DTV Ready for the Holidays

We are headed closer to the holiday rush and I am sure it has crossed your mind to purchase a new Digital TV for someone in your family. I thought I would take some time to provide a few buying tips before you hit the streets. Yes, you could buy a set on-line in my opinion you may want to consider that decision carefully. Don't you really want to see the picture first? What happens if something does go wrong with the TV, some on-line merchants have pretty good return policies others don't mention it. In most cases either way you would need to pack up the TV and find a shipper. Sure, you can find some pretty good deals on-line and I even considered buying one on line. When I went to my local merchants I found the prices were very close to the on-line merchants, so why bother. I also have this thing for supporting local retailers especially when it comes to a major purchase like a digital TV.

Time for some homework. The best thing you can do is to be armed with information before you head out. Search the web. www.cnet.com is a great site. There are plenty of other sites. Here is what you need to consider. Jot the answers to these down.
1. What size is the room in where you be locating the TV?
2. Does the room have a lot of daylight or direct sunlight or is that light controllable?
3. What type of TV do you watch the most? Sports, Movies or a variety of news, sports entertainment?
4. Will you be mounting the TV on a wall or replacing an analog TV in it's cabinet?
5. How about sound, will you use your current system, adding a new system or just using the audio from the TV.
6. How do you receive your TV signal?

1. You should know the size of the room. This will determine the size of TV which will best fit your room. Is it a secondary set going in the bedroom or dorm or the main family viewing room.
2. This determines what technology you should consider. LCD is better in bright rooms than Plasma or DLP.
3. This is another determining factor on the technology. If you watch a lot of sports or maybe Nascar events a Plasma might be the best choice. Some say it handles rapid motion the best however I have an LCD and I think it does a pretty good job.  If you are purchasing a second set or one for your dorm room maybe you don't need to spend as much or consider an off-brand for this purpose. If you are shopping for the TV you use for your main viewing area you can't lose by sticking with a brand name set. If you choose an off-brand you better do your research.
4. If you are planning to mount the set on a wall you will need to purchase a mount. These can range from $100 to $400. depending on the features. If you are replacing an older set will the new set fit in it's place?
5. Do you have a sound system? Does it support 5.1 Surround sound? Does the TV you are considering have 5.1 Surround sound output through a digital interface? Maybe this is not important or maybe you will need to upgrade. My advice here is don't buy a real cheap sound system. You will be disappointed.
6. If you watch TV over-the air you may need an antenna. If you have one, try it first. Remember, you will receive more FREE TV signals over-the-air on the digital broadcasts than you currently do in the analog world.  Our partner www.winegarddirect.com has a great selection of antennas. Do you have cable? If you purchase a digital TV with a QAM tuner you may be able to receive HD channels over your existing cable. Check with your provider. By the way, a QAM tuner is a tuner designed to receive some digital or HD channels on cable systems. Most brand-name sets have this built in. I would check with your retailer. If you are a satellite subscriber can your satellite box connect digitally to your new TV?

In closing, if you take all the above into consideration it will make your buying decision much easier. You may want to stop by as many retailers as possible. Find out if they price match. The good ones will match or beat the price of most of their competitors. Some will even guarantee their lower price 60 days after you purchase the item. Good luck on your purchase and happy shopping!