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Choosing a 30 Inch LCD TV |
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If you’re in the market for an LCD TV, and you’ve decided you want a 30 inch LCD TV, you may want to consider other factors to help you narrow your choice down to a particular model. 30 inch LCD TV sets -especially larger models and HDTVs - have literally dozens of features. Many won’t matter to you unless you’re technically savvy and are trying to create a complicated home theater and audio-visual entertainment center; other features may matter.
30 inch LCD TV models, especially HDTV models, now have flat screens. Flat screens eliminate the slight curve you may be accustomed to on the front of a picture tube television. A flat screen shouldn’t be confused with a flat panels TV; flat screen TVs measure between one and a half and two feet deep. If you want a flat panel design that will narrow down your choices quickly; if you don’t need a flat panel design, you can choose a 30 inch LCD TV that’s a non-flat panel design and save a little money.
Some features are mostly found on HD sets and EDTVs. 3:2 pulldown compensation, sometimes called film mode, or referred to by brand-specific names such as CineMotion, can make images look less jagged around the edges when you're watching content that was originally shot on film and then converted to video. Progressive-scan DVD players have this feature as well. If you have an older, non-progressive scan DVD player, a 30 inch LCD TV will perform this function. If both your 30 inch LCD TV and your progressive-scan DVD player have this feature, you may be able to switch control to whichever device does a better job smoothing out the images. Aspect ratio controls such as stretch and zoom modes will expand or compress an image to better fill the screen shape, like when you're watching standard-definition content. Some 30 inch LCD TV models have both auto convergence and manual convergence. One feature that might sway your choice of 30 inch LCD TV is picture-in-picture, or PIP. Some manufacturers call this feature picture-on-picture, or POP. PIP lets you watch two channels at once, one in a small picture alongside the full-screen image, which is handy if you like to, for example, keep up with the news while watching another program. Some TVs have single-tuner PIP, which requires another device like a VCR or cable box to tune the second channel. This can be confusing to connect and operate. TVs with dual-tuner PIP have two TV tuners built-in, so they can display two channels on their own. They're much easier to set up. You don’t need to rule out a 30 inch LCD TV just because it lacks PIP or POP, though. If you already have a digital video recorder with a PIP function, you can have picture-in-picture even if the 30 inch LCD TV you choose lacks that feature. There are literally dozens of choices in the 30 inch LCD TV range – to make your choice easier, narrow the list by focusing on features that mean the most to you. |
TryLCDTV.com 2006: LCD Television, TV, And Big Screen Information