How to buy a TV

Think back to the last time you bought a TV. How did you research and decide on what to buy?



If you went into a big box retail store, I'll bet you went to the "wall of TVs" where you were able to look at dozens or hundreds of different TVs side-by-side. You probably looked for the screen that looked the brightest or most colorful.



Or, you looked at the specs (especially if you bought the TV online), and chose based on what looked like they had the best numbers.



Or, you may have asked the sales associate for help.



All of these are good starting places, but they also all have some pitfalls that you need to be aware of so that you can make the best decision for your specific needs.



Narrowing the choices

Given so many choices in TVs these days, you really need to weed out the obvious non-starters. The first thing most people do is to settle on the size. I talked about screen size in my last blog entry. Once you've done that, you still have a formidable array of choices. So the next logical step is to decide on your budget. Now you probably have a dozen or two screens to choose from.

The next step most people want to take is to decide between plasma and LCD. That's a pretty good decision point, provided you choose for the right reasons. Look back at my blog on Plasma vs. LCD to get some tips on that.

So now you've cut out about half of the remaining choices, and you're ready to get down to business.



Big Box Stores - the Wall of TVs

First, let's talk about the "Wall of TVs". Every big-box store that sells TVs has one of these. Acres of video displays all trying to catch your eye and get you to take them home. But how do you decide which one is right for you?



At this point, most people compare the screens side by side (or as close as they can, given the layout of the store). They look for brightness, color saturation, black levels, and motion blur effects. Sometimes they'll consider how the TV sounds, if they're not going to hook it up to a sound system.



But remember, this is a big-box retailer we're talking about. These guys are masters at showing off the most profitable TVs, while leaving the less profitable ones hanging in the wings.



So the first thing you need to know is that these TVs all have the brightness and color saturation cranked up to the maximum. Just like a shiny car or piece of candy, the brighter and more colorful an object, the more it will catch your eye. (Some manufacturers even go so far as to engineer the TVs for maximum brightness and color saturation, just for this reason.) Also, remember that you're viewing these TVs under the store lights. Generally, they're metal halide lights, which are very different than your lights at home, causing the picture to look different.



Black levels are harder to disguise, but remember that when the brightness is cranked up, the blacks will naturally wash out a little bit.



And then there's motion blur and smoothness of the picture. Remember that these stores connect all of the TVs to a single source device. This means the signal is split and split again many times, and that process can degrade the picture quality. So the TVs that look better may very well have fewer splits, resulting in a better picture through no fault of the TV. Of course, some stores will go so far as to have completely different source material designed to make a TV look its best for the TVs they want to push.



Online comparisons - overwhelmed by numbers

If you're shopping or comparing on the Internet, you obviously can't look at the choices directly. So you compare based on specs, right? Of course, whenever I look at specs for TVs, I see as many as 50-75 different specs listed. And not every TV lists the same specs. And many of the specs mean something different between different TVs. Other specs make you think that more (or less) is better, but that's not necessarily true.



For example, you may look at the refresh rate for an LCD TV, listed at 60 Hz, 120 Hz, or 240 Hz, or even 480 Hz. I was comparing specs for a client the other day, and had to really dig to find the refresh rate for one of the TVs she was interested in. But is the higher number really better? There's too much information on this topic to go over in detail here, so I'll do a blog in the future about this whole refresh rate subject. So let me just say that once you get to 120 Hz, there's really no need to go any higher, because the TV can accurately display all source material correctly.



Oh, and Plasma manufacturers don't want to be left out of the Hz game, so they have their own spec for that, called "subfield drive" usually quoted as 600 Hz. but this has nothing to do with refresh rate, and really isn't useful in comparisons.



Contrast ratio is another comparison factor that has very little basis in reality. Every manufacturer measures it differently, and there's no way to compare them.



There are literally dozens of specs that can really overwhelm you when comparing TVs online.



Sales Associates - how do they know?

So let's say you've decided to ask the nearest sales associate for some help in comparing. One of the things I've noticed in a big-box store is that most of the time when I ask for help, they simply go to the display and look up the specs, which you probably did already.



Another thing I've noticed is that sometimes the associate is knowledgable, but sometimes they come from the household appliance department. Or they're really new.



Most big-box stores have programs to train the associates in the products they're selling. Usually, it's manufacturer-driven training. Some brands are more agressive than others, and will fill the trainees' heads with lots of (dubiously useful) information - I know, I've sat through a lot of these classes.



Finally, remember that the sales associate may be on a "spif" program. This means if he/she can get credit for selling a certain brand or model, they get a cash bonus, often from the manufacturer. So they're incentivized to recommend the models that give them the best spifs.



Is there any good news?

Wow, that's a lot of doom and gloom! I'm not usually a negative kind of person, but I see so many friends and clients getting bad advice on what to buy that I really want to make sure they understand how the information they're getting can be tainted.



