Television Buyer's Guide

Lots of Numbers

Shopping for a new television can be confusing. There are so many choices and so many terms being thrown at you. What is the difference between SDTV and HDTV? Which is better, 1080i or 1080p? Is 720p good enough? What do all these numbers mean? And what will the coming change to digital TV mean to me?

Gallery Furniture wants you to be an informed shopper. Your new television should fit your entertainment requirements and your budget. It should also fit in the space you have available. You need to know the right questions to ask and you need to have some answers of your own handy.

The Big Switch

On February 17, 2009, broadcasters around the country will turn off their analog transmitters. When that happens, any television with an old fashioned NTSC tuner* will stop working. Unless you have a converter that allows you to receive digital signals, you won't see anything on your screen. Because the switch-off would deprive many viewers of their only source of television, Congress has created a subsidy program. Each household will be allowed to ask for two $40 coupons that can be used to pay for a digital converter box. For more information, see the Department of Commerce coupon web site. You can find more information on the digital conversion at www.dtvtransition.org.

Many Americans won't need the coupon. They have cable or satellite television and won't need the digital tuner. Or they have a newer television that includes the ATSC* tuner. Or they've decided it's time to upgrade that old television anyway.

Before You Begin

We'll start with a check list of things to do before you come to the store.

• Measure your room, particularly the distance from the TV screen to where you will be sitting.
• Measure the area your new TV will occupy. Write down the height, width, and depth of the area. If you will be using an existing entertainment center or cart, get the measurements for the TV area. If you will be buying a new TV cart or entertainment center measure the wall and floor area available for it.
• If you will be using an existing DVD player, cable box, or satellite converter, what video and audio outputs does it have`? (See below for more information on outputs.)
• Will you be using a surround sound system?
• Do you plan to use a game console with the television?

Why do you need to know these things?

Your normal seating distance from the screen helps you know what size screen to buy. If the screen is too small, you won't be able to see everything on the screen. Sit too close to a large screen and you won't get the full effect of the picture.

And of course you want your new television to fit the space available for it. The same goes for a new TV cart or entertainment center. Knowing how much space you have prevents problems.

Your existing DVD player may not support new output formats, such as HDMI. That won't prevent you from using it, but you may not get the best picture quality it can produce.

If you are using a surround sound system, the television's onboard sound becomes less important. If you are not, then you want to get the best sound you can from the television set.

Game consoles are important to a lot of young people -- and quite a few older ones too -- so it's important to know if your set has enough imputs to support one. You may want front or side mounted inputs if you plan to move the console around. Some of the newest game consoles include HD or Blu Ray DVD players with video output that is much better than your old DVD player.

Next -- The Lines are Drawn

_______________________

*NTSC - National Television Standards Committee, the group that developed the television standards used from 1941 until the present for analog television signals. The television standard that has been used in the US is also referred to as NTSC and an NTSC tuner is one that will receive only the older style signals.

ATSC - Advanced Television Systems Committee, set up by the the industry and approved by the US government, this committee adopted the official digital television standard for the United States in 1997. These days, ATSC means a tuner capable of receiving digital and high definition signals.