How to Buy a New HDTV - Step 2

Step 2: What features should I look for in my HDTV?

To keep this section as straightforward as possible, I will split the various features available on HDTV’s into 3 categories: one category which I consider to be “must-haves” that I strongly recommend are included in your new HDTV; one which I consider to be “nice-to-haves” that may or may not provide some nice benefits to you, depending on what you plan to watch on your new HDTV; and finally one category which I consider to be “fluff” that really isn’t useful and is just part of the marketing hype used to inflate the price of the TV.

1) Must-haves- Widescreen
This refers to the aspect ratio of the screen and any new HDTV should have 16:9 “widescreen” ratio. In the past, TV’s have been built with a 4:3 aspect ratio and all movies and TV shows were broadcast in this format. With the rising popularity of DVD’s and HD content, which are broadcast in either16:9 or 1.78:1 aspect ratio, the default standard is moving away from 4:3 and toward widescreen content. If you want to enjoy HD shows and DVD’s to their fullest extent, widescreen is the way to go.

- HDTV-Ready
An HDTV must, at a minimum, be “HDTV Ready” or “HDTV compatible” to be capable of displaying a movie or TV show in high definition. If a TV is listed as “HDTV Ready”, it means that the TV is capable of displaying HD content with a separate HD tuner. In order to view HD content you will need to install a separate tuner, a set-top box or a cablecard from your cable or satellite provider.

- Plenty of video inputs
What good is your new TV if you can’t connect your DVD player, XBOX 360 and all of your other gadgets to it? I recommend that your new TV has at least one HDMI input, three component connections, one S-Video, one 15-pin VGA connection for your PC, three RCA (red, white, yellow) connections and one UHF / VHF coaxial cable connection. An extra HDMI and an extra coaxial cable connection are also nice to have for future needs, but I don’t consider them to be a must-have.

- Support for displaying both 720p and 1080i HD resolutions
HD content is displayed in either 720p or 1080i resolution, and any new TV that does not support both will fall short of it’s competitors in image quality. It would be foolish to purchase a new HDTV that does not support, at a minimum, both of these resolution formats.

- Minimum screen resolution
As a general rule, for two TV’s that are the same size, the one with the higher resolution will be clearer and have a more detailed display. Depending on the size of the TV, these are the minimum screen resolutions that the TV should have to insure outstanding image quality:
- 36” – 852x480
- 40” – 1024x720
- 42” – 1024x768
- 50” or larger – 1280x780