In part one I mentioned a few things to look for when shopping at your local electronics store for a TV, particularly an LCD Flat Panel, Flat Screen or Plasma TV. Here are some other things to look for when considering purchasing a new TV:
The Flat Panel TV. This model can be either mounted on a stand or a stated before, wall mounted. These are space savers when it comes to deciding on these types of TVs and offer quite an impressive screen resolution. The Flat-screen TVs, as the name implies, have a flat screen but still have a large frame requiring some distance from the wall or entertainment system for placement.
These types of TVs use a technology called LCD, or Liquid Crystal Display. This is the same technology that your LCD computer screen uses that your reading this with right now. If you were able to look close enough, you would notice that your screen is made up of very small pixels, red, green and blue. In a bit more complicated process, collectively they gather digital data from your computer to create a picture that your eye can see and interpret. LCD TVs use this same technology. One drawback to the LCD is its inability to produce a true black color. If you look real close at your monitor, you'll notice what should be black, often appears as a grayish or even brownish tone. This is especially true with fonts and letter characters. In the past couple of years, the LCD has greatly improved this problem, for both computer screens and TVs. Another drawback to the LCD is its lack of wide vision view. If your audience is sitting to the far left or far right of your LCD TV, the image may become blurred. Again, the newer model LCD has been greatly improved.
Plasma TVs. Another design buyers have as an option is the Plasma screen TV. Just as the LCD, it has its good and bad points. Plasma TVs use a mixture of tiny gas plasma cells ignited by precise electrical voltages to create the picture that you see. Because of this design, Plasma screen TVs tend to run hotter than LCDs. One advantage over LCD, is Plasmas ability to produce a true black color, resulting in better contrast and clearer picture. Some believe that Plasmas have lost popularity in the market. This is most likely due to improvements in LCDs, both in quality and pricing.
Now that I've covered some basic stuff about TV design and types, there is something I forgot to mention in part one.
While you shop, consider the image your looking as you compare models and brands. The image you may be sampling is most likely HD, (High Definition) DVD or Blue-Ray prerecorded media. Ask the service rep if he or she can tune to a local news cast or program that you are accustomed to viewing. They should have an in-store cable or satellite feed that you can look at. Merchants will do their best to make that picture as clear and crisp as possible to get you to buy.
Lastly, I like to call it "Tech window shopping". If your planning on buying a new TV, the Christmas Holiday season is the best time to do it! In fact it's the most sought after item during Christmas, as merchants drop prices to almost rock bottom. Start your window shopping now. Take notes and don't buy on impulse. Besides a home and car, the TVs of today can be one of the biggest investments you can make and should last for years. When the holiday rush hits, you will already have a good idea on what model, make and design to look for. That $3,000 price tag that you see now, might drop a few hundred by Christmas and you'll be ready!
And perhaps ten or fifteen years from now, you'll have developed your own technique as you do your own "Tech window shopping". Although our pocket books will never keep up with science and design, the "smart" shopper is always the "better" shopper!
