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How to Buy Television Sets
Television sets have traditionally been sold as a commodity. Value was defined by dollars per inch of screen size. The advent of the home theater concept allowed many marketers to change direction and attempt to market televisions as a lifestyle product, selling the "sizzle rather than the steak.'' Although there is a kernel of truth to the value of certain components and features in a home theater, for most average viewers, all of this hype is a red herring. Most televisions today are better than the signals we feed them. Over-the-air reception is plagued by as many, if not more, problems than it was 40 years ago. Cable transmission, although it offered the promise of perfect pictures, is troubled by a host of problems, from the satellite reception, to the distribution network, to the quality of the cable box on top of your set. And there surely are big differences in quality among prerecorded movies. At the bottom line, with the exception of a few truly useful features and technological innovations mentioned below, most televisions are good enough for the signal you put in them, and the long-standing tradition of "dollars per inch,'' in combination with a few features appropriate to your needs, is not too far off the mark. If your standards are very high, however, and if you will be using high-quality video sources such as DVD, laser discs or "hi-band'' videotapes (see discussion of camcorders), you might want to buy from a store that will allow you to return your set without obligation if you are not satisfied. Note: Recent FCC decisions have mandated the phase-in of fully digital television transmission and therefore, digital television sets. The year 2006 is currently set for the complete phase-out of standard analog transmission. In any event, converters will certainly be available to maintain compatibility between existing analog sets and digital transmission signals.
The Sizes and Types
Battery Operated: Screen sizes range from 2" to 9" and generally include such features as a clock, radio, and/or cassette player. Some have remote control.
10"-13": Excellent size for the kitchen or den. Some available with MTS stereo.
19"-20": Once the standard, now finding its way into the family room, kids' rooms, or other secondary role. Typically available with remote control, some with MTS stereo.
25"-27": The 27" screen has become the standard for most homes' primary television. Nearly all features are available standard or as options in this size, including comb filters.
30"-35": Technology has pushed tube design into even larger sizes. These full-featured sizes offer dramatic, large screen pictures in the home, but seem to have a greater variability in the picture quality than their 27" siblings.
45"-60": These sizes are "projection televisions.'' This system relies on reflection of a projected image through lenses onto a mirror and finally onto the view screen. Although these systems provide dramatic, large pictures, and frequently have sophisticated audio systems built in, there are some problems to watch out for.
Brightness: Since the picture is viewed indirectly, brightness can deteriorate. This can be especially troubling in a brightly lit room. Brightness is typically measured in foot lamberts. Usually, the higher the rating for a particular screen size, the better, assuming it is not accomplished by trading off other important elements of picture quality.
Off Axis Viewing: The nature of the view screen can cause brightness to decline dramatically as the viewer moves away from a position directly in front of the screen. Simply increasing overall brightness to compensate for this problem may produce a "hot spot'' in the picture's center. A good set may have some dimming as you move away from center, but the picture should still be acceptable for those viewers sitting in less than the "sweet spot.''
Front Screen Projectors: This system relies on a unit's projecting the picture onto a separately mounted screen, much like a movie screen. The picture size can range from 60" to 120" and produce a near movie theater experience. They are the preferred choice of the avid home theater enthusiast but are expensive and require considerable space and significant technical know-how to be set up properly.
LCD and DLP technologies have recently allowed creation of video projectors that have been reduced from coffee table size to that of a slide projector. Cost and some technical difficulties have limited its impact, but this is a technology worth exploring if you are considering a serious home theater system.
TV/VCR/DVD Combinations: This single-unit combination of television, videocassette recorder, and/or DVD player has been popular among conference operators and other commercial users for many years. It allows video presentations to be made under diverse circumstances with a minimum of equipment to hook up. Its popularity in the home has grown for similar reasons. In short, they're simple and easy to use. Apply the same standards to these combination units as outlined in the sections for the individual components. Remember, however, if the VCR or DVD needs repair, the television goes with it.
Is my current television obsolete?
No. Initially, you will need to buy a digital decoder box to receive digital broadcasts if you continue with an analog television. These decoder boxes will work with your conventional analog television but the benefits inherent in the digital signals will, for the most part, not be evident.
Should I hold off on purchasing a new television?
No. As you can see from the BARGAINS product listings, digital televisions are now available in a wide range of sizes and at very competitive price points. Only the fairly exotic LCD and plasma flat panel televisions occupy the stratospheric price ranges that were the norm for digital sets, and even these are rapidly decreasing in price.
Will cable work with digital television?
Yes and No. Some cable companies have a long way to go in the conversions needed to transmit digital signals but in most major metropolitan area improvements and upgrades are well underway. Many cable providers now offer some type of digital service. This does not, however, mean HDTV. Many cable providers prefer using lower digital resolutions to provide more programming channels. You will frequently find that HDTV is available only through special ¡°premium¡± packages or limited to special broadcasts.
Will my VCR still work? Yes and No.
Your VCR will continue to work with a typical analog television and will work with digital televisions that have an analog input, or special analog to digital converter. In the long run, VCRs will most likely fall by the wayside, being replaced by recordable digital devices such as DVDs, hard-disc recorders, or some related digital encoding technology.
Should I buy a DVD now?
If you want a DVD player anyway because of their improved sound and picture capabilities, go ahead and buy one. Be aware that in order to exploit fully the improved picture quality of a digital television, the DVD player should support a feature known as ¡°progressive scan.¡± This feature is not of benefit if you plan on viewing your DVDs on a conventional analog set.
So, can I just keep my regular set forever if it seems fine to me? No. Eventually, ostensibly 2006, the regular analog television broadcasting bandwidth must be returned by the broadcasters to the FCC for redistribution. At this point, there will no longer be analog signals available for reception and conventional analog televisions will become obsolete. The actual date of this occurrence will certainly be affected by the market acceptance and purchase of digital televisions.
Teach you how to buy television sets.
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