Your neighbor’s is bigger. Your brother-in-law’s is bigger. Hell, even your Mom and Dad’s is bigger. If you’ve been watching movies and sports on a postage stamp-sized console TV from the 80s’, it’s time to start thinking about joining the rest of the planet. Today’s TVs are more about a theater experience than crowding around to watch a sitcom, and starting a home theater is first and foremost about size. With the higher resolution and advanced imagery of High Definition TV, bigger pretty much is better. But as soon as you take your first trip to the Super-TV-Buy-Mart, you’ll discover that choosing a set is much more complicated than picking a brand and a size. There are lots of different ways to make a big TV, so if you don’t know your HDTV from your HDMI (see Jargospeak on page 15) sit tight and we’ll try and sort it all out for you. You’ll probably be picking from the 5 following types of TVs: Tube, Plasma, Rear Projection, LCD, or Front Projection.
TUBES
This is your grandpa’s TV: the kind you grew up with. Inside the outer shell is a humungous glass tube shooting charged electrons at a screen. The bigger the TV, the bigger (and deeper and heavier…) the tube.
PLASMA
Two panes of glass sandwich around a grid of pixels, with each pixel containing 3 cells of inert gases (one for red, green, and blue). When the gases are charged, they ionize and turn into a plasma, which emits bright and colorful lights.
REAR PROJECTOR
This class includes several technologies, including DLP (the most common), LCD, and LCoS. They all project the image from behind the screen from a tiny projector, and are all much improved from the projection TVs of the 80s’ and 90s’.
LCD
Stands for Liquid Crystal Display (yes, it’s the same thing that’s in your laptop, only bigger). Very thin sheets of matrixed transistors can be turned on and off to allow the correct amount of light and color for each pixel.
FRONT PROJECTOR
For the serious aficionado, this technology requires a separate screen and usually a fairly dark environment to allow you to project the images from across the room. It’s typically at a distance from the remaining components.
Tubes
Sizes Available - 1” – 36”
Pros - Brilliant, bright and smooth picture, rich colors, a proven technology, the cheapest way to HDTV
Cons - Tubes dim over time, spherical nature of tubes distorts images, color convergence changes over time (the red, green, and blue colors won’t line up), tubes are analog devices and have limited resolution (number of pixels), they’re big and heavy, tubes can’t be produced reliably over 36”.
Look for /watch out for -If you have to get a tube TV, at least get a flat screen, which will minimize the image distortion issue.
Wired’s Take - This is ancient technology. Unless there is an absolute reason for you to buy a large-screen tube television (and we can’t think of any), skip it.
Best Examples -Sony 34” FD Trinitron® WEGA® XBR® HDTVKD-34XBR970 (shown), Toshiba 32 in. CRT SDTV #32DF46
Plasma
Sizes Available - 37” – 65”
Pros - Excellent picture quality (the best in big-screens), wall-mountable, wide viewing angle.
Cons - Images that stay on the screen (stock ticker, screen menus, etc…) can burn-in permanently to the display, 1080p (see Jargospeak on pg. 15) units are extremely limited and/or expensive
Look for /watch out for - Find a plasma set that includes anti-burn-in features, such as auto pixel shift, or for pattern displays that can remove existing screen burn-in.
Wired’s Take - Plasma screens look incredible. They have deep blacks, high contrast and amazing color. But while most plasma TVs sold today say they are HD, they are limited to a resolution of 1024 x 768. If you don’t see “1080p” anywhere, it probably isn’t, so if that doesn’t matter (we think it should), then take a serious look at plasma.
Best Examples - Panasonic TH-42PX60U 42” high-definition plasma TV (shown), Samsung HP-S4253 42” high-definition plasma TV.
Rear Projection
Sizes Available - 42” – 72”
Pros - Very good color and contrast, with sharp detail and no burn-in, the least expensive way to get a decent picture with full 1080p. small footprint
Cons - The projection light bulb will burn out after a year or three, requiring an expensive replacement (~$400), Sets have a narrower field of view (they don’t look good from the side), blacks aren’t as deep as other types.
Look for /watch out for - There are 3 main types of these TVs, DLP, LCD rear projection, and LCoS. DLPs use almost a million tiny mirrors and spinning color wheels (we’re not kidding) to create the image, and is the most common rear-projection system. Some people see “rainbows” when looking away from DLP screens. LCDs (not the flat panel TVs below, but rather a type of DLP) have a slower response time (leading to “ghosting” of images) and not as deep blacks, but have no rainbows. LCoS is an advanced hybrid technology with no rainbows and fast response time, but is limited due to difficulty in manufacturing.
