Articles: Cover Feature – How To Buy Your Box – 59

Phil Hanson shares his experiences of shopping for a TV

Buying a new television should be a lot of fun. The panel itself is going to offer countless hours of pleasure; there are all those nice bright shops to visit, full of sexy flat displays endlessly showing their demo loop of nice, bright colours in exotic locations.

Sound of bare fingers scraping across a blackboard!

Sadly, reality is often different. Badly set-up televisions, inappropriate lighting, salespeople with no identifiable product knowledge who, if they don’t stare at you blankly, may give wrong or inappropriate advice… It’s a bit of a let-down, really; like the first visit to a postcard-perfect exotic beach when you discover the golden sand is strewn with sewage.

I know this to be true because I’ve spent several months shopping for a TV. Comparing, questioning, reading, pricing, going back for a second look. A third look. The 15-year-old CRT set had provided splendid service and still produced a mean picture, but it was time to move into the 21st century, where top LCD and plasma panels are wonderful, but their prices still rather dizzying.

Hence all the research.

Wanting to ‘future proof’ the set as best possible, I had a list of questions. Not hard questions but things like HDCP compliancy, the number of HDMI connections and so on (see the glossary). The lack of even basic knowledge in some stores was surprising but, to be fair, how much would you expect someone called over from garden furniture to know about television?

I found it hard to get reliable advice even at some home appliance specialists. But persist. Eventually you’ll find someone who really knows the subject, isn’t trying to move one particular product to win a prize, and actually seems interested in your requirements. Covet this person. Bring him or her home for dinner.

Meanwhile, Tone offers the following helpful advice. Ignore it at your peril.

Make a list. Before heading out, compile a list of questions you want to ask − it’s not at all dork-ish to do this − and go through it with the salesperson, item by item. It’s really easy to be sidetracked and forget to ask some of the questions that are important to you.

Take a favourite DVD. In-store demos are designed to show panels at their very best. Many stores demonstrate via a Blu-ray player or other HD device. Nothing wrong with that, but you need your own reference point. Be prepared for the assistant to then complain that showing your DVD is too much trouble/can’t be done. In that case, leaving your money with the store should also be too much trouble. Check how deep the blacks are on your favourite disc and, more important, how much detail there is in the shadows. At the other end, how much detail do the highlights hold?

Your DVD should include some fast-paced action. Does the screen accurately depict what’s going on, or is it streaky? How’s the sound quality? Now, go boldly forward and compare.

Ask to see old-fashioned free-to-air TV. You’re probably going to watch a lot of regular television, so it makes sense to check it on your shortlisted sets. Some stores will again say it can’t be done (or is too much trouble) and you might also find places with genuinely poor reception.

Compare apples with apples. Some retailers do a poor job of displaying their televisions, with contrast and brightness levels (among other settings) all over the place. A set whose picture looks grotty may just need to have its setup menu tweaked. Sets at the end of an ‘antenna chain’ may display an inferior picture to the ones at the start of the chain. When comparing several sets, make sure they are similarly set up. One manufacturer’s default settings may not be the same as another’s, but start there and then adjust until their pictures are about equal. Now you have a level playing field from which to make further comparisons. Make sure your short-listed sets are being fed the same way. There’ll be a difference between, for example, an HDMI cable and some $5 interconnects.

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“Here’s one you probably didn’t see coming: the stand is often an extra-cost item. this is the basic stand we’re talking about”

Believe your eyes. The salesperson may start telling you all about brightness and contrast ratios. What’s on paper is not all that meaningful in real life. Believe what you see. Use the Force, er, your eyes.

Look ahead. Make sure − especially around now − that your favoured set is HD compatible and has DVI and, especially, HDMI connections, the more the better. These are good future-proofing features. Also look for screens able to handle 1080p definition. A lot of shops are selling off sets at low prices that aren’t HD capable, so be careful. If you want to buy Sky HD when it comes along, you’ll need an HDCP-compliant set.

The light space at the right time. Many retailers show their televisions in the full glare of fluorescent lighting, which is probably nothing like your home lighting. Colours are not at their best under this light and it can certainly disadvantage plasma panels, which may look hazy. Such lighting may make LCDs look brighter than they will be in the home. You’ll find that specialty stores in particular will have either a home theatre setup or an area simulating a home living room. This is where to view your shortlisted panels.

Stand sound. Unless you’re looking for a whole home theatre setup, don’t be talked into adding some out-of-the-box add-on at a cheap price. Choosing good home theatre is a whole other subject and an all-in-one add-on the salesperson suggests may well be disappointing. You’ll be almost as well off with the sound that comes out of the TV, which is sometimes surprisingly good − but sadly is often little more than adequate.

Stand off. Here’s one you probably didn’t see coming: the stand is often an extra-cost item − this is the basic stand we’re talking about, not some fancy cabinet. Your basic stand may cost a ridiculous $400. Imagine a dealer trying to sell you a new car on which the tyres were optional extras. The salesperson may ‘negotiate’ the stand for free. Big deal. Wall hangers will usually also be at added cost and, of course, you’ll have already ascertained that there are suitable studs at home (yeah, yeah, the wooden things in the wall) to mount the hanger on if that’s the way you’re going.

Stand out. If you’re looking at a battery of sets in the shop and one seems to stand out from all the others, it may be outstanding or you might be the recipient of a little con. Sales staff receive incentives to sell a particular model or line, with rewards ranging from fuel vouchers to holidays in exotic locations. One trick is to fiddle with the setup menus of all the displays so the items being promoted look the best. Let’s hope there really is sewage on their holiday beach.

In your face interface. Even in the 21st century when everything is supposed to be easier, some remotes and on-screen menus are awful. Where have their designers been? What are they thinking? A good remote and interface should be almost intuitive; you shouldn’t have to be trying to decipher the manual or phone the shop. Also, have a peek at the manual.

While almost not all no longer written are in quaint and confusing Japanese English, some writers have mastered the art of turning the simple into complex and logical order into God knows what. Be careful of the ultimate bargain. If a price is too good to be true, it probably is. Make sure that this is not a runout (there’s nothing wrong with buying a runout model, but you need to know).

Be wary of floor samples, demos and ‘slight scratches’. Both plasma and LCD sets have fragile aspects to them; sleep better by knowing that yours hasn’t been dropped, spindled, stapled or mutilated.

Strike up the brand. There’s no reason why you should limit your search to well-known brands, as long as you can be assured of reasonable post-sale support. Mark Anderson, whose company imports Sagem and TEAC, notes: “There will always be the purist who will only purchase a recognised brand or a brand that has a perceived value. But as the market matures, price erosion will be prevalent and manufacturers will look to offer points of difference that can be seen to have some residual value, such as a proprietary technology.

“There is only a handful of manufacturers that specialise in LCD panel production. Generally the panels have a ‘grade’ category which is selected depending on the QC requirement of the brand.

Big brands tend to focus on a couple of differentiators that create trigger points to purchase. There is certainly value in a branded product but it is questionable if the product in its raw form is technically superior. While some proprietary technology has a value, what is the real cost conversion to the consumer?”

Go pro. Don’t overlook some of the high-end plasma displays aimed at commercial installations, such as the Panasonics and Pioneers. Some are designed to take interchangeable input boards, allowing you to configure the display exactly to your needs. Trouble is, you won’t find these in most consumer electronics shops.

Get a second opinion. Shop in pairs, it’s a good way to get another opinion, to spot something one person might miss. Gang up on the salesperson if you have to. And you’ve also got someone with whom to celebrate after finding the world’s best set at a humungous discount.