Flat Screen TV Buying Guide
We have an enormous selection of flat screen TV sets. You will find 40 inch flat screen TV sets, 37 inch, 50 inch, and more. Is you know which model you are interested in purchasing, click on the links below or on the sides to take you to the particular TV that you have in mind.
If you do not yet know which TV you would like to buy, check out the flat screen TV buying guide... If you're the kind of individual who researches products and assesses their pros and cons before making a purchase determination, looking to get a new television can be an overwhelming experience. Confusion plagues even the most cautious consumers, and TV manufacturers, marketers, and retailers frequently generate more uncertainty as they push added features, new-fangled technologies, and add-ons in the continual pursuit of profit.
If you discover that those pages encompass a lot of information, you can actually skip to the Best TVs section to uncover our current top television recommendations according to our assessments. We won't assess every TV, so ultimately, we hope that our guide helps you make the ultimate buying decision by narrowing down the most important points.
One central factor we will not fully address directly in a general guide, however, is total image quality. It varies a lot from model to model, and images one viewer likes might seem garish, washed-out, or otherwise undesirable to another viewer. Our product critiques concentrate primarily on this, and spell out variations from a critical view.
Size Up Your Flat Screen TV
TVs are available in sizes from 5 inches to over one hundred inches diagonal; however, we suggest a dimension of not less than thirty two inches for a bedroom TV also at least forty inches for a living room or primary Television. If you're replacing an existing TV set, those measurements might sound too big--tube televisions had a maximum dimension of 36 inches--but trust us, a comparatively large HDTV is an excellent thing. In fact, more than any "feature" we discuss, we consider stepping up in TV screen size the top use of your money. Probably the most important post-Television-purchase complaints we heard is from people who did not purchase a big enough television.
Flat Screen TV Size versus Room Size
How big can you go? Your upper limit shall be determined by your budget, taste, as well as by the space where you would like to put the TV. If you are looking to fit an existing entertainment center, make sure you have no less than an inch on the edges and top of the television cavity to allow for exposure to air, then aim to get a Television which may fill that space without being too big (usually too wide). HDTV width is usually 1 inch to three inches less than the screen size, so a 46-inch TV is usually 44 inches wide, while a 65-inch Television is 63 inches wide.
Are you able to go too large? Positively. Based upon your decor, you might not want the TV to dominate the room too much. If that's a concern, it might be worthwhile to tape together a cardboard panel that is the identical size as the Television you are considering and position it where you want to put the Television so you will get an idea of its dimension.
Seating distance can also be a factor, though from an image quality perspective with hd sources, you can sit fairly close to the monitor and still not see any loss in quality. In an ideal world, you'd want to sit no closer than 1.5 times the screen's diagonal measurement, and no further than twice that measurement to the TV. For example, for any 50-inch TV, you'd sit between 75 and 100 inches (6.25 and 8.3 feet) from the screen. Most people are more comfortable sitting further back than that, but naturally the further away you sit from the TV, the less immersive sense it offers.
Organize your preferred television size by lowest price, buy it, and perhaps be perfectly happy with the TV. It might lack the features, design, and picture quality of more-expensive models, however it would display hd Television networks and HD content such as Blu-ray and video games with lots of detail, and most individuals are perfectly happy with that. Any hd tv is definitely an improvement in most areas in comparison with standard-resolution televisions.
However, if you're thinking about paying more than the minimum to get more extras or quite possibly better performance, you need to keep reading.
LCD, LED, plasma, or rear-projection TV
Once you settle on the TV size, you can narrow your choice further by choosing a display type. Most flat-panel Tv sets offered today are LCD-based, mainly since the less expensive, smaller screen sizes are all LCD Televisions. And if you want a TV smaller than about forty two inches, LCD is your only alternative. Midsize HDTV models--forty two inches and up--are either LCD- or plasma-based, and the biggest size--starting at 60 inches--could also include the now unusual rear-projection TV.
What about LED? The first thing to understand is that LED TVs are just costly LCD-based TVs with fancy backlights. Naturally, it gets a lot more complicated than that.
Here are the quick-and-dirty evaluations of each display type; however, these are generalizations only and variations amongst different models are quite common.
LCD
Size: nineteen inches to sixty-five inches
Manufacturers: All
Pros: Uses a lot less electricity than plasma; models with matte screens work well in bright rooms.
Cons: Dark-room performance is usually worse than plasma; not as good as viewing angle and uniformity.
Best for: General use in brighter rooms where possible flaws won't be as noticeable as they are in dark rooms.
LED
Size: thirty two inches and bigger
Manufacturers: All
Pros: Uses a little less electricity than LCD; thin panels; some models have enhanced picture quality.
