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So you’re thinking of upgrading the old TV. Perhaps you’ve seen the new Sharp 80 inch
Flat Screen LED TV and you can’t stand another day without it? Well hold up just one second. If you intend to buy the TV, one must
consider the toys that go with and most importantly choose the right TV. So maybe you can go without a new X-box 360
but a PlayStation 3 could be considered a ‘necessity’ for a brilliant new Flat
Screen setup. So without further ado…
While it may appear like Flat Panels have been out for years
and not much has changed that is not in fact the case. Just like any other hot technology item,
manufacturers are racing to come up with the best and biggest (or thinnest)
flat panel displays. Previously the
popular choice was between an LCD (liquid crystal diode) and Plasma. A third choice, LED (light emitting diode)
has recently become the most sought after.
What’s the difference between LED and LCD? Well both technologies in fact use the liquid
crystal diode (LCD)technology, however the LCD’s use fluorescents for
lighting as opposed to the light emitting diodes of the LED. LED’S advantages include lower energy
consumption, longer life, thinner, faster switching and darker darks. Of course all these advantages lead to quite
a price increase for an LED over its comparable LCD. Other options to consider are the clarity
(1080p is currently the best), 3D, and the sound quality (assuming your not
purchasing a sound system).
The ubiquitous cable box has once again made its way back
into our homes. However these new cable
boxes are no longer required to convert cable channels into a single channel
(remember channel 3 or 4). Instead the
new cable boxes often referred to as a PVR (Personal Video Recorder), are used
for various functions including an On-screen menu, High Definition Channels,
Pay-per-view channels, and for recording, managing and storing our favorite
shows. These relatively simple functions
have shot the PVR into mainstream popularity.
Remember VCR’s? They
were those big cassette tape looking things (everyone 20 years old and younger
is now wondering what a cassette tape is).
Well those VCR’s are largely extinct (in the landfill) as DVD’s and now
Blu-Ray’s have quickly taken over. There
are many Blue-Ray players out there now available for under a $100, but be
careful, the quality of some are quite low.
An easy way to avoid these quality issues is to buy your son that
PlayStation 3 he might have been asking for as a Christmas or Birthday
present. That PlayStation 3 made by Sony
is actually a high quality Blu-ray player.
One rule required, the PlayStation stays with the big screen TV. Your happy,
your son’s happy, win-win.
At the home electronics store, your 2 minutes away from
purchasing your flat screen and the salesman suggests you have a quick look at
the wall-mounts and “oh by the way, we carry some great HDMI cables too.” What should you do? Runaway, run-Away! Don’t even think about spending $50 on a 3ft
HDMI cable and $200 on some fancy wall mount.
Instead before you go buy your new flat screen have a quick look on-line
at a specialty cable retailer such as www.bestpricecables.com. Online retailers carry great quality HDMI
cables for as little as $3.00, and wall-mounts for $40. Top end HDMI cables will carry features such
as high speed, Ethernet, 3D and 2k resolution.
Any HDMI cable will support current best standards such as 1080p
resolution, digital audio and digital video.
You’ll need an HDMI cable for each connection, one for the Blue-ray and
one for the PVR.
Ok so you’ve got your go to list. Flat screen, preferably LED and 1080p, but in
the end buy what you can afford. A PVR
for watching and recording HD shows.
Blu-ray player for HD blue-ray discs or perhaps a PlayStation 3. HDMI cables and a wall-mount purchased online
to save some additional cash.
