Three Keys To Great HDTV Picture Quality

Six weeks from now the Final Four teams of the NCAA March Madness tournament will play for the men’s basketball championship in Indianapolis.  Unless you have an HDTV delivered and installed an hour before tip-off you will succumb to the temptation to make that picture just a little bit more perfect than it already is. This temptation usually coincides with misplacing the manual (or for men, not caring where it is).  Before you start fiddling with the remote, commit the following to memory and you’ll have the foundation for getting a solid picture for all occasions. The three keys according the the website How Stuff Works are:

Black Level - Use a letterboxed scene that has light and dark areas. Pause the movie on a frame to use as a test image. Slowly decrease black level until the bars are black and you can still see the details on the screen.  Too much black will will hide black colors in a darker scene.

Contrast – This is basically the opposite of the black level.  Choose a scene that has lots of detail on a white background. Slowly decrease the contrast until the intensity of the white surface doesn’t hurt your eyes but you can still see the details clearly.

Color Saturation – In this area of adjust you use skins tones of a person with a fair complexion. Reduce the saturation until the person appears to have a healthy glow rather than a sunburn with reddish hues.

Black Level, Contrast, & Color

Check the article by Tracy V Wilson How Stuff Works for more ideas

Great Deals on HDTVS

For some people bigger is better, in fact it’s HUGE – For you, take a look at the LG 60″ Plasma from Beach Camera That’s under $2,000 including White Glove delivery

Others looking for less screen size for a smaller room and half the price consider the Samsung 46″ LCD from Beach Camera

This is a 46″ LCD 1080p  Sharp Aquos with good reviews for under $1000 from JR.

Panasonic makes some excellent plasma screens, this 58″ has Neo PDP technology delivers sharp, detailed images, deep blacks and remarkable brightness, with lower power consumption / Up to 2,000,000:1 High Contrast, A big HDTV for under $1,500 at JR

Follow Bigscreendeals on Twitter to get the latest information and price saving values on HDTVs

Before You Buy the Big Screen – Check This List

Speaking as an experienced father of five, the big screen is a worthwhile investment, trust me.  It helps in so many ways, for example, it’s the desired destination for the teenage posse and at least I know where they are (they leave enough of a mess). For the pre-teen set playing the Nintendo Wii on a big screen is the ultimate in family gaming. (It’s withdrawal also comes in handy as an excellent punishment in the event chores are not getting done.)  It’s my new media version of spare the Wii and spoil the child.

Beyond the parenting, I’ve learned a few things about logistics and new age entertainment that I’d like to share with HDTV buyers.

1. Running wires is not as easy as it looks: You either need to be an electrician or good at drywall to do this yourself.  Me, I’m good at watching TV, so I’m going to concentrate on that.
2. Never underestimate the number of other machines that will go near the HDTV – To get that nice clean look you see in ads for televisions you need to think through where all the stuff that brings the picture, games, and movies to your screen is going to go.    If you are really one of the cool kids, try a picture in a picture frame, literally
3. Old school media needs a place too. By this I mean, DVDs, game CDs cartridges, etc.  These necessary physical packages need to be somewhere around the TV, until of course we are downloading all of our programming and games from somewhere else.  For the foreseeable future however, baskets, drawers, doors, can help hide the mess and make others believe you are really organized.
4. Distance, angles, natural light, and pictures – All these variables will impact the experience.  I purchased an LCD because of price, but really I should have gone with a plasma in a basement with no natural light or glare sources.  I will likely move that basement TV to a bedroom and get a larger screen in the basement. Live and learn.

The big screen was the best family Christmas gift.  I got the idea suddenly last year as I saw prices tank.  I could have thought through the decision a bit more, but as it was I stayed within budget, so no regrets.  This year, I’d suggest having 2 or 3 brands and models and prices in mind, then create a way to get alerts or go to websites weekly to check availablility.  Here is a list of online TV etailers as a place to start

• B & H
• Beach
• Electronics Expo
• Butterfly Photo

Have you shopped around for a set?  What did you learn along the way?