2008 saw television prices come down and a couple of display technologies pretty much get shown the door. The picture is much clearer this year for someone making a decision for a new television purchase. I’ve laid out my thoughts on the competing technologies already. Times have changed, and one of my recommendations is no longer a viable option. This holiday season what should you be looking for if you are in the market for a new TV? Read on…
LCoS is gone, with JVC and Sony both bailing in favor of LCD. LCD rear projection is gone. Plasma is going. DLP is on life support with only Mitsubishi and Samsung still in the game. This makes the choice of technology a lot easier than it was a year ago. The cause of all this extinction via natural selection? LCDs have continued to get cheaper, better and bigger. At this point in the game there are only two viable options: LCD and DLP.
Why not plasma? Plasmas have gotten cheaper to, right? Yes they have, but manufacturers are getting away from them. There is no argument about the crystalline image produced by a plasma television. The durability of this technology is suspect, and they are a bad choice for gamers due to being more prone to burn-in than any other display technology. The bottom line is, if you spend a lot of money on a television, you want the option to keep it for a while, and plasmas have a relatively short lifespan in comparison to LCD and DLP.
Why LCD? Well, they have gotten a heck of a lot better. The manufacturers love them because they make a bigger profit selling LCD displays because the technology is cheap. They last a long time. They look good. LCD comprises the majority of what is available to the consumer who is out shopping for a new set, and with all the improvements LCD has seen in the last couple of years I don’t have a problem recommending them.
Here are the things you want out of your new LCD television:
- Resolution Most of the sets being sold now are 1080p, which is what you want. However, you may still stumble across some 720p sets, especially in instances where the price seems too good to be true. 720p was fine a couple of years ago, but hold out for a 1080p set. Blu Ray is 1080p, as are many PS3 and Xbox 360 games. Cable and Satellite HD is 1080i, which converts to 1080p better than it does 720p. There’s just no excuse to buy a 720p set when you don’t have to break the bank for one that is 1080p.
- Contrast ratio The higher the number the better. Higher contrast ratio means blacker blacks and whiter whites, and that translates into superior dark detail and better color reproduction.
- Response time This isn’t really much of an issue anymore. Pretty much anything 8ms or better does away with motion blur. The lower the number the better, but if you get a significantly better deal on an 8ms set than that 4ms sitting next to it, I probably wouldn’t let that scare me off.
- Refresh rate North American and most Asian televisions refresh at the rate of 60 frames per second, or 60Hz. That is because that is what broadcast/cable/Satellite/game console sources send out. The only issue with that is that motion pictures are recorded at 24Hz. DVD and Blu Ray players utilize an algorithm that converts that 24Hz material to 60Hz material that your television can digest. This isn’t perfect though, and many of us notice the imperfection of the conversion. The answer? Many new sets are 120Hz, a number which is divisible by both 60 and 24. What this means to you is that your 120Hz television reproduces everything you throw at it without any mathematical band-aids to make it work, and what you see on your screen is what you were intended to see.
- Brightness You can always turn your television’s brightness down, but you can’t make a dim television brighter. Dim TVs are hard to see in a sunlit room. All of the televisions you look at will probably have similar brightness specs, but keep it in mind anyway.
Reading editorial reviews is always a good idea, but ultimately the most important yardstick should be your eyes on the television in a showroom and not someone else’s opinion. Go look at the sets once you have some in mind, and let your eyes tell you which one is right for you.
On the subject of DLP: Toshiba has left the game, leaving only Samsung and Mitsubishi. Why consider DLP at this point? Big screen for low dough, low maintenance cost and no chance of burn-in, ever. In fact, for 99% of DLP owners, the only problem they’ll ever face is a burnt out projection lamp, which is a $99-150 part, and easily replaced at home by the owner. That’s a sight less expensive than a new backlight would run you for an LCD (but an LCD backlight will run a lot more hours before replacement). I always felt that DLP offered the closest to plasma liquidity with the fewest number of caveats, and even though LCDs have bridged the gap, getting cheaper and technologically better, it’s hard to argue that DLP shouldn’t be included in your search when you can get a 65″ for around $1500. I have looked at the Mitsubishi 60″ and 65″ DLPs, and I wouldn’t mind getting one for myself, much less recommending them to anyone. Samsung has LED lamps in some of their DLPs, which should extend time between lamp replacements exponentially. Also, Mitsubishi is now shipping their laser DLPs, and while they are around the $6-7k mark now, prices will come down before too long and laser DLP may be what we all will want in the near future.
I’m a little nauseous that the television I bought for $3k four years ago will only cost me half that to replace, but at the same time that makes my next television sale to the wife less of an obstacle. Television buyers this holiday season have a pretty clear picture in the showroom, as most of the displays they will find sport the important features I mentioned above, and prices are lower than ever.
Now, work on your business presentation, get the boss (wife) to sign off on a new TV, and go forth!
