts of the room.
8. Tuner and Connection Considerations
Almost all LCD-TVs have built-in NTSC tuners, with some feature dual-tuners for PIP functions. (…) However, if you receive your HDTV programming via cable or satellite, instead of over-the-air, the need for a built-in tuner is negated as you will be using the settop boxes provided by your cable/satellite service to receive HDTV programming.
Cornelius Gee | Sunday, November 26, 2006 at 16:21
And not forgeting to make sure there is enought space in the room for the recommended viewing distance from the tv set ( 3 feet viewing distance to 1 foot of diagonal screen size). Not to nice the viewing experience if sitting too close.