subject: Looking for the Right Characteristics on New HDTV's [print this page] You are sure to be excited by the search for your first HDTV, but you will soon run into all the technical aspects and multitude of features on these whiz bang sets and this may make it more difficult for you. The terms are neverending, compression methods, interlaced scanning and bit rates are just a few of the many terms used with these televisions. All this can be simplified by just figuring out how you like to watch television. The process of looking for a new HDTV is similar to looking for a home sound system, and they both attract two very different types of customers. The first category are casual consumers who like to listen to music and watch television to unwind after school or work. If you fall into this category, then it really is not necessary to learn all about every little gizmo and specification for the your next television. The folks who really need to know that stuff already, just like the audiophiles who know all about every feature of every component of the home audio system. Assuming that you are more of a point and click kind of television viewer, there are really only two things to worry about when it comes to shopping for your next HDTV: resolution and refresh rate. Unless you have a very sharp eye for detail or are the sort of movie lover that wants to see films exactly as their directors intended them to be seen, it really isn't necessary to go overboard on the resolution of an HDTV. To see for yourself, spend some time examining a high end HDTV and a moderately priced one and see if the picture actually looks crisper. More importantly, consider whether or not you would notice the difference if you were watching one or the other at home. So now the most important specification to focus on is finding the HDTV with the highest refresh rate. This means how often the screen refreshes with new images per second, and even casual consumers will notice a difference in this. The video playing on an HDTV with low refresh will look a bit clunky so you definitely want the HDTV with a high refresh rate. If you make a decision while you are shopping that you really do enjoy the numbers and want to become more tech savvy then go for it. Otherwise all you need to know is an HDTV that has good recommendations and has a good refresh rate and comes with some things you will use such as being able to access streaming internet content from sites like Pandora or Netflix.
Looking for the Right Characteristics on New HDTV's
