Apr 25, 2007 07:53 PM
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This review is essentially about how to choose a widescreen TV(LCD, Plasma, DLP, LCD Projection). I won't list down how each of these technologies works since I assume you are past that stage. First, some basic dos and don'ts:
1. Beware of the Store/Dealer:An electronics dealer or store is not really the best place to start your research! All TVs look "good" in a store because:
a. They have their contrast, brightness and colour turned all the way up. Thats because these stores are lit by extremely bright light and if these settings are not set to max, the TVs would all look dull! Ask the salesperson to tone down all settings to their mid-points. If you can, ask them to lower the lighting too.
b. Most dealers will be playing an HD(Hi-Def) video clip on a continuous loop on their LCD/Plasma sets. This is basically done by routing some standard "nature" video through an HD convertor. Look for a small box below where all the TVs are mounted on the wall. Anyway, the point is that this is not how the TV will look at home because you will probably be watching cable(analog or digital) or movies on DVD. Both of these are SD - Standard Def - meaning it is a lower resolution image than HD and than what a typical widescreen TV is capable of showing. Ask them to switch it to regular cable or a DVD.
2. Do your Own Research:There are some websites where you can read reviews of TVs you liked at the store. Bring home the brochures or download their specs from the company websites. Now, go to a reputed online review site such as cnet.com or homecinemachoice.com. Since these reviews are mostly written for products in the US or Europe, the model numbers may not seem familiar. Pick up the brochures and compare the specs. Most high-end TVs in India are basic or stripped-down versions of whats available there. But the picture quality will be the same.
3. Seeing is Believing:Head back to the store with a couple of your favourite DVDs. You should be very familiar with how the movie looked on your old TV. Ignore the specs and features of each TV. Forget the ads you saw. Just go with what looks best to you. Often all 5 LCD TVs or Plasma TVs you watch may look the same - relax, this is normal! When this happens, pick the most reputed brand. Ideally, take your spouse or partner along with you - if you are a techy-geeky guy like me, it helps to have someone more "neutral" around to say how the picture looks to them!
Now, a brief on each of these TV types:
1. LCD: Bright picture, higher resolution than Plasma for a given screen size, no burn-in issues but can have motion-lag. Ideally suited if you mostly watch casual programming or have a gaming console or if your TV will be in a brightly lit room. Motion-lag can be a problem if you watch sports.
2. Plasma: Crisp picture with depth, good viewing angle, not as bright as LCD, can have burn-in issues. Ideally suited if you mostly watch movies on DVD or have digital/satellite cable. Make sure you buy a brand that has some sort of burn-in protection(screen-saver or pixel-shift).
3. DLP & LCD Projection: Both are projection TVs with excellent picture quality, not as bright, small viewing angle. LCD projection TVs are the cheapest for given size but DLP is uncommon & hence expensive. Ideal only if there are 1-2 people watching and you want a large screen(50" & more) for a low price. I remember seeing a Sony 50" LCD Projection for Rs.99K last year!
Summary:My advice would be to go with either an LCD or Plasma TV since the other two formats are uncommon and expensive and parts/service could be an issue. Then, think about:
What do you mostly watch?Inherently, LCD TVs are brighter than Plasmas and can be watched even in a well-lit room. They work great with DVDs and gaming consoles but regular cable looks worse on them. The reason is that for a given screen size, LCDs usually have a higher native resolution and hence the low-quality feed is “scaled-up” to a much higher resolution. If you’ve ever zoomed a jpeg image/photo to beyond 100%, you’ll know what I’m talking about. Remember that the source determines how your TV looks and the greater the difference between the source and the TV's own(native) resolution, the worse the result. Plasmas look great when watching DVD movies and better than LCDs with regular/ satellite cable.
Where will you sit? Typically, your viewing distance needs to be 1.5 to 2 times the screen diagonal length. Thats 4-5 feet for 32", 7 feet for 40-42" and so on. If you sit any closer, you may see "pixellization" on the picture. Pick your screen size based on this.
How much can you pay? Inch-for-inch, a Plasma TV will be cheaper than an LCD. Compare the 75-80K tags for 42” plasmas v/s the 1.1 to 1.2 lakhs quoted for a 40” LCD. Of course, there are ample finance schemes available so keep this as a secondary consideration.
HDTV or EDTV? India doesn't have any HD programming or Blue-ray/HD-DVD titles available and we're probably 5 years away. Plasma could have the upper hand here since you have the choice of an Enhanced-Def TV(EDTV) which can display progressive-scan pictures - a big improvement over what you see on your CRT TV. Most LCD TVs you see are HD-ready and unfortunately, will look worse with regular cable.
To conclude, which of these you pick is primarily a function of what you will usually watch. Then, pick the best brand you can afford in this order – Sony/Philips/Samsung for LCD and Panasonic/Hitachi/LG for Plasma. There are of course, quite a few more technicalities you could get into but this is a good starting point. Do mail me and I’ll be happy to get into a more detailed discussion on your specific questions.