Cons: Expensive; many models give little to no image quality benefit compared with LCD.
Best for: Big spenders who want thin panels or videophiles who appreciate the differences between LED technologies and don't want plasma.
Plasma
Size: 42 inches and bigger
Manufacturers: Panasonic, Samsung, LG
Pros: Black-level performance in dark rooms; uniformity and viewing angle.
Cons: High electricity consumption; glass monitor may reflect light in bright rooms.
Best for: All-purpose use in all but the brightest rooms; videophiles who place a premium on dark-room picture quality.
Rear-projection TV
Size: sixty inches and larger
Manufacturers: Mitsubishi
Pros: Colossal
Cons: Vast
Best for: People that want the largest television for the money, period.
Flat Screen TV Specifications to ignore
Today's HDTV spec sheets are filled with mystifying info, and much of it is worthless. Here we present the major offenders and recommend you just ignore these specs when making your purchase determination. Manufacturers include most of this info in an attempt to convey improved picture quality by citing ever-higher numbers; however, in point of fact those numbers provide little indication of how good the image looks in the real world.
Refresh rate (60Hz, 120Hz, 240Hz, 480Hz, 600Hz): Those numbers, which are supposed to refer to the quantity of times the still image is refreshed on the screen (60Hz=60 times per second), have proliferated in the previous couple of years. That's because LCD TVs possess a reputation for being blurrier in fast-motion scenes than plasma TVs are. However, actually, most people can't perceive that blur in most material; regarding motion blur, it's virtually impossible to view the difference between a 60Hz and a 600Hz TV. Many LCD TV producers incorporate dejudder or smoothing processing together with refresh rate, but smoothing and antiblur are two separate, albeit related, visual effects. 240Hz: What you have to know has the complete explanation.
Resolution (720p, 1080p): Nearly every Television today is a 1080p model, but in the smaller LCD screen sizes and entry-level plasma series you are able to still find 720p models. There is nothing wrong with 720p resolution. In fact, the difference between 720p and 1080p resolutions is nearly impossible to detect, even when watching content on very large screen sizes.
Contrast ratio (up to 1,000,000 to 5,000,000:1, "Infinite"): Contrast ratio refers to the difference between the brightest white along with the darkest black a TV can display, which is a vital indicator of overall picture quality. Sorry to say, there isn't any uniform way to measure it, so most Television makers essentially make it up. Sometimes differences in contrast ratio among a single manufacturer's own product line can be a true indicator of black-level performance--the crucial capability of a Television to provide a shade of "black" as close as possible to the absence of light--but just as often they can be concocted to justify higher price points.
Viewing angle: Ideally you would like the TV's image to remain as bright and as colorful when seen from the side, or from above and below, as from straight on. With LCD that just about never takes place, despite viewing-angle claims that approach 180 degrees. The rule here is that LCD and LED viewing angles are always worse than the angles on plasma TVs, and though different LCDs can have different traits, this spec is not a reputable indicator. That said, LCDs typically have adequate viewing angles for many viewers, especially in bright rooms.
Wide color gamut: Color standards for content production are strict, and matching those standards, to most accurately reproduce the source material, is the primary color-related responsibility of the TV. Wide color gamuts and other color-related extras can produce "redder" reds or punchier yellows, for instance, but those colors will not be accurate. Then again, a lot of Televisions may also deliver fairly accurate color in certain picture settings, no matter their color specifications or claims.
Energy Star: There is seldom a number associated with Energy Star specifications, but we're including it here to prove a point: nearly every TV for sale these days qualifies for Energy Star, making the certification useless for comparative purposes.
Basic Flat Screen TV Features
Now that you know very well what to ignore on TV spec sheets, let's check out what is. We'll start with the fundamental features that almost every TV has, then tackle the "step-up" features that cost extra.
Inputs: The most important thing here is to have adequate HDMI inputs to connect to your gear. Three will be the minimum quantity of ports in our view for the main, living-room Television, as it enables you to hook up your HD cable or satellite box, video game console, and Blu-ray/DVD player. In case you have older gear with component-video or standard yellow video connections, or if you wish to hook up your working computer, be certain those inputs are available on the Television, too.
Screen finish: Your basic choices are matte or glossy, and their effects could be seen on the showroom floor, especially when the TV is displaying darker material. In case you do most of your watching within a bright room, a screen that cuts down on reflections is a good thing. Unfortunately, most higher-end LCD and LED TVs have glossy screens, so your choice in this category is limited.
