Jul 29, 2010 10:54 AM
17774 Views
Now a days buying a LCD TV is very common and prices too came in a attractive package. I have observed three different mindsets in the buyers of LCD TVs.
People, for seck of upgrading from CRT to LCD, they prefer cheaper LCDs, they do not care for features and quality.
Another set of people, they feel bigger the price, better the LCD technology.
There also a third mindset which is seen in very less people that, evaluate the product, understand the complete technology and select the best.
Now, I would like to put some light on the aspects before buying a LCD tv for Mindset 2 & 3 buyers. I will be add fressing few key aspects which are highlighted in the brochure. and are tricky for the buyer....
A. Response rate: this is a very tricky thing in LCDs. It is always given in mili seconds. like 3.4 ms, 6mls or xyz mls. This response rate is nothing but a blackout time between 2 frames are being rendered on LCD. On this rate, the smoothness of rendering of subsequent frames depends. Lesser the mili seconds, smoother the experience, higher mili seconds, experience is broken. this can be an issue when watching action, sports or high speed activities.
Tip: How to check the response time.: Don't just go on what showroom guy or what brochure says. Ask the showroom demo guy to run a demo which has horizontal scrolling text on the screen. Watch the scrolling text carefully. If it looks jerky and hard to read then its a bad tv and will screeup your eyes very soon and will spoil the thrill of watching high speed actions. If the scrolling text is smoothly scrolling and you are able to read it properly, isa good tv.
B. Contrast Ratio: This is always highlighted buy seller or by brochure that 100000:1 contrast ratio. It always interpreted by buyer as well as seller that, more the ratio, more the contrast on the screen. Buyer feels, more contrast ratio will deliver the more brighter picture. NO. Contrast ratio has nothing to do with these things. Contrast ratio is, If you are watching a visual which has got darker or shadow areas
in it. How much details from this dark areas are visible to you on the screen. So better the contrast ratio is, capability of LCD panel to show maximum details from the shadow area. In photographic terms, this is also known as high dynamic range.
Tip: How to check contrast ratio: Look at the demo videos shown by the showroom guys. Ask him to put some demo DVD which has some night shots or shots taken in very low lighting conditions. Now look at the darker areas of the screen. Try to look for the details in the darker areas. If you see nothng but dark plain patches with squarish blurred patterns then switch to other tv. Put the same DVD on other TV. If you are able to see minute details in darker areas. is the best TV to go for. Now this thing is little trick, becasue it depends on the VCD-DVD quality also. So another way of checking this. Ask showroom guy to put on some tv channel from DTH, set top box like TATA SKY, DISH or airtel etc. and check the same darker area things.
Similarlyy, there are many more aspects to look for before buying the LCD but these are the most important aspects, so I addressed here.
If time permits, I will write about those apsect too very soon.
Hope, this will help in makig the right TV buying decision.
