At FindElectricals we want to help you find your perfect TV, whether you want a portable Tv or a fully sized 50 inch plasma TV. A new TV is now quite a major investment and prices can vary widely, so if you don't know what to buy then read through our simple TV guide and then start looking for the best price for your perfect television.
LCD TV or a Plasma TV?
At the moment this is a big debate and no-one can really answer it, as both have their pros and cons.
LCD stands for Liquid Crystal Display, LCDs work by shining light through a matrix of tiny coloured liquid crystal cells. LCD screens are similar to computer screens and, so far, have been more durable than plasma TVs. LCD TVs are also lighter in weight, thus making them easier to hang on walls.
Plasma screens are gas filled and consist of millions of pixels with a phosphorous coating, transmitting billions of colours. Plasms TVs come in larger sizes than LCDs – the smallest is a 32 inch screen, and large plasma TVs are cheaper than the bigger sized LCD TVs, also they have not lasted as long, but the technology is improving all the time.
LCD TV Offers
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What TV Features to look for
Before you buy think about the size of television you want and the size of TV that can happily fit in your lounge or fit on your wall. Then look at how much you can spend and then the quality of the television. Flat screen TVs can be mounted on the wall or placed on a stand.
Some of the better well known makes are Pioneer, Sony, JVC, Samsung, Toshiba, LG, Hitachi, Panasonic and Sharp
For future proofing it is also wise to buy an HD TV which has at least 2 HDMI or DVI sockets. This means that you will be able to connect 2 pieces of HD equipment to the television, such as HD DVD Players, Games Consoles, Camcorders etc.
It may also be useful for you at the moment if the HD TV has at least 2 scart sockets so that you can still connect your Video Recorder or DVD Player to the television.
Above all make sure you purchase a TV which is HD Ready and has Freeview built in.
Plasma TV Offers
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Resolution: 720p or 1080p?
These are resolution figures of the TV, the numbers stand for the lines of color on the screen per square inch. when you have a p after the number, it means that the signal is in progressive scan instead of interlaced scan. the difference between the p and i, is that when the tv scans an interlaced signal, it scans every other line going down, and every other line going up, so it takes 2 full sweeps to fill the screen w/ color. the progressive however scans all of the lines down and up, so in 2 full sweeps, it has scanned double the lines of the interlaced signal. this gives you the equivilent of 1440i vs 1080i since the 720p is twice that of the 1080i.
1080p will cost more than a 720 model, but 1080p is a true HD resolution, and is the future, so if you can afford a 1080p TV then go for it.
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