What to look for when buying a new TV

Whether you're watching HD movies or playing the latest video games, you need a TV that satisfies all your entertainment needs. Here’s how to balance your budget with the best features when buying a new flat screen TV.

HDTVs come in many different screen sizes and use different technologies, each with distinct advantages. These are common TVs on the market today:

Plasma TVs: Most manufacturers have stopped producing plasma TVs, but they’re still great vivid colours, deep black levels and smooth motion rendering.

• Supply is scarce as inventories diminish and buyers snap them up at heavy discounts.
• Screen glare and high power usage are the main drawbacks.

LED and LCD TVs: An LCD or LED TV uses special crystals that give you bright, clear images with lots of colour.

• The latest models use a combination of LCD and LED technology for a higher-quality picture and both are lightweight, thin and energy efficient.

3D TVs: With a 3D-enabled TV you can watch 3D movies as they were meant to be seen.

• All 3D TVs also support regular 2D content and come with either passive or active glasses.
• Active glasses are more expensive and render better picture quality, while passive glasses are cheaper but show a lower resolution.

When buying a TV, consider several important features that can enhance your viewing experience.

Screen size: The choice between 32 inch and 70 inch screens used to be about budget, but these days you can easily afford to go bigger.

• The beauty of high-def is that the display is so sharp, you can sit close to a big HD screen without seeing any pixels or losing definition.
• That means you can comfortably view any screen 60 inches and up from as little as nine feet away.

Resolution: Resolution is the number of pixels your TV can display.

• Standard HD is 1080p.
• A higher number indicates a crisper and clearer picture, which is especially important for HD content and video games.

Contrast: TVs with higher contrast can more accurately display colours including deeper black levels, which is ideal for HD movies and video games.

Inputs: Look for enough HDMI, USB and audio-video inputs so you can connect other devices.

• Make sure your devices are supported by your new TV’s inputs.

Connectivity: Most HDTVs can now connect to your Wi-Fi network, essentially turning it into a wireless browser that can surf the web and download content.

• Smart TVs have built-in connectivity and can offer you games, streaming services and more without needing other devices.

Buying a TV is about the kind of content you’re watching and how much you have to spend. If you balance features with screen size and picture quality, you’ll have the perfect TV for your entertainment habits.