Television Buying Guide

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LCD

Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) technology works by using a liquid crystal layer through which light is shone to produce the picture. The liquid crystals twist to allow light through the layer in varying strengths in each individual pixel. This creates the image on screen.
Due to the nature of liquid crystal, the reaction time can be slower than other technologies, but this is now being overcome by using motion technology to smooth the pictures and give a far superior result.

What are the benefits of LCD TVs?

LCD technology is widely available in all screen sizes.

LCD TVs are great for general viewing.

They perform particularly well in brightly lit environments, such as a kitchen or conservatory because the lights used to create the picture are bright.

LED

Light emitting diode (LED) uses the same technology as LCD, with a layer of liquid crystal used to control the light and create the picture. The difference here is that the back light is delivered from a series of LEDs rather than the fluorescent tubes used in conventional LCD.

What are the benefits of LED TVs?

LED lamps are brighter and use less energy than LCDs of a similar size.

The LED lamps can be individually controlled resulting in better contrast levels as the backlight can be turned off in areas it is not needed.

LED TVs are extremely slim which is ideal if you are mounting your TV on a wall.

They are great for experiencing vivid colour and detail and perfect for watching nature programme's.

LED TVs are widely available across most screen sizes.

Plasma

Technology used in plasma TVs is made up of thousands of tiny cells, each containing a gas, which glows when charged by electricity. These form the pixels that make up the picture.

What are the benefits of Plasma TVs?

Plasma technology is found in screen sizes above 37 inches. So if you are looking for a large Television, such as a 50 inch TV, plasma TVs are perfect.

Plasma technology is able to respond quickly to fast moving images, making it great for watching sport or fast action movies.

They deliver very high contrast so dark areas of the picture do not suffer from stray back light, which can be the case with LCD TVs.

High Definition is exactly as the name suggestions, they definition and clarity of the picture is very high. The image displayed on the screen is crisp and clear. There are basically more pixels on the screen, giving the higher definition.

Once you get a HD TV, to fully benefit from the quality of the picture it can offer, you may want to get a HD FreeView or FreeSat box (some TVs come with these already installed) on which you can pick up free HD channels such as BBC One HD, or join Virgin or Sky's HD service.

To really benefit you can purchase a Blu-Ray Player. Blu-Ray disks produce Full HD videos. If you enjoy gaming, Playstation 3's come with one already installed, and you can watch Blu-Ray's as well as play HD TV's.

720 or 1080p?

HD Ready TVs are different from Full HD TVs. Full HD TVs have the highest resolution (number of pixel), the screen is 1080 pixels high, whereas HD Ready TVs are 720 pixels tall.

Freeview HD

Freeview HD works just like normal Freeview, except you can pick up the HD channels. Freeview is free to watch, they only thing you will need to pay for is the box itself (and maybe the HDMI cable if one isnt supplied).

Freesat HD

Again, Freesat HD works just like normal Freeview HD, except the channels are picked up through a satellite dish instead of an ariel. Freesat is again free to watch, they only thing you will need to pay for is the box itself, and maybe the HDMI cable if one isnt supplied, and a satellite dish with installation if you dont already have one.

Blu-Ray

If you have a HD TV, especially a Full HD TV, then a Blu-Ray Player is a must! Once you get your Blu-Ray player, you can then play Blu-Ray disks in glorious Full HD, and really make the most of your new TV.

Other Accessories

Surround Sound - get a HD surround sound system to really get that cinema experience.
HDMI - these cables are the ones you will need. They transmit the large amounts of data needed for HD videos.
Wall Mount - a wall mounted TV is great in large living rooms.
TV Stand / Cabinet - the traditional TV stand can also double as storage

The size of your TV is important. Its not always a case of 'the bigger the better'. If you live in a small flat, then having a large TV in your living room can mean every time you put on a movie, you feel like the last person in on the front row of the cinema, and end up with a stiff neck. Also, will you have enough room for your TV in your desired location, or will the TV be too small for the room? Always check the actual size of the TV itself, not just the screen size, as in built side speakers can make the TV wider than you thought.

Remember:

The screen size is the diagonal size of the screen, not the width.

You should sit around 1.5x the screen size away from the TV.

You will need somewhere large enough to put your TV.

Full 3D Guide Coming This Week

Full Smart TV Guide Coming This Week