How to Choose a TV

Not sure what to buy? Here’s a step by step guide to choosing the right TV for you. Step One: Screen Size
Don't let cost alone drive your decision on screen size. Think about where you'll be watching the TV. In general, the bigger the screen, the more room you need — for the set itself and for viewing distance. If you sit too close to any screen, you'll see the picture elements (lines or pixels) that make up the images.

When you're in the store, step back from a TV until you can't see the scan lines or pixels that make up the picture. That's the minimum distance to strive for at home. With HD sets, allow at least 5 feet for a 36-inch or smaller set, 6 to 9 feet for larger screens. You need even more distance for analog sets.

The screen size you decide on may help narrow your choice of technology. For example, you're unlikely to find a traditional picture-tube TV with a screen larger than 36 inches or a rear-projection TV with a screen smaller than 40 inches.

Screen shape, or aspect ratio, has become almost a moot point. Most HD sets are now 16:9 models, designed for the wide-screen format of most HD broadcasts and movies on DVD. You'll find square-looking (4:3) screens only on some HD sets using picture-tube or LCD technology, and on some analog sets. In most cases 16:9 screens are better for buyers of HD sets, because more programming will shift to wide-screen format as time goes on.

Step Two: Thin or Thick
Today's TVs range from a few inches to a few feet deep, so you can opt for a set that's slim or chunky or somewhere in between. In most cases, the thinner the profile is the higher the price will be.

LCD and plasma flat-panel TVs are the trimmest and the priciest; their screens measure less than 6 inches thick, and they can be wall-mounted.
Rear-projection models using LCD, DLP, or LCoS technology offer a middle ground for both size and price. Most of these sets are about 15 to 20 inches deep, though RCA has introduced a 7-inch-deep set.

Rear-projection sets and traditional TVs using CRTs (cathode-ray tubes, commonly called picture tubes) are the bulkiest at about 24 to 30 inches deep. They're also the cheapest.
Samsung recently introduced a SlimFit tube TV that's only 16 inches deep. LG Electronics is expected to offer a similar product as well.

Floor space is an important consideration with bulkier TVs. The largest rear-projection sets can take up as much space as a loveseat. Even if such a monster fits in your room, you might not like the way it looks.

Bear in mind that any large television set will look more massive in your home than in a spacious showroom.

Step Three: Type of Display
Picture tube TVs are the best choice if you want a mid-size HD set at a fairly low price, and if the bulk doesn’t bother you.

LCD TVs are the best choice if you want a smaller flat-screen set.

Plasma TVs are the best choice if you want a very big, very thing set without a front-projection setup.

Rear-Projection TVs are the best choice if you want a very large TV for less than the cost of a plasma TV.

Front Projector TVs are the best choice if you want a theater-like viewing experience on a huge screen, and are willing to deal with a complex, professional setup.

Step Four: HD or no HD
If you're thinking of buying a new television, buy a digital, HD-capable model.
Those sets have the highest native resolution — the number of picture elements the screen contains — so they can display the sharpest and most detailed images. Standard-definition television sets display much less detail.

Step Five: HD Ready
Some HD televisions contain a digital tuner that can receive digital broadcasts of all types, HD as well as standard definition (SD) and enhanced definition (ED). But most HD sets on the market are HD-ready, meaning they need an external digital tuner — an HD cable or satellite box or a set-top box used with an antenna — to decode HD broadcasts. They are the least expensive type of HD-capable TV.

Integrated HD TVs have built-in digital tuners and can get broadcast and other digital programming — but no ESPN or other cable or satellite channels — via antenna. To get HD via satellite or cable, most of these sets require a special cable box or satellite receiver, just as HD-ready sets do. Starting in July 2005, all new TVs 36 inches and larger were required to have a built-in digital tuner to comply with a government ruling. Smaller sets must have a built-in digital tuner within a year or two.

Digital-cable-ready (OCR) TVs are a new type of integrated HD TV. They can not only get digital broadcasts by antenna but also receive unencrypted digital-cable programming without using a box. For digital HD and premium cable programming, which is encrypted, you must insert a CableCard into a slot on the set. (Some cable companies encrypt all or most digital programming, so you may need a card for virtually everything.) These TVs cost more, and you usually have to pay a few dollars a month to rent a card. Many integrated HD TVs coming out now are digital-cable ready.

If you will be getting HD via cable or satellite, you can save by buying an HD-ready set while they're still available in large sizes. An integrated set is a fine choice, but it will cost more.

Don't rush to buy a digital-cable-ready TV. Current, first-generation CableCard TVs are one way, so they don't provide an interactive program guide, video on demand, or pay-per-view ordering via the remote control. For those, you'll still need a cable box. Second-generation DCR TVs and CableCards should be here soon. They should have two-way capability, allowing for interactive features.

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