Before You Buy An LCD Television
Flat panel televisions are 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 deals on an LCD flat panel television, there are some useful tips to take into consideration.
1. Find a Place to Put Your LCD TV. 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.
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 x 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. 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.