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Buying a new TV

There is a lot of choice these days in the consumer market for a new television. If you are looking at purchasing a new TV you have more factors than ever before to consider and it's important to buy the right model to suit your needs.

In the last few years plasma and LCD technology have advanced considerably. Most of you will be familiar with these 'techie' terms and I'll discuss some of the options available when looking to purchase this essential piece of home entertainment technology.

What's the difference?

There are 4 main kinds of TV you can purchase. The first is the CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) television. Up until the late 90's this was the only option. A CRT television can come in just about any screen size. Their main 'annoyance' is the size of the TV. Because a CRT TV 'shoots' rays at the screen they need to be fairly fat and take up a lot of space in comparison to a plasma or LCD TV.

A plasma TV uses a thin layer of gas between 2 plates pumped with electricity to create a picture. Plasma TV's can be thin, down to about 6' wide, and generally come in screen sizes over 32'. They do have some drawbacks though as they tend to show more glare from other light sources due to the glass panels and also tend to consume more power than a CRT or LCD TV.

An LCD TV uses white light with special filters to produce a picture. LCD TV's are set to become the most common kind of TV available as they can be produced in screen sizes up to around 70' and are generally less than 5' thick. This means you can mount the TV on a wall or cabinet and it will take up little space. LCD TVs are considerably cheaper than a plasma models in most cases.

LED Televisions are a recent addition to the mix. Using light emitting diodes instead of a tube to produce the backlight, these televisions offer much higher picture quality than LCD TV's. They also consume less electricity, can be made thinner and lighter and product less heat. They are also more enviromentally friendly to dispose of. These features come with an increased price tag, but price aside, an LED television is the best choice for high quality viewing.

TV Features - Freeview

So what do you need from your TV? You should be aware that television broadcasts in New Zealand are moving over to Freeview and that the UHF & VHF signals will be turned off in the near future.
This means that you will need to have either a Freeview tuner box or a tuner built in to your TV. Most models of TV can now be purchased with a Freeview tuner built in. In most cases this is a 'terrestrial' tuner so it will only work if you have UHF coverage (about 75% of the country) and you will not be able to record or pause live TV with it.

We'd recommend purchasing a TV without a built in tuner and purchasing a MyFreeview recorder to get these features.

TV Features - High Definition

Another important point to consider is the emergence of high definition. Modern LCD or Plasma TVs come in 3 types: Standard, High Definition Ready and High Definition Capable.

To view high definition TV you'll need a HD Freeview or HD Sky tuner and a compatible TV. Full High Definition TVs can support a 'resolution' of 1080p while HD Ready systems usually support the slightly lower 1080i resolution.

Regardless of what brand you choose it is important to buy a TV that suits your usage and accessories.

One Response to "Buying a new TV"

1. Ryan says:

   January 2, 2011 at 4:29 pm

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