Plasma TV Buying Guide
Buying a TV involves many choices, some of which may be brand new to you. This TV buying guide organizes the process into clear, logical steps that will help you make a smart decision.
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Budget: Of course, your budget affects all of your decisions. It is possible to find good televisions selling for a couple hundred dollars, while others sell for several thousands, and there are many TV's that fall in between those extremes. Screen size, features, brands, and more affect the price. Let us help you get the most out of your TV, no matter how much or how little you want to spend.
TV Type: If you are like many buyers, you have probably decided on a flat-panel TV, but you might not know whether to purchase a plasma TV or LCD set. although they look pretty much the same on the outside, they use very different technologies and the pictures have different characteristics. Although LCD TV's outsell plasmas do not assume that LCDs are the way to go. Flat panels have largely pushed rear-projection and picture-tube TVs to the side; not many of those sets are being stocked by retailers. Front projectors are a great choice for home theaters but less practical for everyday use. 3D TVs are the newest TV's in town, but given the relative scarcity of 3D programming, they're most appealing to early adopters.
Screen Size: Deciding what size television to purchase is one of the more enjoyable aspects of buying a new TV. Most people who purchase new sets tend to go larger when replacing their old set, because it enables them to fully appreciate the fine, sharp detail of HD content, making it more compelling and creating more of a theater experience. We recommend at least a 37-inch TV screen for your primary TV that you will watch often. Most consumers purchase a 40-to-42-inch TV, budget and room size permitting, and others buy a 46-inch or bigger TV according to room size. Screens of about 26 to 32 inches are good for casual viewing in bedrooms, and even smaller screen sizes suit kitchens. You should always remember to factor in the viewing distance when deciding on big of a screen will work in your viewing room. TV pictures tends to look better and more natural if you can sit at least 5 feet from a 40-to-47-inch set and a minimum of 6 feet from a 50-inch or larger TV. If you are closer than this, you might notice the picture elements (pixels) that make up the images, graininess, or video noise. If you watch mostly standard-definition programming, which is less detailed and often lower quality, allow more distance between you and the TV.
Screen Resolution: Resolution means the number of pixels, or picture elements, a screen contains. A 720p set displays 1024x768, 1280x720, or 1366x768 pixels. A set with 1080p resolution, sometimes advertised as "full HD," displays 1920x1080 pixels. The first number in each case indicates the number of pixels going across the screen from left to right; the second number is the number of pixels from the top of the screen to the bottom. That second number is often used as shorthand to describe the set's resolution, e.g., a 1080p screen has 1,080 pixels from top to bottom. Most new LCD and plasma TVs with screens 40 inches and up now have 1080p resolution, and the price difference between 720p and 1080p sets is shrinking.
As new technologies take over, they present consumers with a number of evolving television choices. There are now many more choices than just the picture-tube sets of your childhood. Whether you want a small set for the kitchen counter or a large one for watching the big game, we can help you to compare TVs in a variety of sizes and price ranges.