- In this report
- TV types
- Image quality
- Screen size
- Screen shape
- Connections
- Features
ELECTRONICS FORUMS  Get real-world advice from others about choosing a new TV, digital camera, computer or cell phone. |
February 2006
Features: Fine-tune your selection
Once you've decided on a type of TV and the screen size and shape, you may want to consider other factors to help you zero
in on a particular model. TV sets, especially larger models and HDTVs, have dozens of features. Here are a few to consider.
More picture-tube sets, especially HDTVs and sets larger than 27 inches, now have flat screens. These eliminate the slight curve from the front of the picture tube. Don't confuse them with thin flat panels; these are still about two feet deep. Flat screen-TVs usually cost a bit more than those with the traditional curved front. While some people prefer the sleeker look of a flat-fronted TV set, there's no inherent performance advantage to the design aside from a slight reduction in reflections.
Some features are mostly found on HD sets and EDTVs. 3:2 pulldown compensation, sometimes called film mode or referred to by brand-specific names such as CineMotion, can make images look less jagged around the edges when you're watching content that was originally shot on film, then converted to video. Progressive-scan DVD players have this feature as well. If you have an older, non-progressive scan DVD player, the TV will perform this function. If both your TV and progressive-scan DVD player have this feature, you may be able to switch control to whichever device does a better job smoothing the images.
Aspect ratio controls, such as stretch and zoom modes, will expand or compress an image to better fill the screen shape, say when you're watching standard-definition context on a wide-screen TV. On rear-projection TVs that use CRTs, it's worth looking for a set that has both auto convergence and manual convergence. A one-touch auto convergence feature will do most of the work aligning the images from the three CRTs; you can then fine-tune the result manually.
With any type of TV, a feature that might affect your choice is PIP, or picture-in-picture. (It's sometimes called POP, for picture-on-picture.) This lets you watch two channels at once, one in a small picture alongside the full-screen image--handy if you like to keep tabs on a ballgame while watching another program, for example. Some TVs have single-tuner PIP, which requires another device (such as a VCR or cable box) to tune the second channel. This can be confusing to connect and operate. TVs with dual-tuner PIP have two TV tuners built-in, so they can display two channels on their own. They're easier to set up. Don't rule out a TV set solely because it lacks PIP. If you have a digital video recorder with a PIP function, you can have picture-in-picture even if the TV lacks this feature.
More picture-tube sets, especially HDTVs and sets larger than 27 inches, now have flat screens. These eliminate the slight curve from the front of the picture tube. Don't confuse them with thin flat panels; these are still about two feet deep. Flat screen-TVs usually cost a bit more than those with the traditional curved front. While some people prefer the sleeker look of a flat-fronted TV set, there's no inherent performance advantage to the design aside from a slight reduction in reflections.
Some features are mostly found on HD sets and EDTVs. 3:2 pulldown compensation, sometimes called film mode or referred to by brand-specific names such as CineMotion, can make images look less jagged around the edges when you're watching content that was originally shot on film, then converted to video. Progressive-scan DVD players have this feature as well. If you have an older, non-progressive scan DVD player, the TV will perform this function. If both your TV and progressive-scan DVD player have this feature, you may be able to switch control to whichever device does a better job smoothing the images.
Aspect ratio controls, such as stretch and zoom modes, will expand or compress an image to better fill the screen shape, say when you're watching standard-definition context on a wide-screen TV. On rear-projection TVs that use CRTs, it's worth looking for a set that has both auto convergence and manual convergence. A one-touch auto convergence feature will do most of the work aligning the images from the three CRTs; you can then fine-tune the result manually.
With any type of TV, a feature that might affect your choice is PIP, or picture-in-picture. (It's sometimes called POP, for picture-on-picture.) This lets you watch two channels at once, one in a small picture alongside the full-screen image--handy if you like to keep tabs on a ballgame while watching another program, for example. Some TVs have single-tuner PIP, which requires another device (such as a VCR or cable box) to tune the second channel. This can be confusing to connect and operate. TVs with dual-tuner PIP have two TV tuners built-in, so they can display two channels on their own. They're easier to set up. Don't rule out a TV set solely because it lacks PIP. If you have a digital video recorder with a PIP function, you can have picture-in-picture even if the TV lacks this feature.
