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TV is such a huge part of home life in the UK, it's not surprising that there is a dauntingly huge range of sets available to you. Whatever your thoughts on the quality of output vs. license fee or subscription, it's now possible to get a high-quality television set for cheaper than ever before – maybe it's time you upgraded?
Firstly, there's no point in spending hundreds of pounds on a massive LCD or plasma screen if your lounge is so small that it takes up a whole wall, and you need to sit five feet away from it.
Use this guideline as a rule of thumb for the very biggest TV size to seat distance; you can, of course, get much smaller sets.
32" measured diagonally across the screen if you're sitting five feet away
42" and larger if you're eight feet away
44" and larger if you're ten feet away
50" and larger if you're twelve feet away
60" and larger if you're fourteen feet away
Measure the place you'll put the TV and compare this to the size of the set itself.
There are lots of terms flying around right now to do with television sets, and all of them will have some kind of impact on what it is that you want.
Here follows a breakdown of terms, what they mean, and how they affect your decision:
The analogue signal is currently due to be switched off in 2012, which means that if you don't have a digital TV by then, you won't have a working TV. You'll either need to get a receiver (often a set-top box) or have a TV with a digital receiver built in, as many do now; take this into account as it will save you further investment in a few years.
This stands for High Definition Television and basically means that the resolution (the number of lines that make the image) is doubled. It's incredibly high-quality viewing and, as a result, doesn't come cheap. HDTV sets are better for movies; TV channels will cater better for them eventually.
This is the best sound quality you can get at home. If sound is important to you, look for a set which emulates home cinema with surround sound.
These are flat, shallow TV sets which can be hung on the wall like pictures; they look great. They can be very big and have good, clear displays; they're the better choice for flat screens if you want a large set. They look great and are sharp; nice if you have the cash and want a TV that will be good for movies and TV channels.
These are also flat, shallow screens. They also look cool and have very high picture quality - higher than plasma - but they tend to be smaller.
Use this info – location, picture and sound quality, how the set looks – and take a look at the enormous range available to you before making your decision.
