EmailHere's what the experts say to consider when buying a standard TV:
- All new televisions are now digital TVs, but this isn't the same as an HDTV. New televisions are now mandated to have digital tuners. That means your TV will be able to receive digital television signals along with unscrambled HDTV signals over the air or with a cable box. While these TVs can display high-definition broadcasts, they play them at greatly reduced resolution.
- If you plan to use the speakers in your TV (rather than hooking up external speakers), make good internal speakers a priority. In-set speakers will never sound as good as a standalone sound system, so experts recommend that you use the audio output connection to drive an external stereo sound system.
- All standard-definition CRT TVs are 4:3 format. High-definition content comes delivered in 16:9 format, as do DVD movies (many DVD movies are still offered in a 4:3 format -- those are typically labeled "fullscreen"). Viewing 16:9 content on a 4:3 television means that it will be letterboxed, resulting in a smaller image size, perhaps too small on a small-screen TV. However, smaller 4:3 televisions are fine if you are not watching very much widescreen programming.
- Flat picture tubes have advantages. Older-style curved tubes are more likely to pick up room reflection and have poor linearity (straight lines bend slightly as they follow the shape of the tube). On the other hand, they are less expensive than flat picture tubes, and many viewers never even notice these shortcomings.