Shopping for a television can be difficult. There is a huge variety of technology found in modern televisions. There are different sizes and shapes. Then there is the question of standard definition or high definition. There are so many features to choose from!
Picking a television that meets your needs is a matter of personal taste and individual requirements. We strongly recommend you visit our store to see each screen in action. At ASK, our sales consultants are here to help you find the right television for you.
When looking for a new television you will be bombarded with terms that aren't always straightforward. Here's a quick guide to some of these terms allowing you to know what features suit your needs.
Screen Size
What screen size you choose is a matter of personal preference and may also be dependent on the space available. TV screen size is measured diagonally and LCD, LED and Plasma TVs vary in size from 15" to 103", yes 103" (available from Ask by special order). LCD projectors can produce good quality pictures from 70" to 120" range.
Smaller screen sizes are ideal for the smaller rooms like the kitchen or bedroom; whilst larger screen sizes over 32" are better suited for bigger rooms in the house like the living room or specially built home cinema.
Ideally the size of the TV screen you purchase should be based on the distance you sit from the TV. Sitting too near or too far from the screen can make your viewing experience less enjoyable. For instance, if you sit too near to the TV you will get pixilation while sitting too far will result in loss of detail.
Here is a quick guide that shows the suitable viewing distances for each screen size:
| Screen Size (Inches) |
Viewing Distance (Feet) |
| 20 - 23 |
2 - 5.5 |
| 26 - 27 |
3 – 6.5 |
| 32 |
4 - 8 |
| 37 |
4.5 - 9 |
| 40 - 42 |
5 - 11 |
| 50 |
6.5 - 12.5 |
| 58 |
7 - 15 |
| 65 |
8 - 16 |
These distances are only suggestions and you should find the distance that best suits your individual preferences.
Response Time
Response time is measured in milliseconds (ms) and is the time it takes for a pixel to go from active to inactive and 'ready to go active' state. Slow response times will cause ghosting or streaking when displaying fast paced action images like sports and video games.
Brightness
Brightness is measured in cd/m2 (candela per square metre). Brighter screens are better for viewing from a distance or under intense lighting conditions.
Contrast Ratio
Contrast is the ratio between the light intensity of the brightest white and the darkest black points in an image. For example contrast ratio will be quoted as 10,000:1. In this case it means that the black level is 10,000 times darker than white. A higher contrast ratio allows darker details to show up better and therefore give improved picture quality.
Refresh Rate
This represents the number of times the screen refreshes the image per second. This is measured in hertz (hz). The refresh rate for a normal screen is 50Hz which means that screen will redraw the image 50 times in a second. Higher refresh rates, 100hz for example, eliminates blur and should produce smoother motion on screen - ideal for sports and fast-paced action movies.
Frame Rate
The frame rate is slightly different to the refresh rate. This measures how many times the picture changes to an entirely new frame per second and is expressed in frames per second (FPS) and the scanning method used - i (interlaced) or p (progressive).
24p is the frame rate that has been used in movie making for years. The advantage of supporting 24p means that the video will not have to be converted to a different frame rate and so you see the movie at the same frame rate as it was shot in. Blu-Ray is currently one of the few media formats that supports 24p.
Now that you know a bit more about TVs, why not view our range of LCD, LED and Plasma TVs
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