HOME/ TECH SPECIAL....How to pick the right TV

How to pick the right TV  Buying a TV used to be a simple exercise—decide on the screen size and pick one from the few, known brands. Now, the process has become complicated. The constantly changing model numbers, similar features across brands, new launches by new companies every year, and a plethora of panel sizes in the same price range have made it difficult for customers to choose a TV. A few tips that can help you finalise your next purchase. 1 Brand Choosing a market leader does not necessarily mean that you are getting the best TV. You need to consider other factors as well. For instance, does it have a good network of service centres near your residence? Do they offer free home installation and wall mounting? How expensive are the add-ons for your television? What kind of warranty are you getting? Will it work with all the video sources you have? Make sure you have these questions answered before deciding on a brand. 2 Placement Before making the purchase, decide if you want the TV placed on a table or mounted on a wall. Most televisions are shipped with a stand, but you may have to pay extra for a separate bracket that is used for wall mounting. If you decide to mount the TV, be it for saving space or for appearances, you will need to route all the necessary cables through a channel in the wall. 3 Connectivity Count how many devices you will be connecting to your television and the ports you require. Most Blu-Ray players, gaming consoles, media players and set-top boxes are now linked using an HDMI port. However these can also be connected via a composite/ component port, if required. If you have a lot of HD sources, opt for a TV that has at least four HDMI ports so that you do not have to change wires to switch between devices. 4 Audio performance The biggest impact of a slimmer TV panel is on the speakers. Most of these offer dual 10 watt (RMS) speakers, which can blare at high volumes. For the best audio experience, connect your TV to a home theatre or separate speaker system. Go for a TV that has optical or SPDIF/coaxial audio out port to get multichannel audio output. You could make do with the 3.5 mm (headphone) audio port in TV, but this will only provide stereo (two channel) sound. 5 Wireless connectivity With the Internet becoming one of the biggest repositories of multimedia content, it’s best if you choose a TV that has builtin Wi-Fi or one that supports connecting Wi-Fi dongles. This will let you connect to your home Wi-Fi network and enjoy streaming audio/video content from the Internet directly on your TV. Some TVs also have DLNA support, which allows you to wirelessly stream content from a mobile phone, tablet or computer directly to the TV. 6 Smart/ 3D TV A smart TV lets you access information and content from the Internet using built-in apps. Most such TVs have apps for multimedia, social networking, news, etc, which provide a richer experience than an ordinary TV browser. However, these TVs are also more expensive and cost 1-4 lakh. Some smart TVs also offer a 3D feature, though getting good 3D content is a big problem. Another issue is that everyone in the family will require a pair of 3D glasses. While some TVs come with two pairs of glasses, an extra one can cost more than 3,000. Which is better? Should you buy an LCD, LED or plasma TV? Each panel has its own advantages. An LCD panel offers more brightness and lower power consumption than plasma, while LED offers the least power consumption and better colours than LCD. Plasma offers the best black levels and fastest refresh rates (best for sports) among the three. You can choose either, but our pick is the LED TV since it offers a balanced set of features. What’s the difference between full HD and HD ready? A full HD panel has a resolution of 1,920 x 1,080 pixels, while an HD ready panel usually has a resolution of 1,366 x 768 pixels. HD ready implies that the TV will be able to display content from an HD source. However, if your video sources can output full HD resolution, you should go for a full HD TV. Which is the ideal TV size: 32, 40, 42 or 46 inch? To decide on the best choice for your viewing pleasure, you should measure the distance between TV’s position and your bed/couch/ chair. If the distance is 4-6 ft, buy a 32 inch unit. If the distance is more, say, 5-8 ft, opt for a 40/42 inch television. Go for a 46 inch panel if you are sitting 6-9 ft away. For TV sets bigger than 46 inch, it is best to have a minimum viewing distance of more than 8 ft. Will I get better output if I use branded and/or expensive HDMI cables? No, a branded HDMI cable might have a better build than an unbranded one, but it does not affect the overall quality of output. As HDMI is a digital standard, it does not lose clarity because of a poor signal or interference. If the cable works, your TV will display the output. The quality of image you get with a 200 cable will be indistinguishable from one that costs 1,000. Karan Bajaj ETW121224