Buying a Large LCD TV

A large TV screen is great – the viewing experience is better, the action is more lifelike… the problem is, the larger the TV, the more space it takes up. For many people juggling the size of the TV with the space available has been a constant battle.

LCD TVs have created an alternative to the traditional large, awkward TV (especially the projection CRTs that took up massive amounts of floor space), without reducing the size of the screen. In fact, wall-mounted LCD TVs have revolutionized room décor and home entertainment.

If you’re interested in a large LCD TV, there are important considerations to keep in mind. Large LCD TVs are still fairly expensive, in spite of prices having fallen in the past few years –make sure you spend your money wisely. Some features are even more critical on a large LCD TV than on a smaller set, since the larger size can expose picture quality problems more readily.

Brightness: The brightness of large LCD TVs varies considerably and is an important factor to keep in mind. Most LCD screens tend to be considerably dimmer than plasma or conventional CRT screens and don't perform as well when used in bright lighting conditions. A screen's brightness is often expressed in Cd/m². “Cd” is an abbreviation for candela, which is a unit of measurement of light intensity. A typical candle generates one candela, while a large LCD TV may generate 400 Cd/m² or more; the higher the number, the better the screen.

Contrast: Contrast is a measure of how many times brighter the white tones produced by an image are than the black tones. The more contrast a large LCD TV can produce, the better, because the image will be crisper, cleaner, and sharper. Contrast specifications are expressed as a ratio. A typical ratio might be 400:1, although these figures are increasing all the time, and figures upwards of 800:1 are becoming more common.

Viewing Angle: Depending on how you intend to use your large LCD TV, the viewing angle may well be the most important consideration to keep in mind. Unlike a conventional TV set, which is visible from just about any angle, the way the image on a large LCD screen appears can change as your angle to the screen increases. Make sure the large LCD TV you’re buying will be visible from every position you (or your family or guests) will want to view it from. The average large LCD TV has a horizontal viewing angle between 150 and 170 degrees and a vertical angle of approximately 130 degrees.

Response Time: A large LCD TV's “response time” refers to the amount of time it takes for the LCD pixels to switch totally from black to white and back again. Response time is measured in thousandths of a second (milliseconds, or the abbreviation ms) and is an important factor in determining how well a LCD TV will handle quickly changing images. If the response time isn’t fast enough (especially on larger screens), action scenes that feature lots of fast movement will appear blurry and blurry. The shorter the response time, the better. On the average large LCD TV, response times tend to be around 20-30ms. Advances in technology have allowed some units to reach speeds of 15-17ms, which matches the performance of a conventional TV screen.

Connectivity: Make sure you can connect your DVD player, game console, home theater, and other equipment will connect easily to your large LCD TV. If you don’t understand the connection terminology, explain to the retailer what devices you’d like to connect and have him or her check to make sure the large LCD TV you’re interested in will handle your needs.
A large LCD TV can be a big investment – make sure you purchase a unit that meets all your needs to ensure you’ll have years of home entertainment to look forward to.

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