Remote control: If you aren't planning to use a universal model or the remote that came along with your cable box, pay attention to the TV's included clicker. It's nice when it might command other gear directly via infrared, as opposed to simply controlling gear via HDMI, and that we prefer TVs to include medium-size remotes with well-differentiated, backlit buttons.
Picture controls: If you want to adjust the image controls yourself or are interested in trying a few of the user calibrations available online, having the right picture controls available is necessary. Look for Televisions with enough picture presets, plus a chance to tweak those presets and apply the tweaks to different inputs. Advanced users will be grateful for detailed color temperature controls (as opposed to just presets), gamma options, and presets for the varied video-processing modes.
Simple use and support: You should seek out menu systems that embed explanations of various onscreen selections. We're fans of onscreen manuals, along with product support sections that provide phone numbers, troubleshooting, and setup guides to build complex TVs easier to use.
Energy efficiency: As we mentioned, Energy Star is worthless for comparing the real efficiency of various Televisions. Also, it's true that a more-efficient Television usually will not save you much cash on your electricity bills over the course of the year. However, there are still some significant power use differences between otherwise similar TVs--a typical plasma Television consumes two times as much power as a typical LCD--and several Televisions have power-saving extras (like sound-only modes) that appeal to green conscious consumers. If you're interested in finding out more, look at our Television electricity consumption guide.
What Extra Features Do You Need?
Beyond the basic features, there are a few extras that cost extra money, begging the question of whether they're worth paying for. We won't answer that question directly--buyers usually have different definitions of worthiness -- but we'll describe them below to help you form your opinion. Many of these extras go by proprietary names, and, needless to say, their implementation varies somewhat, so check out our individual Television critiques for further details.
3D: Among flat-panel TVs, the capability to display 3D content is only found on the highest-end models of major makers in 2010, so it's expensive to begin with. The necessary 3D eyeglasses, in addition to 3D sources in addition to 3D content, can also increase the price. That's why you should not worry about 3D compatibility unless you're purchasing a high-end HDTV anyway. If you are, make sure you understand the downsides.
Internet connectivity: Video services including Netflix and Hulu Plus, audio from Pandora and Rhapsody, photos from Picasa and Flickr, and access to Facebook, Twitter, as well as Skype are built into midrange and higher-end TVs. But, before you pay extra for these features, consider that you will need to either connect an Ethernet cable to the TV or buy a Wi-Fi adapter; most Internet Televisions don't have Wi-Fi built-in. Also, many of those services can be found on other devices, including an Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, TiVo, Blu-ray player, or dedicated external set-top boxes including the Roku player.
Photos, video, and music: USB ports or memory card slots can let TVs display digital camera photos, video, as well as play MP3 music files via the Television's speakers or perhaps a connected audio system. A lot of Televisions, usually those with Internet connectivity, could also stream those sorts of files from the Computer in your home. Some Televisions even have built-in iPod/iPhone docks. Using a TV as a huge photo viewer is definitely nice, but most digital cameras can connect directly to the Television via standard-definition video or even HD connections. Streaming video from your networked PC is also cool should you possess a many such files, but often devices like game consoles, Blu-ray players, and DVRs perform those functions, too.
LED backlight: LCD-based TVs that use LED backlight technology cost a lot more than ones with standard fluorescent (CCFL) backlights. Unless they use local dimming, LEDs don't do much to affect picture quality. However, they use slightly less power, but since CCFL LCDs are pretty efficient to start with, it will take years (or decades) at today's electricity prices to make up the difference. Using LEDs could also let manufacturers shave a few inches off the TVs' thickness.
120Hz, 240Hz, 480Hz, and dejudder processing: As we mentioned in the "Specs to ignore" section, the difference in blurring afforded by these faster refresh rates is actually difficult to discern, and definitely not worth paying extra for, in our view. TVs with these extras usually incorporate so-called dejudder processing, too, with names like "MotionFlow" and "AutoMotion Plus" that introduce a smoothing effect to motion that's usually only visible in films. We usually don't like the smoothing effect of dejudder, but if you are excited about seeing it on your own, it is best to experience it in person before you pay extra for it.
1080p/24 or 24p compatibility: This feature isn't always mentioned on spec sheets but is popular with videophiles since it's one of the few extras designed to deliver an experience closer to what the director intended. It's usually associated with 120Hz and higher LCD refresh rates (and 96Hz on some plasmas), but unfortunately it doesn't always work correctly on TVs that purport to own it. It requires a source capable of delivering 1080p/24 video, typically a Blu-ray player playing a film-based Blu-ray movie. Even then, the effect is often understated for many viewers, manifesting as a smooth-but-not-too-smooth cadence most visible in camera movement, that reproduces the look of film.
