Basic guide for buying a HDTV for non-tech savvy people

This is a basic guide for people who are not tech-savvy on how to buy a High-Def Television (HDTV). Sure, there are plenty of HDTV buying guides out there, and I recommend also reading them. This guide is not meant to replace any other guides, it is just to help.

Sales people will often overwhelm you with a lot of technical talk. Their job is to sale you something, so don't rely on them to tell you what you want. The best way to get past that it to know some basics on what you need. This guide will help you determine what you need.

Do you need a HDTV for the upcoming DTV transition?
The short answer is, "no." With the upcoming switch to digital television (DTV) on February 17, 2009, a lot of people are assuming that if they do not have a HDTV, they cannot get any television channels. This is only partially true. The DTV switch will only change the way that channels broadcast their signals over-the-air. This only effects people who use an antenna to get television. If you have cable, satellite, FIOS, etc., this will not effect you.

If you do get your television via antenna, a HDTV is still not necessary. All you need is a digital tuner, which some (but not all) HDTV's come with. But, you can also get a digital converter, or buy a "standard" television with a digital tuner. If you bought a televisions within the past few years, it may have a digital tuner built in. Check with your television's manual and/or manufacturer for confirmation on that.

Connections

The first thing you want to think about is what is connected, or is going to be connected to your television. Having four HDMI ports is great, but not having anything that plugs into those ports is not. You need to know what is connected to your TV. Most devices will come with either the coaxil or A/V cables. Some of those same devices will also allow you to "upgrade" your connection to A/V, S-Video, Composite, or HDMI. Check your owner's manual or with the manufacturer of the device to see if there is a way to "upgrade" your connection.

Here is a table with pictures and descriptions of the more popular connections:

Wires	Connection	Name	Details
		Coaxil	This is usually used for cable television and/or antennas. Most televisions have at least one input for this kind of connection.
		Audio/Video (A/V)	These connections usually consist of three connections, Yellow, Red, and White. The Yellow is the video, the Red is the right audio, and the White is the left audio. Most devices (DVD players, VCR's, game consoles) use this connection. These cables are also referred to as "composite cables."
		S-Video	Some of the devices that use A/V will occasionally also use this type of connection. The difference between this connection and the A/V, is that the thick, black wire carries the video signal instead of the Yellow connector. You will still use the Red and White connectors from the A/V cable to carry the audio signal.
		Component video	This cable is also similar to the A/V cables, however the video signal that was carried by Yellow video cable is split into three video cables. The audio is still carried by the Red and White cables.
		HDMI	This is the standard for most devices that have the ability to display high-def. The video and audio are carried by the one wire.

480i, 720p, 1080i, what does that mean?

This is another part where most people get hung up; the video mode. Now, there is a lot of information about each mode, but for the sake of this guide, I'll keep it simple.

Currently, the highest video mode is 1080p. Of course, because technology is constantly evolving, that may change in a few years, but for now, it is the highest. And, the higher modes support all the modes below them. Such as 1080p also supports all 1080i through 480i modes. Still a little confused? Don't worry, it will make more sense when you look at this chart of a simple breakdown of the video modes for North America television from the lowest to the highest:

Mode	Type	Supports	Details
480i	SDTV	480i	This is the standard video mode of most (analog) televisions. Also known as Standard Definition Television (SDTV). Prior to the DTV transition on February 17, 2009, most over-the-air television signals are being broadcast in this definition.
480p	EDTV	480p, 480i	This is the standard mostly used for digital television. Also known as Enhanced Definition Television (EDTV). After the DTV transistion on February 17, 2009, all over-the-air television signals will be broadcast in this definition.
720i	HDTV	720i, 480p, 480i	This is the lowest standard for High Definition Television (HDTV). A lot of HD channels actually broadcast in this definition.
720p	HDTV	720p, 720i, 480p, 480i	This is the standard that most HD video games display at.
1080i	HDTV	1080i, 720p, 720i, 480p, 480i	This is usually the highest standard that HD channels will broadcast at.
1080p	HDTV	1080p, 1080i, 720p, 720i, 480p, 480i	This is (currently) the highest standard that a HDTV can display. There are not a lot of things that will use this standard, except downloaded video or some Blu-ray discs.

Screen size: Standard, Widescreen, HDTV

With the exception of 480i, most standards are able to play natively in widescreen mode. What that means is that they can display the picture in widescreen without artificially stretching the picture. Although, just because a mode is able to display in 480p or higher, does not mean that it will appear in widescreen mode. Most HDTV's and widescreen televisions will give the option of stretching the picture, but that does not change the mode that it is. And stretching will usually make the picture look even worse.

HD Ready

Now this is a "fun" term. All HDTV's are HD Ready, but not all are able to pick up HD signals. What does that mean? Well, "HD Ready" means that the television will display HD content if a device (such as a cable or satellite box) that is hooked up to that television will "feed" it the content.

For someone who does not have a device that provides HD content and/or wants to receive HD or digital channels over the air, the HDTV needs to have an HD Tuner. This just means that the TV will be able to receive and decode the signals, but you may still need an antenna to receive the signal. Or, if your cable company is like mine, they may "piggy-back" local HD and digital television signals with the regular cable content. The HDTV will pick up this content and display it for you.

Plasma, LCD, OLED, rear-projection, etc.

You may hear the terms, "plasma", "LCD", "OLED" and such thrown around when talking about HDTV's. And while most people associate HDTV's with the "flat-panel" or a thin television, that not always true. HDTV's come in a variety of shapes and styles. The "flat-panel" HDTV's are the more popular type, given that they can be mounted on walls and take up less space than a non-HD television. So, what it the best type? Well, I have no definate answer for that, but let me give you some information.

True Black: When the first HDTV's that came out they had trouble displaying the color black. Some LCD's would show it better then Plasma and vice versa. Since then, there has been a lot of technological development, but some still have this issue. There are a lot of websites that test this feature, so doing a websearch would be your best option on this issue.

Space: Like I mentioned, HDTV's are commonly known for the slim form factor of the LCD's, Plasmas, and OLED's. However, there are other types of HDTV's, which are a lot larger. Before deciding on what HDTV you want, determine where it will be placed and if there is enough space for it. There is no reason to get a 40 inch HDTV if all you have space for is 32 inches. In addtion, non-flat panel HDTV's often cost less than flat panel HDTV's.

60hz vs 120hz vs 240hz

This is the refresh rate of LCD televisions. The higher refresh rate means that motion on the screen is handled better with less of a "blur". So, more is better, right? Yes, it is, but you don't need 240hz. In fact, most people will not even be able to tell the difference between 120hz and 240hz.

So, that's all the advice I have for now. Maybe if more comes to mind, I will add it. But for now, the information I have presented should give you a lot to go on for making your decision on which HDTV to buy.