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Saturday, 06 Dec 2008
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Tips for buying high-def TVs

By ADAM TURNER - SMH | Friday, 05 December 2008
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Television makers throw around a lot of impressive numbers when spruiking their latest wares.

Resolutions, response times and refresh rates are always improving, plus impressive contrast and brightness ratings are bandied about. Televisions are also getting bigger, with 70-inch flat-panel giants now appearing in the stores.

If you're looking for the best picture, then a 1920x1080p screen with 100Hz refresh rate and 4 millisecond response time is a good place to start, but buying a high-definition television isn't just a numbers game.

You can tick all the boxes on your spec sheet wish-list, but the truth is that none of these figures guarantee that one television is better than another. When it comes to choosing a great television, quality is in the eye of the beholder.

Big screens are great for showing off high-definition content, but they also magnify any imperfections in the image. This is when you rely on a high-quality panel and great video processing to give you the best possible picture; it's the secret sauce when it comes to televisions. In other words, it's not the size of your pixels that counts, it's what you do with them.

When sitting in a store, televisions often have the brightness and contrast pumped right up to make them look better. They're also often playing animated movies, such as Pixar's Toy Story, which lack the fine details that let you distinguish the good televisions from the bad.

The torture test for any television is fast-moving sport or a Hollywood action scene. Watch for jerky movement and jagged lines, especially when the camera is panning. Look for motion blur, flicker fuzziness, or "noise" - especially in the background during a car chase.

Also check to see how deep the blacks are and whether you can still see fine details in the shadows.

Fast-moving sports are a great way to test a television. Is the ball the right shape? Can you read the signs on the boundary and see the fine details in the crowd? Does the grass blur into a sea of green? Do the players' shirts remain sharp in long shots of the play?

Try flicking between standard and high-definition broadcasts to see how well the television handles a less-than-perfect picture.

Don't be afraid to take your time and come back to the store more than once. And don't hesitate to change the channel or ask to watch different content. After a while you'll see the qualities of the better televisions shine through. If the shop assistant is unwilling to let you see how the television performs under different conditions, take your business elsewhere.


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