Gaming and computer tips
There is no such thing as the best TV for gaming. The reality is that good picture quality for normal HDTV and Blu-ray sources translates to good picture quality for HD gaming. Here we outline what gamers should hunt for, and what to ignore, beyond that sort of picture quality, and throw in some tips if you prefer to use their Televisions as big computer monitors.
Gaming
- Get enough inputs. New game consoles like the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3 usually occupy an HDMI input each, so ensure you've got extra ports.
- Look at Game mode. Most TVs possess a picture preset designed to deliver a punchy picture that looks better with game images. Easy or automatic access to that mode, along with the capability to fine-tune it for every input, is usually a nice addition. Some game modes also remove any video processing to eliminate lag, or delays between the game controller and the onscreen action.
- Don't fret about blur. As with normal TV sources, you'll have to be especially sensitive to motion blur to see any benefit to 120Hz and higher refresh-rate LCD TVs. In reality, the dejudder video-processing modes required to engage the antiblurring on many of these Televisions can actually cause lag.
- Be realistic about burn-in. Plasma TVs, but not LCD or LED-based models, can evince burn-in or "temporary image retention" if you leave the game paused for a very long time, say, a half-hour or more. In almost all cases, this retention is indeed temporary and disappears after you watch moving material again. However, if your Television is apt to be left on a paused game screen for hours at a time, and your game console doesn't make use of a screen saver--Xbox 360, PS3, and Wii all have one--then you may want avoiding a plasma Television for gaming.
- Consider power use. Heavy gaming can rack up hundreds of additional hours of Television time per year, so in some cases it pays--literally, in money saved in electricity bills--to game on a more-efficient Television. The more you game, especially with a brighter picture setting on a bigger screen, the more electricity you'll use.
- What about Wii? The Nintendo Wii is a standard-definition-only game console, making it one of the few modern sources to benefit from good standard-definition video processing inside the Television. If you'd like to get the best out of your Wii, buy a Television that does standard-definition well/
Computers
- You'll be wanting an extra HDMI input in the front. Many laptops have HDMI outputs for connection to TVs, and having a front- or side-panel HDMI port for temporary PC hookups is a nice thing. For the more permanent connection, you'll want an extra rear HDMI port.
- Get VGA for older PCs. Analog VGA inputs on TVs nearly always offer worse image quality than HDMI, but if your PC lacks a digital output, you'll need one on your TV. If you're going to use it a lot, ensure the VGA input supports the native resolution of the Television (1,920x1,080 pixels for a 1080p Television, such as) to find the best picture quality.
- Avoid non-1080p TVs. The benefit of 1080p resolution is much more perceptible with PC sources than video, so if you are going to make use of the TV a great deal as a huge monitor, obtain a 1080p set.
- LCDs work best for heavy PC use. We've usually experienced the best PC picture quality when using LCD TVs vs plasmas, thus we advise that folks who use a PC a great deal as a source, particularly for text, still graphics, Web browsing, and other nonvideo content, go with LCD.
Accessories and warranties
With any large acquisition, the urge to accessorize might be mind boggling. Listed here are a few add-ons to think about, together with an opinion on warranty and buying online.
Accessories
- Buy cheap HDMI cables. In the store, you'll likely hear a salesperson tell you to obtain extra cables. That's because overpriced cables are one of the few places where television shops can turn a large profit. Actually, cable quality matters little, especially with digital cables including HDMI. Because many retailers don't even carry inexpensive cable choices, we suggest purchasing cables on line in addition to purchasing according to price from a vendor which has a good return policy like Amazon.com.
- Obtain a surge protector. We definitely suggest shielding your TV investment with some form of surge protector. Do not believe the propaganda that a better protector will somehow improve video quality, but do choose a model with coaxial inputs and outputs for your cable or antenna.
- Consider the stand. A lot of people don't suspend their new flat-panel TVs on the wall, and most old entertainment centers can't accommodate bigger wide-screen HDTVs, so with many new Television purchases comes the need for a stand to support the set. Our main advice here is to make sure the stand you get can accommodate the combined weight of the TV and any equipment you plan to stash under the set inside the stand. If you anticipate fine-tuning your setup or adding components fairly repeatedly, look for a stand with casters.
- Consider room treatments. Watching Television in broad daylight will result in a washed-out picture. We recommend that any viewing room be pre-loaded with curtains or other window treatments which can block out some light in the course of the day and that the Television screen face from the window. Try to keep room lighting from reflecting onto the screen. A low-wattage light placed behind the TV in an otherwise dark room can make a perfect viewing environment.
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