In less than a decade, HD has risen to contemporary prominence and will soon be the only option in over-the-air television broadcast, with all analogue over-the-air broadcasting to cease on February 17th, 2009. Analogue cable broadcasting does not currently have a shutdown date.
HDTV breaks down into three sub-formats: 1080i (1,080 actively interlaced lines), 1080p (1,080 progressively scanned lines), and 720p (720 progressively scanned lines). Technical and bandwidth variations notwithstanding, 1080i and 720p are effectively identical. Meanwhile, the idyllic 1080p format is only possible through Blu-ray, HD DVD and some game systems. Though it's possible that 1080p broadcasts may start in the future, for now no major networks have announced plans to broadcast in this format.
In many cases, bringing HDTV into your home is not as simple as buying the TV, plugging it in and turning it on. You need to be receiving an HDTV signal, which can be accomplished in one of several ways, including an over the air HD tuner (for local channels only), an HDTV cable box issued by your cable provider or a satellite receiver box.
Types of HDTVs
Unfortunately, HDTV shopping is plagued with permutations that seem to get more complicated the more you try to educate yourself on the subject. Briefly, here are the types to consider:
Direct-View (Tube) TVs: This is the cheapest option, which, unlike its counterparts, produces deep "black levels" (the level of brightness at the darkest part of a visual image) and allows for wide viewing angles. The downside is that it is the bulkiest and heaviest HDTV, the resolution tends to be lower and screen size is limited. Furthermore, it's rarely going to be computer or media center compatible.
Flat panel TVs: Not to be confused with "flat-screen TVs", which simply describe the way they sit flushly against the wall instead of having the huge cathode ray tube in back, this is the eminently stylish set you see hanging on people's walls. They come in two incarnations - plasma and LCD - which have their own array of pros and cons. Plasma offers excellent home-theater image quality (though not the best native picture resolution) and wide viewing angles. Unfortunately, plasmas can potentially suffer image burn-in if you keep the same images on the screen for long periods of time (e.g. video games). LCDs, on the other hand, have a better native picture resolution, but a less sharp home-theater image quality and have a relatively narrow viewing angle range. LCDs come in a large variety of sizes and suffer no image burn-in. Until recently, flat-panel TVs were the most expensive HDTV models, but both varieties are now in a price freefall, so expect flat-panel popularity to skyrocket in coming years.
Rear-projection TVs: This option is only for those people wanting a monstrous screen. Though the falling prices of flat panels will soon be competitive, for now rear-projection provides the biggest screen size for the lowest cost. Though they start at a "mere" 37 inches, popular rear-projection models are of the 55 inch and larger variety. For more information about this variety, see our article about projection TVs
Key Features
Sound Some HDTVs will offer "simulated surround sound" which is an admirable, but ultimately deficient approximation of true surround sound. Any TV that boasts 5 watts or more per channel is going to be plenty loud enough for the average living room. However, if you have an external audio/speaker system, the TV's sound specs are going to be moot.
Picture-in-Picture PIP has been around for a while, but some of the nicer HDTVs allow for PIP resizing, placement adjustments and "picture-outside-picture" where the screen is simply divided in half. The long-time problem of PIP not working when used with an external cable box has not been solved in the HDTV world. You can watch a DVD and watch a live channel with PIP, but not two live channels simultaneously. For true, live PIP, your TV either needs an internal HDTV receiver or you need a cable box with two-tuner PIP.
Universal Remote More and more frequently, HDTVs are coming out of the box with a universal remote included that will also operate your DVD player, satellite/cable box and A/V receiver. If you like your TV experience in the dark, it would behoove you to ensure that the universal remote has backlit or glowing buttons. Avoid universal brand remotes, which are limited to only operating components that are the same brand as the TV.
InputsIn our current component proliferation, you need all the inputs you can get. You'll want most, if not all, of the following: composite video (DVD, games, cable/satellite boxes), S-video (VCRs, DVD, games, cable/satellite), interlaced, progressive and broadband components (DVD, HDTV), RGB (computers, some HDTV, video processors), FireWire (HDTV, D-VHS VCRs), DVI-D with HDCP and HDMI (HDTV receivers, DVD players).
How to Choose
A primary factor in shopping for HDTVs is finding the sweet spot where both your screen size desires and budget meet.
Strangely, bigger is not always better when talking screen size. As tempting as that 55-incher may look in the store, if your couch is only six feet away from the screen, not only will the picture not look as nice, but you're liable to strain your eyes. Equally, sit too far from a smaller screen and all the resolution advantages of having HDTV are lost. To choose the right screen size for your room, measure how far you'll be sitting from it in inches, and multiply that number by 0.4. This gives you the approximate ideal diagonal screen size.
If opting for a tube TV, keep in mind that as screen size increases, so does depth and you'll need to account for that space in your entertainment center, including a few inches on all sides to allow for ventilation.
Screen quality is always difficult to judge in the store, especially when being faced with 112 TVs, all of which have the brightness cranked to 11, showing the same animated movie, under the dazzling showroom lights. Don't be afraid to ask the salesperson to adjust the TV brightness to normal balance levels and even the showroom lights to something more closely resembling living room lighting. Feel free to request that they hook up a DVD system comparable to the one you have at home for a picture quality test, particularly if you're shopping for a high-end set.
