Searching For A New Television

During the past couple of months I have done a bit of research on HDTV's. I currently own a Sony LCD, 40 inch, 60 hz model. It gets an excellent picture and has given me outstanding service. But technology changes and I believe it is time for me to update my equipment.

Here's some things I have observed in my research. Plasma and LCD televisions are about equal in brightness. Plasma has several advantages. It has a much better viewing angle. Plasma is better for speed, i.e., auto racing, soccer, and yes, even football. Experts say plasma has a darker black than LCD, but my old eyes can't really tell the difference. But, plasma is prone to having images burn into the screen if left on it long enough.

LCD on the other hand has a crisper picture. It is a worry free screen as regards burn in, even though there have been instances of pixels going bad which will leave a dark spot on the screen. Burn in is not a problem with LCD. The viewing angle of less expensive LCD's is rather "iffy". The greater the angle of viewing the less clear the picture. However, I noticed that not to be the case on the more expensive models. Still, plasma is clearly the winner where viewing angle is important. If you sit close enough to an LCD screen, you can see some actual blurring in fast motion scenes. It is not very noticeable unless you really know what you are looking for. Manufacturer's have solved that problem by increasing the refresh rate and labeling it as increasing from 60 hz to 120 or 240 hz.

LED televisions use a LCD screen with LED bulbs lighting the edge of the screen. The result is a much brighter picture and improved intensity of blacks. An LED screen will almost equal plasma in black intensity. Still, plasma is the clear winner on viewing angle even though most LED manufacturer's claim a viewing angle of 178 degrees. I favor the LED over plasma and LCD mostly because of the brighter screen.

The top brands all have good pictures. By top brands I refer to Sony, Samsung, Vizio, and LG. Up until recently, Sony had been considered the "spec" model. Samsung has replaced them. Vizio has significantly improved as has LG. Of the top brands, Sony is the only Japanese manufacturer. The remainder are Korean. Vizio has made significant quality strides in the last couple of years and receives some fine ratings while still marketing itself at a lower price. Vizio is worth serious consideration by all consumers. Samsung is the largest manufacturer of HDTV screens. Sharp has a new "quattron" color scheme which adds yellow to their color spectrum. It produces a very good picture. However, the Sharp brand is still riddled with problems. I would give them at least a year to get their quality problems under control. And I believe they will.

New technology has convoluted the market with 3D, internet access, LED, huge contrast ratios, and higher refresh rates. Some of that, in my opinion, is not very good. Internet access is nice if you do not have a laptop computer you can plug into your TV. The internet access available on the TV or through the BluRay player is still quite limited. You can access Net Flix, Pandora Radio, Facebook, and a few other internet sites, but you don't have unlimited access to the internet. Various internet sites are moving to block access unless you pay for it. So I don't recommend purchasing a TV based on internet access. There are better ways to do that. If you absolutely have to have internet access for your television and don't want to use a laptop computer, then consider getting that technology through your BluRay player. It is the less expensive route. You will pay $50 to $75 for that technology in your BluRay player. When included in the TV itself, it increases the price between $300 and $500.

3D is the coming technology that will be evolving over the next two to three years. Very little 3D content is being broadcast, and when it is, you will pay a premium price to view it. Currently 3D requires the use of special glasses for viewing. Just off the horizon, manufacturers are engineering sets which will transmit 3D pictures without the necessity of using the glasses. Toshiba currently is marketing a small screen that shows 3D without any extra apparatus. I expect the technology to reach the regular sized screens fairly rapidly. Still, the amount of 3D broadcasts will be limited for several years to come. Many broadcast stations are still only broadcasting in 720p while depending on your TV set to upconvert the 720p picture to 1080i. The maximum potential right now is to broadcast in 1080p. Americans only have that available in limited quantities or through BluRay dvd's.

So what am I going to purchase. I have chosen the Samsung 6300 series LED with a refresh rate of 120 hz and a contrast rate of 4.5 million to one. I like the picture very much. I think Samsung makes a quality product. And I am not getting any non-TV bells or whistles; just a TV with a good picture. That's what it's all about isn't it?

If you don't currently have a HDTV and are looking, I suggest you look at the 720p models which are significantly lower in price. You will see everything in HD with a very good picture. Another good choice would be to go with a Panasonic plasma set in either 720p or 1080p. The plasma prices have dropped significantly. If you don't have cable access or a satellite receiver, remember that you can pick up local channels via an old fashioned television antenna. If you are close enough to the TV broadcast tower, you can use a set of $20 rabbit ears to get the signal. The "off air" signal straight from an antenna is far superior to cable or satellite reception. That is because the signal is not condensed for rebroadcast. Cable and satellite have limited bandwidth and they have to "squeeze" the signal in order to preserve bandwidth to offer hundreds of additional channels. I have always said that my satellite picture is outstanding but my over the air picture from the antenna is astonishing.