Top Tips On Buying A 3d Tv

By Author: Barry Knightly
Total Articles: 57
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3D TV's are increasingly becoming all the rage in home entertainment. Use the following guide to arm yourself with the right knowledge when it comes to choosing the best model for your needs.



Screen Size & Budget Considerations


It’s wise to calculate your maximum budget allowance before you start looking at 3D TV's so that you don't end up overshooting your cash flow. The size of a 3D TV impacts its price the most, so if you want to keep your costs down while keeping the quality, your best bet will be a smaller model.



Display Technology


Currently, the best option to go for when it comes to display quality is Active Shutter Display 3D technology. If your budget stretches far, the top of the range however would be a Polarised 3D Projector.



Choosing Between Plasma or LCD


Both Plasma TV's and their LCD counterparts have their benefits and disadvantages. The bottom line in the race as to which one is the market leader when it comes to 3D viewing is that currently, Plasma ...
... TV's stand out as the top choice because of their superior refresh rates and ability to display full 1080p 3D content without negatively impacting the onscreen resolution. That being said, if you're looking for a fairly small sized 3D TV, you will need to go for an LCD model because Plasma TV's are typically only available at 42 inches or larger.



Refresh Rate


If you decide to go with a Plasma 3D TV, the refresh rate won't be an issue since the nature of this technology means all Plasma's feature a refresh rate that is high enough to reliably render 3D images. When it comes to 3D on LCD TV's however, some won't have a sufficient refresh rate for quality 3D viewing – to this end, be careful when comparing the specs of different models to make sure your final choice is adequate. Otherwise, you'll find yourself annoyed by flickering issues when watching in 3D.



The standard minimum refresh rate for LCD 3D TV's is 120 Hz. This will allow for 60Hz per eye. If your eyes are sensitive to image flickering, even this might not be sufficient for you - you might need to opt for a 240 Hz LCD display. It's advisable to compare different refresh rates on 3D LCD TV's so you can be sure not to be disappointed.



A final piece of advice on the subject is to not be drawn into offers of models that are promoted as having a 'top of the range 480 Hz refresh rate'. This is actually a mute point, because in fact the benefits of any refresh rate over 240 Hz are minimal at best to the human eye, so the TV cannot actually deliver on its advanced promise.



Screen Resolution


The floor plan of the room you intend to locate your 3D TV in plays an important role in the perceived quality of its screen resolution. If you sit too close to a 720p display, because of its lower resolution capabilities you will be able to see the pixilation – this would effectively destroy your appreciation of the picture quality. The enhanced resolution of a 1080p display will allow you to sit closer to the TV without noticing the pixels.



Thus, if your home's floor plan necessitates you sitting further from the TV screen, you might as well go for the 720p display – you can always use the extra money you would have spent of a higher resolution to get extra features on your 3D TV.



Viewing Distance


As with screen resolution, your 3D home entertainment system depends on the floor plan of the room you install it in. This is because if you're sitting too far away from the TV screen, you won't be able to notice the difference between a 720 pixel and 1080 pixel resolution on images. The science behind this is that even with 20/20 vision; there is a limit to what the human eye perceives when it comes to distinguishing small details. In other words, there's no point in shelling out the extra cash for a 1080p display if you’re sitting too far away to appreciate it. Thus, if your viewing distance is vast, you might as well opt for the cheaper 720 pixel resolution.



Conclusion


Now that you know some of the key facts and features to keep in mind when shopping for a 3D TV, you will more easily be able to research, compare and buy the model that you'll be happy with.



About the Author: Barry Knightly owns a 3D TV and electronics repair business.