by Timothy Franklin

Created on: November 19, 2008   Last Updated: April 04, 2011

Well, your TV just turned off all by itself. There's a wisp of smoke wafting up from behind the tube and the darned thing just won't turn back on. And the big game's on tomorrow! Obviously, you need a new TV so it's time to head out to the store. Personally, I recommend going to a specialty store like Best Buy, Ultimate Electronics, and Circuit City over discount chains such as Wal Mart, Costco, and BJ's. You get far better service from someone who is trained to know what they are talking rather than someone who is only trained to know where the keys are to the glass door for the video game cabinet. You can actually ask someone what they mean by 1080i, HD Ready, or LCD. So how do you find the right one for you? Here are some guidelines to go with in buying a digital TV.

Let's start with the easy part. Let's ask ourselves some questions and write down the answers on a piece of paper so you can ask about them when you get to the store:

First off, how big do you need or want the screen to be? Sometimes you can have too much of a good thing. And usually, it's too much if it's an eyesore. If you've got a 60-inch plasma TV hanging on the wall of your studio apartment, it might just be too big. It might be cool to watch your movies and play video games on it, but it's enormous and you won't have a lot of room to hang anything else up and it'll be a hassle arranging the furniture.

Next up, what do you want to do with it? Watch movies and cable? How about using it as a monitor for your computer? Would you like to connect your camera or camcorder to it so you can watch your freshly recorded home movies? Knowing what you want to do in advance allows you to go to the store prepared with questions to ask the salesperson. If you want to hook up your computer, you will need specialized cables. The salesperson can help you with that or any other connection you might want to do.

So do you want to go with LCD or Plasma? That's a question that's often best left to the buyer. The LCD (liquid-crystal display) televisions are a little more versatile when it comes to connectivity. Also, the LCD is typically cheaper on the electricity, but only slightly. In bright rooms and direct sunlight, the LCD screen is a better choice since the screen is typically a matte plastic rather than a glass screen. Plasmas (ionized gas) usually have better picture motion clarity (less blurring), color, and better black-level performance (the depth of black color on-screen). Both come in HD (High Definition-equipped)

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