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" High-definition televisions (HDTVs) have become much more affordable, so if you&amp;#039;re still watching on a tube television, now&amp;#039;s a great time to take the technological leap forward. These new televisions are able to display picture in 1080p high definition, come in various sizes, and include features such as Internet connectivity. Purchasing a HDTV can be a daunting task, particularly because retailers often conveniently place the HDTV they want to sell most in more favorable lighting conditions or increase the contrast on the sets so the images appear more bright and vivid. To help you out, the Good Housekeeping Research Institute (GHRI) tested HDTVs ranging in sizes from 32&amp;quot;, 40&amp;quot;-42&amp;quot;, 46&amp;quot;-47&amp;quot; and 55.&amp;quot; What We Looked For in High Definition Televisions  GHRI evaluated HDTVs for:  High-definition picture quality Standard-definition picture quality Viewing angle Evaluation of black levels, white levels, and color levels Video resolution and film resolution Sound level and sound clarity Ease of using the remote control Ease of navigating the menus and settings Ease of using any additional features   How the Good Housekeeping Research Institute Tested HDTVs  Using calibration software, we calibrated black levels, white levels, and color. We then compared them to factory settings and determined how much adjustment the televisions would require when you set it up at home. We used test patterns to evaluate the performance of the video processors of each television for both video resolution loss and film resolution loss. Film mode helps improve the appearance of movies that were converted from film to video, such as movies shown on TV and theatrical releases on DVD. This helps to compensate for the frame rate differences (film is 24 frames per second while video is 30 frames per second), so there will be less image distortion. The TVs were set in both modes and the resolution was examined. Once each of the settings were calibrated, we assessed the picture quality of both high-definition content and standard-definition content for dark scenes and bright scenes using various Bluray discs and regular DVDs.  Each television was assessed from various viewing angles to determine how much the picture quality was affected, in order to simulate the watching experience of a person sitting to the far left or right of the television. We measured the highest sound level the television was able to produce and determined the level of sound clarity at that level. Testers were asked to use the remote control and navigate menus and setting to evaluate how easy they were to use. They were also asked to switch between inputs to determine how easy it would be to switch from your cable/satellite source to a DVD player. Testers evaluated many of the additional features of the televisions, such as picture-in-picture, Internet connectivity, and closed captioning, to determine how easy and appealing they were to use.       Television has come a long way in the last 10 years, and buying one can be an intimidating and confusing process if you aren&amp;#039;t an educated consumer. Before you walk into your local retailer, be sure to think about the following things in order to have a better idea of what type of HDTV you should purchase. LCD vs Plasma The first decision ibs choosing between a LCD HDTV or a Plasma HDTV. Plasmas have deeper blacks, aren&amp;#039;t subject to motion blur, and have excellent viewing angles, but they consume more electricity. LCDs appear brighter and don&amp;#039;t suffer from &amp;quot;burn-in,&amp;quot; which occurs when an image on the screen is held for long periods of time. They are more energy-efficient, and they tend to have fewer glare issues because their screens are matte. Screen SizeBefore high-definition TV, the general rule of thumb was to watch your TV from a distance of three to six times the screen size in inches. However, now that resolution is so much better, we can sit closer to the TV or even go for a larger screen size, as follows:    Viewing  Distance (ft)   Viewing  Distance (in)   Minimum  Screen Size (in)   Maximum  Screen Size (in)     1   12   4   8     2   24   8   16     3   36   12   24     4   48   16   32     5   60   20   40     6   72   24   48     7   84   28   56     8   96   32   64     9   108   36   72     10   120   40   80     11   132   44   88     12   144   48   96      Minimum Screen Size = Viewing Distance \u00F7 3 Maximum Screen Size = Viewing Distance \u00F7 1.5    ResolutionHDTVs come in 720p or 1080p resolution. These numbers represents the actual number of horizontal lines displayed on the screen. You would normally assume that more is better, but that&amp;#039;s not always the case; it&amp;#039;s hard to tell much of a difference on screen sizes 32 inches or smaller. That said, people start to see significant differences between 1080p and 720p on screens 40 inches and larger. So if you&amp;#039;re buying a smaller screen, save your money and opt for a 720p instead. Contrast Ratio This refers to the brightest and darkest light values your television can display. As a rule of thumb, the higher the contrast ratio, the better your black levels; but beware of manufacturer embellishments. There are two types of contrast ratio manufacturers report and advertise: static and dynamic. Static contrast, often referred to as &amp;quot;true contrast ratio,&amp;quot; is the ratio of the darkest blacks and the brightest whites that the television can display at the same time. Dynamic contrast refers to the ratio between the darkest blacks and the brightest whites\u2014but not that can be displayed at the same time (the technology wouldn&amp;#039;t be capable of it). Dynamic contrast ratio yields much larger numbers compared to static contrast ratio (1,000,000:1 vs. 1,000:1), and manufacturers tend to tout these numbers.  