Wired’s Take - You’ll probably want to look at a DLP, but be sure to watch several carefully to see if you’re susceptible to the “rainbow” effect. DLPs have a good picture and are relatively inexpensive, but work best in a narrower room, and be prepared to buy a pricey bulb every now and then. Sony’s line of SXRD (their version of LCoS) sets look very good.
Best Examples - Samsung HL-S5687W 56” 1080p rear-projection DLP HDTV (shown), Sony KDS-60A2000 60” Grand Wega™ SXRD™ 1080p rear-projection HDTV.
LCD
Sizes Available - 1” – 52”
Pros - Very good picture quality, wall mountable, thin and light, use little energy, no burn-in
Cons - Blacks not quite as deep as plasma, “ghosting” of fast moving images can occur.
Look for /watch out for - – Keep an eye out for LCDs that increase the native contrast to upwards of 10,000 – 1 (usually called “dynamic contrast”) to help with picture quality and blacks, and find the response time of the LCD: 4 or 6ms will have less ghosting than 8ms.
Wired’s Take - LCDs have the best performance/price ratio in the big-screen arena. They usually give you full 1080p HD in a light package with a great picture that won’t fade or burn-in.
Best Examples - Toshiba 42LX196 42” Cinema Series® high-definition 1080p LCD TV (shown), Sharp LC-52D62U 52” AQUOS™ 1080p LCD HDTV.
Front Projection
Sizes Available - virtually unlimited
Pros - (see above), excellent picture quality, affordable, no burn-in
Cons - You need a high-quality screen for use, viewing area should be relatively dark, usually has no built-in tuners, lamp needs replacement, not all models are 1080p, mounting and substantial wiring can be involved.
Look for /watch out for - The brighter the better. Projection units need a minimum of 1,000 ANSI lumens of light output to be effect, and higher numbers make it easier to see in more light.
Wired’s Take - Front-projection TVs require a unique (and usually dedicated) environment for the most enjoyment. They’re best suited for the basement-to-media-room conversion, or for rooms that don’t have excessive natural light. Also, remember to consider that unlike other TVs, projectors reside away from other components and need to be wired, which can be complicated and expensive.
Best Examples - Sony VPL-VW50 1080p high-definition SXRD™ projector (shown), InFocus Play Big IN76 720p high-definition DLP projector.
The Decider
Hmm… Which to pick? We suggest choosing picture quality above all else. Features are not very important – we doubt you’ll be using the on-screen guide built into any of these TVs, or care much about your choice of fonts for Closed Captioning. At this price point, you’re obviously serious about home theater, which means its highly unlikely you’ll be using the built-in sound system of the TV, regardless of how good it is. Picture quality is really the only thing that matters, and isn’t upgradeable or fixable. Become visually familiar with the high points and pitfalls of each technology (that means looking at a lot of TVs), to see if any of them bother you.
After that, pick a TV that gets 1080p resolution. Even if you don’t think you’ll need it right now, you’ll want it and need it soon after. If you want to watch those Blu-ray or HD DVD discs at their highest resolution, you need 1080p.
Next in line comes the number of HDMI inputs. HDMI is the best way to connect HD components, so make sure you have enough to connect your cable box, Blu-ray player, and your AppleTV to your new TV. Having two inputs is a minimum, three is more desirable.
Brace yourself for an incredible upgrade. Your living room will be the hotspot for entertainment.
(sidebar) Quickread:
LCDs are probably the way to go for the highest quality 1080p picture at a semi-reasonable price in the average living room. Tubes are dead. Rear projection gives a big bang for the buck, but you’ll replace expensive bulbs. Plasma looks the best, but 1080p is ridiculously expensive. Projectors look incredible, but only in the dark.
(sidebar) Jargospeak
HDTV - High-Definition Television, the advanced new digital format for broadcasting TV. This abbreviation encompasses all 18 of the HD formats. Seeing “HDTV” listed in an ad does not give you much information beyond that it will accept and display some form of HDTV.
1080p - This is an HD format that displays images at a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels per frame, and is native for both Blu-ray and HD DVD. It is currently the highest resolution for consumer televisions, and encompasses all lesser resolutions.
HDMI - A multi-pin cable/connector system for connecting the audio and video elements of an HD signal between components. It’s not the only way, but it is the best way to do so.
Blu-ray vs. HD DVD - These are the competing next generation HD video formats. Much like the Beta vs. VHS wars of the 1970’s, one is likely to win, but it’s too early to tell at this point which it will be. Quality-wise they are similar: both output HD signals. Some new players accept both discs, and some discs are actually dual-sided and contain both formats.
