17th January 2015,
Finding the right flatscreen TV depends on what you love to watch and how you like to watch it. Have fun learning about the latest technology as you explore the different kinds of TVs out there; and find one that fits your viewing needs.
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1 THE RIGHT SIZE
The right TV size for your room doesn’t necessary need to be based on the amount of space you have for it. As flat TVs take up much less space than you might think, your new TV may end up a foot or two further away from your viewing position, making the picture appear smaller. Here’s a guide:
• Ensure that your TV is big enough to fill your line of vision, but small enough to be sharp and clear.
• Calculate the ideal screen size by multiplying the distance that you intend to sit away from it by 0.535 and then rounding this up to the nearest size. For example, if you sit 80 inches away from your TV, the ideal size is 42-inch (80 x 0.535= 42.8).
2 TYPE OF TV
There are a lot of different screen types out there. Each technology has its own unique strengths and weaknesses:
• LCD TV- CCFL: Until recently, all LCD TVs were backlit by always-on, CCFL (cold cathode fluorescent) lamps. This ageing technology has been superseded by the superior LED method on more expensive sets, but is still standard on some cheaper models.
• LED TV – Direct LED: These displays are backlit by an array of LEDs (light emitting diodes) directly behind the screen. LED TVs are also more power efficient and capable of a wider colour gamut than CCFL sets.
• LED TV – Edge LED: With these TVs, LEDs of the backlight are mounted along the edges of the panel. This arrangement enables radically slender displays and offers superior contrast levels to CCFL.
• OLED TV: The backlighting on OLED (organic light emitting diode) sets is achieved by passing an electric current through an emissive, electroluminescent film. This technique produces far better colours and higher contrast and also enables screens to be extremely thin and flexible. This is the holy grail display technology and only in 2014 did a big screen OLED TV go on sale.
• Plasma TV: PDP (plasma display panel) TVs use glass panels containing millions of tiny cells filled with a mixture of inert gases. Plasma, while arguably superior to LCD in terms of contrast and colour accuracy, is only viable on large (42in+) screens and has been dropped by all but a handful of manufacturers.
• Curved TV: Some manufacturers are now making TVs that have slightly curved screens. But unlike old CRT TVs, the curve is inwards rather than outwards. The idea is that this makes every pixel equidistant from your eyes, delivering a more satisfying picture.
3 RESOLUTION
The picture quality of your TV is determined by the resolution, processing rate and screen type, so you’ll need to consider these when looking for a new TV.
• HD: HD TVs come in two resolutions. Sets with the HD ready are required to be able to display a minimum 720p picture, and generally has a screen resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels. Meanwhile, full HD TVs have a higher resolution of 1,920 x 1,080 pixels. It’s highly advisable that you don’t go for anything less than full HD in this day and age.
• Ultra HD and 4K: The resolution of Ultra HD is exactly four times higher than full HD – 3840 x 2160. It means a far more detailed picture, with content requiring a lot more bandwidth and storage space. 4K TVs tend to be good at upscaling HD video to Ultra HD but there are currently very few options for watching native 4K content.
4 FEATURES
To ensure that your TV gives you the picture quality you require, also consider these features:
• Contrast: Bright whites shouldn’t have any signs of green, pink or blue in them, while blacks should look solid and not washed out, grey, green or blue.
• Colours: Look at how bright and solid they are; how noiseless their edges are; how ‘dotty’ richly saturated areas are and how natural skin looks, especially in dim scenes.
• Fine detail: How much texture does the screen give? Does a tree look like a green lump, or can you see the individual leaves
• Edges: Check for ghosting, bright halos and jaggedness, especially around curves.
• Motion: Check moving objects and quick camera pans for smearing or blurring, trailing, jerkiness and fizzing dotty noise.
• Image artefacts: Look for blockiness, colour bands, grain, smearing, dot crawl: anything that looks like it’s added by the TV picture processing or a weak TV tuner. Tinker with a TV’s picture settings before making a final decision. Factory settings are rarely good for everyday viewing.
