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HD, or high definition, hasn't really taken off as of yet, although over the next few years it's safe to say it will. With this in consideration, if you're looking to buy a new T.V. it's worth paying that little bit extra for an HD ready display. So here are my three top tips for how to go about buying an HD T.V.

1) Size - choose wisely

It's tempting to buy a 50" (or bigger!) monster of a T.V. just for the sake of inviting your friends round and saying "Hey, check out my new T.V. I could have gone bigger but it wouldn't have fit" and then sitting down with a smug grin on your face. You have to resist this temptation. Consider the size of the room the T.V. is going in and how far you are sitting away from it, too large and/or too close means you can't appreciate the full glory of the high definition picture. Remember that something can look tiny in a large store but swamp your room when you get it home! I am guilty of choosing a display size to big for the room it was going in - it deducts a lot from the experience.

2) Plasma or LCD?

Does it really matter? To an extent, no; plasma and LCD technology have advanced so much that differences between them are subtle, even to the trained eye. The decision of whether to choose plasma or LCD is entirely down to personal preference as both plasma and LCD have their advantages over each other. Plasma displays have an edge over LCDs in the home cinema experience' although for watching everyday television the LCD is better due to its bright display. Many will argue over how plasma handles high motion images better than LCD, but then difference is small. Apart from this, both have extraordinary picture quality and reliability.

3) Don't forget about standard definition (SD)

I can guarantee that despite having a HD T.V., 90% of what you'll watch will be in standard definition (you need a high definition source such as a blu-ray player to view HD). Bear this in mind when you're testing out T.V.s in the electronic store - ask to see what standard definition looks like on the T.V., as high definition can look great on a display but standard definition can look worse than your current T.V., especially on larger displays (40" plus).

There are so many things to consider when buying a HD television but I've outlined what I feel are the most important. I hope you find this article useful and that you enjoy your new T.V.

Learn more about this author, Matt Waller.
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