ON SALE: HDTV

HDTVs are being discounted this Christmas season. Supposedly, manufacturers are hoping to clear their inventory in time for the rush of people lining up to buy 3D compatible televisions.

Frankly, I am skeptical that very many people are in any mad rush to get a 3D TV. Yes, there will be people who think the 3D experience is stunning – and they will pay big bucks to get it. But personally, I am not too excited to buy an expensive TV and then wear glasses to watch a limited amount of 3D content.

How 3D works: The glasses have shutters that alternate between your left and right eyes and back 60 times a second, using an infared signal to stay syncronized with the TV as it updates the screen 120 times a second; #1=L, #2=R, [next frame] #3=L, #4=R, [next frame] #5=L, #6=R, etc. Of course the trickery can also be accomplished with colored glasses (yuk!), or polarized glasses. But the shutter system is what DirecTV uses for its channels of 3D HDTV content.

But what do you get with a bargain basement HDTV? Well, contrast ratios and viewing angles have improved in the last few years, but the image on a cheap TV is not going to compare with the more expensive brands that have established their reputation on picture quality. I checked out a VIZIO HDTV and found that after tweaking every picture setting available, the picture wasn’t too bad. But out of the box it did not compare with a Samsung.

The biggest shortcoming is the speakers. Tiny speakers = tinny speakers. I think the bass compares to what you get from a cell phone! Yes, some are worse than others, but they are all underwhelming. The workaround is to use external speakers. However, you will not be able to use your old computer speaker system (that one with a $30 subwoofer) for that purpose unless your HDTV has an audio out. Most cheaper HDTVs don’t. In fact, this shortcoming may even prevent you from plugging your HDTV into your older stereo system. The bottom line is that you need to make sure your home theater system has a SPDIF input that matches the SPDIF output on the HDTV (coaxial or optical) for audio. Otherwise, you will want to make certain the cheap HDTV you are buying has RCA audio output jacks. Or put up with a good picture and terrible sound.