Refresh RateRefresh rate refers to the number of times per second a new image displays on the screen. Traditionally, the standard refresh rate was 60 Hz, or 60 times per second. Some sets now come with 120-Hz or even 240-Hz refresh rates, which can eliminate blurring in fast-moving scenes. This is done by interpolation, which reads the frames and inserts an additional frame between the ones that are broadcasted. This helps reduce the blurring of fast motions and eliminates the &amp;quot;trailing or tail&amp;quot; affect as seen on slower response time televisions. While 120 is a worthwhile upgrade over 60, there&amp;#039;s not much of a perceivable difference between 120- and 240-Hz refresh rates. Numbers of Inputs Before you set your heart on an HDTV, consider the number of devices you are going to be enjoying on your new set. Make sure to take note on the type of connection your cable/satellite receiver, BluRay player, video-game console, computer or laptop, or anything else you may want to connect. Doing this will avoid the mistake of buying an HDTV without enough inputs, which would require you to plug and unplug your devices every time you want to use them (or require the use of splitters, which you&amp;#039;d have to buy separately). Try and account for all the connections you need, and buy the HDTV that will be able to accommodate them all at once. Internet Connected HDTVsMany of today&amp;#039;s HDTVs are more than just televisions. With integrated Ethernet jacks and built-in Wi-Fi, users can connect to the Internet. TV viewers are able to use &amp;quot;widgets&amp;quot; to access content, from YouTube videos and Flickr photo galleries to local weather, news, sports updates, and stock quotes. Very few TVs function as full-fledged browsers. Most are subject to specific content, varying based on the manufacturer and model of the TV. The content ranges from simple RSS feeds to services such as Netflix, Amazon on Demand, Hulu, Pandora, Twitter, Facebook, etc.   Chances are good that the picture on your new HDTV looked great at the store, but seems a bit lackluster now that you&amp;#039;ve got it home. Well, it&amp;#039;s no secret that retailers boost the store lighting as well as the brightness on televisions themselves to mask poor black-level performance. But you can adjust the picture settings to get the best possible picture your HDTV can display.  If you don&amp;#039;t want to fiddle with the settings yourself, use the factory presets. Most TVs come out of the box set to &amp;quot;Dynamic&amp;quot; or &amp;quot;Vivid&amp;quot; mode to make them more appealing on the showroom floor. While these settings amp up the intensity, they aren&amp;#039;t natural or realistic and are best used for playing video games, watching an animation, or in very bright lighting. The &amp;quot;Standard&amp;quot; or &amp;quot;Natural&amp;quot; mode works well for standard definition programming and daytime viewing because it increases brightness and contrast to reasonable levels. Choose &amp;quot;Movie&amp;quot; or &amp;quot;Cinema&amp;quot; mode for high-definition programming from DVDs or BluRays. This mode creates a picture similar to what you would find in the movie theater.  If you&amp;#039;re willing to take the bull by the horns and tweak the picture setting menus yourself, here are some pointers for best results: Brightness This setting doesn&amp;#039;t actually make your HDTV brighter. Instead, it adjusts the intensity of anything colored black. Generally blacks appear too black on a TV just out of the box. Lower it enough so that blacks remain black but you can still see details and definition in dark scenes; you&amp;#039;ve set it too low if blacks begin to look gray. Contrast or Picture This setting controls the intensity of whites and is also usually set too high in the default mode. Adjusting it to about half of the maximum level will keep whites bright but preserve detail. You&amp;#039;ll know it&amp;#039;s set too low, if whites images seem to have a hint of color in them. Color or Saturation Color is the most subjective of all the picture-quality settings. Change the saturation when people are on the screen, looking for a level at which skin complexion looks realistic and not tanned or sunburned. Sharpness Sharpness artificially enhances the edges around images and pictures and, when it&amp;#039;s too high, creates white or black lines around objects. Lower the sharpness to a bare minimum and if you can&amp;#039;t tell the difference even then, turn it off altogether. Tint or Hue  Factory settings for these are usually correct, so no need to play with them. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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