Purchasing tips for Flat Panel Televisions
April 5, 2009
Plasma Televisions are of high prevalence with its unsurpassed image clarity and good performance. Though the prices of televisions are downed considerably, you have to spend atleast GBP1000 to secure a high end model with medium screen size and latest features. With many brands propping out each and every day, and with the vast range of flat panel displays available, many of the customers are confused to make a choice. Moreover many of the clients are still unaware of the facts to be taken care of while purchasing the television.
Retailers blind-fold the customers with the high valued specifications and excellent “on-paper” performance of the televisions. Apart from the display resolution, contrast ratio and most of the features, the picture quality depends on the video processing and digital signal processing involved in the television set. This cannot be specified in the television manuals or brochures, and the client must be smart enough to spot out the right pick from the best “on-paper” performers. De-interlacing and upscaling techniques adopted by the manufacturers affect the picture quality to a great extent, and many of us are not skilled with the techniques to point out the picture aberrations. Rather than messing up with “ the higher the better” orthodoxy, you can try out the following simple steps to explore the real picture quality of the television.
- Always check the source of picture shown in the television showroom.
Most of the showroom retailers put HD signal while demonstrating the display features to the clients. Some of the customers mistake it as the picture quality of the television regardless the video input source. It is a fact that the better video images are displayed with better quality, and HD video signals render immaculate video output most of the cases. If there is any connection in any of the HDMI socket of the television, be sure that it is HD video signal. Always try out standard broadcast signals or DVDs to know the real-time picture performance.
- Check for Smearing and Picture Judder
Many of the flat screens are not well-versed in handling the fast motion images. Ghost like halo appears when motion images, especially fast motion images are being displayed. You might not spot this issue if you watch the simple colourful images, say animated ones or even normal motion images. If you want to check for smearing/ghosting, always ask the retailer to play football or sprint which delivers fast paced motion images.
Picture judder is yet another common bugbear of flat panel displays. Picture Judder can be checked with the help of fast paced action sequences and panning shots. Frames are supposed to glide one after another continuously, however some of the displays show slight stuttering and juddery movements. This can be annoying when you are watching action movies or using the display as gaming console on the long run.
- Smooth Edges Are Good Measuring Stick For Quality.
Some of the plasma televisions and LCD televisions can give you over-sharpen images and edges due to the excess enhancement. Such kind of images can cause jagged lines that may affect the picture quality considerably.
- Check Out For Image Blurs Due To Colour Fading, Reflection & Colour Banding.
Image blurs can be caused by many factor like reflection of ambient lights, colour fading or even due to colour banding. Image blurs due to reflection can be avoided by choosing televisions with screen enhancements like anti-reflection coating and anti-glare coating. LCD televisions tend to reflect the least amount of ambient light while CRT reflects the more. However now most of the televisions comes with the screen enhancement facilities.
Colour Fading is yet another issue to be noted by the customers. Some of the televisions offer less clear images when not viewed with head on. LCD televisions are susceptible to this issue more, especially when viewed from acute angles. Colour Banding is one annoying issue that lowers your excitement to watch the television itself. The colour transition in the television is expected to be subtle and smooth, however some screens show different colour bands than a smooth transition. So never forget to watch a colourful image like sunset or a scenary before purchasing the television. Make sure that you are watching it in the standard broadcast format too.
- Washed Out images
LCD televisions usually give a washed out look for the video output, and hence it is advisable to watch a movie like the Matrix or Pirates Of Caribbean to ensure the details available in the video output.
These are some of the factors to be noticed before purchasing a television, to avoid investing your hard-earned savings in a wrong choice.
Comments
Got something to say?