So how do you cut through this morass? I won't pretend there's a perfect alternative.



I will say, though, that when I do find a truly knowledgable person in any field, I tend to hit them up again and again for advice on what to do.



Like most custom installers, we spend a lot of time not just comparing specs, but looking at different TVs in real-life situations. We also spend a lot of time in training such as ISF (Imaging Science Foundation) classes to understand exactly how video and film pictures are created and distributed, and how that impacts picture quality. And of course, we try to understand what things most people will actually notice on their TVs. After all, a spec is completely irrelevant if you can't see a difference on the screen!



So my advice is to find a custom installer that you can trust, and work with him or her to figure out what's best for you. Of course, we'd love to be that advisor, so call us at 847.471.4420 or visit our web page. But even if we're not, we know that most of the people in this industry are very knowledgable.



Thanks -

Rob

Which TV is right for me?

Choices, choices and more choices. Let's face it; there are just a ridiculous number of televisions for sale out there. How can you possibly choose?

People often ask me what my favorite TV is, or similarly, what's my dream TV? This question is always followed by a long pause and a slow deep breath. It's not because I don't have an answer, matter of fact, I've got plenty, and there in lies the problem.

If Einstein has taught us anything, it's that everything is relative. My perfect TV may not be your perfect TV. The perfect television for your home may not even fit in mine and so on.

So how do we choose a new television?

Given that there really isn't an end all, be all, “greatest TV of all time” out there, we do the next best thing; learn and understand their major differences and how each will benefit you.

In fact, why don't we let them introduce themselves?

Hello! I'm an LCD TV
I'm a flat panel and I come in many, many different sizes and resolutions. You can find me in sizes ranging from 15” all the way up to about 57”. Sometimes you can find me as large as 65”, wow! You can put me on a table, or you can mount me on a wall! You can put me most anywhere because my screen is viewable from very wide angles.

Hi there! I'm a Plasma TV
I like the LCDs I'm a flat panel as well but I typically come in larger sizes than LCDs. Which also means I'm a bit heavier of the flat panel TVs. I have bright and vivid colors which are great for viewing movies but my screens have a slight tendency to show glare, so try to keep me away from a lot of windows.

Hello there! I'm a Rear Projection
...but most people refer to me as a DLP which stands for Digital Light Processing. DLP was invented by Texas Instruments and is just one way of making a rear projection. Others include CRT, LCD and LCoS.

I usually come in sizes from about 42” to 72”. As you can see, I'm a big television and I'm usually put on top of a table or stand, but sometimes I'm big enough to stand on the floor all by myself! I also offer the most screen for the dollar! If you like big, big screens but don't want to spend a whole lot of money, I'm the TV for you!

Howdy! I'm Front Projection!
There are two parts to me, a projector, and a screen. Projectors can be table or ceiling mounted. Screens can be ceiling mounted, wall mounted or even painted on the wall! The ceiling and wall mounted versions can be powered and lowered via remote control which is very cool! I can create HUGE screens for your home theater. If you love big screen movies but don't like going to the theater, check me out! I'm the best way to bring the enjoyment of cinema into your home!

Well there you have it! I'd like to thank all of the TVs for introducing themselves. As I mentioned before, each one of these choices have there specific benefits and no one has all the answers, but with a little help from a professional installer, like myself, you can be sure to make the right choice!

-Keith

Introduction

Welcome to the Inspired Electronics Blog! Being that this is the inaugural post of Inspired Electronics, I feel that an introduction is in order.

A little about myself... My name is Keith and I work as an installer for a Home Electronics sales and installation company appropriately dubbed, Inspired Electronics, Inc. (Thus the name of the blog.)

In my past professional life I spent seven years working for a large hardware store, beginning in high school and then to put myself through college. One of those years, the last of which, I played the role of a department manager.

I learned an incredible amount about home improvement in those seven years, adding to an upbringing at the hands of two handymen, my Father and Grandfather, I've become very comfortable around the home improvement scene.

However, growing tired of the big-store retail life, I decided to jump head first into a profession which I truly have a passion for; Home Electronics!

Enter Inspired Electronics, Inc. The owner, Rob Schultz and I are building our dream company so to speak. We love Home Electronics, and quite frankly I can't imagine a more entertaining way to make a living.

So, we have our business... So why the blog you ask?

Well, the thing about having a passion for what you do is that you want to share it with everyone. I love to teach others about what I do for a living, and I love to learn from others. The Inspired Electronics Blog is, I think, a great way to do just that.

This board is for everyone. If you find yourself searching through the Sunday ads to see whats new in the electronics world... if you read so deep into the press releases that you hear about products far before they're on the shelves... if you stare at your Home Theater and wonder what changes you'll make next... if you just plain old love shiny, blinking, loud and cool new stuff...

This blog is for you. Welcome.

-Keith