HDTV Shopping, What’s Necessary and What’s Hype?

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HDTV Shopping
Sarah and I are HDTV shopping (our old TV is the size of a coffee table and weighs as much as my first car). I understand the basics of HDTV like 720p vs 1080p. But when you get into features like Smart TVs, and when you look at the price difference between buying, say, a Samsung TV versus a Vizio, what’s worth considering and what’s just hype? I was lost, so I turned to the experts at Gear Diary for some HDTV shopping advice and tips:
Joel McLaughlin My take on HDTV Shopping? My next TV I will not look at whether it’s a smart tv or not. I will look in this order: 1. Screen Size. 2. Quality of the screen. 3. Number of HDMI inputs. 4. Reliability. 5. Price.
Perry Brauner My Vizio is one of the best TVs I’ve ever seen. I always go for 1080p because even though cable networks don’t broadcast it yet, you get it from blu rays and streaming videos. 240hz refresh rate gives no motion blur at all, it looks like the movie is happening inside the room.
Joel McLaughlin Perry: Good points. I would also go 1080p….unless it’s a smaller TV. I hear that under 40 inches you can’t tell the difference between 720p and 1080p.
Deni Tako Go to the store, look at the screens, choose the TV that has the picture you like best, and forget the rest of it!
Joel McLaughlin @ YUP!
Perry Brauner Number of HDMI inputs is a big one!
Joel McLaughlin Yep. No TV has enough in my opinion! However, Roku and Apple TV will get many upgrades in the time you want to use that TV. That’s why I am not really for Smart TVs. If it has it, then fine but it’s not a point I would stress.
Travis Ehrlich Inputs and screen. I have a Google TV/ Blu-ray player and almost never use it after the first week. Screen size, pic quality and inputs. That’s all I care about.
Any advice regarding shopping for an HDTV? Let us know in the comments!

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About the Author

Zek
Zek has been a gadget fiend for a long time, going back to their first PDA (a Palm M100). They quickly went from researching what PDA to buy to following tech news closely and keeping up with the latest and greatest stuff. They love writing about ebooks because they combine their two favorite activities; reading anything and everything, and talking about fun new tech toys. What could be better?