HDTV Buying Guide: Part One

Buying a new TV is one of the most confusing and possibly frustrating experiences a shopper can go through…but it’s also one of the most exciting and fun. You know a few things for sure: you want a great picture, you want a good price, and you want to have the confidence that your set won’t be obsolete by the time you get it home. The problem, however, is that when you step into a store and start looking at TV sets, you’re met with a wide range of technologies and price points. One “specialist” will tell you that DLP or LCoS is the future, while another swears that LCD or Plasma is the only real way to go. To complicate things further, your tech savvy buddy whispers into your ear that “the next big thing” is just around the corner and that you’re better off waiting. So what’s a guy or gal to do? Well, hopefully my own TV buying experience proves valuable to some of you out there that find yourselves wading the muddy waters of TV shopping.

To give this guide a better focus, I’m going to split it up into two separate posts. In this post I’ll talk about how you can know when is the right time to buy your new TV. After you can identify for yourself when you’re ready to get a new set, we’ll go over which technology is best for you. If you know you’re ready now, check back soon for part two: Which HDTV technology is best for you?

What is the best time of year to buy a new TV?

Every time you walk into a big box retailer or open up your Sunday newspaper, you’re bombarded with countless adverts telling you that every set in the store is on sale. I’ve come to realize that at any point during the year, that every store in the nation has all of their HDTVs marked down. Sure, there are special dates that stores like to point out (President’s Day, Black Friday, Super Bowl, March Madness, etc.) as being the best time to get a good deal, but the reality is that you can find a good price on any given day. While you might save a tiny bit around “special” dates, don’t fret over missing out on a specific advertised sale…the next one is usually only a few days away. Online retailers are constantly offering deep discounts on just about any model out there as well. Keep your eyes open, and you’ll find deals.
Is it best to go for a budget-minded model, the cutting edge, or wait to for the next big thing?

Budget-Minded Shopping: When I set out looking for a set, I really struggled with the timing and quality of the purchase I was about to commit to. I had some of my more frugal friends urging me to look at a more budget-minded model. They gave me plenty of good reasons to consider their advice and I think this is the right place to share them.

• You won’t be sinking all of your home theater/gaming money into one item: By saving a good amount of money on the TV set, I could afford to pick up a PS3, a really nice upconverting DVD player, or maybe upgrade my audio tech. The idea was that I could have a more well-rounded home theater experience much faster if I didn’t plunk down all my cash on the display device.
• You aren’t paying any sort of premium: Any time you buy into the cutting edge, you’re paying a premium. Over time the prices will come down on any product as the manufacturer recoups their R&D prices and is able to profit by selling their product at a lower cost. If you pick up a TV that has been on the shelves for a year or two, or if the TV is based around tech that has been around for a while, you’ll only pay for the actual value of the TV, not for any sort of premium.

These two points can be enough to sell many on the notion of going with a more budget-minded (not cheap) set. If you feel like saving money on your set is your highest priority, I suggest that you look into what Vizio (for plasma), Westinghouse (for LCD), and JVC (for rear-projection sets) have to offer. You could also go ahead and take a look at the older Sony, Samsung, Mitsubishi, and Panasonic models out there.

There are some downsides that you might encounter if you choose to travel the lower-priced path to HDTV ownership. Most obviously, you’re not going to get the highest picture quality available as you would with a set that sports newer and/or better technology. Another issue you might find is that the lower-priced sets may not have as much connectivity options (RCA, VGA, DVI, HDMI, Component, S-Video, etc.) or as many inputs as the high-end sets. Finally, the hardest issue to overcome when you settle for less is that possibility that you might regret not “getting the other one for a few (hundred) bucks more.” You have to determine whether or not the lower price is enough of a bonus to offset any remorse you might feel for choosing to settle for less.

High-End Shopping: The fiscally irresponsible and impulsive voice in me continually shouted that I needed to buy the best possible set I could afford the entire time I was shopping; yet that nagging voice of reason constantly pushed against it just enough to make me consider the pros and cons carefully. The battle between sexy and sensible was fierce, but also completely necessary to make sure I got the right set for me and my family.

• Get the most out of your technology: With an Xbox 360, a Wii, an HD-DVD player, an HD DVR, a large DVD collection, and future plans to pick up a PS3, I wanted to make sure that the TV I ended up with could support my home theater and gaming hardware to their full potential. By picking up a set with all the bells and whistles included, I could rest easy in this regard.
• Stretch your investment: By getting the best of what’s out there now, you’ll be able to stick with the set for a longer period of time before you feel the need to upgrade once more. The first HDTV I bought way back in 2002 was one of the higher-end models out there and I could probably still squeeze another year or two out of it before it looks too dated.
• The WOW factor: Everybody loves to show off a new toy, and it’s much easier to do so when your toy is better than any other. This is a purely vain reason to pay extra money for a set, but let’s be honest, humans are vain creatures.

If you’re convinced that the high-end of the TV market is the only sector worth looking into, there are some notable brands to consider. If you’re looking for a plasma set, nothing really compares to the Pioneer Pro line. LCD supporters will want to check out Sharp’s, Sony’s, and Samsung’s offerings. If you’re after a rear-projection set, Sony, Samsung, and Mitsubishi are all producing incredible high-end sets.

So you’ve gone over some of the perks that buying a high-end set will provide, but as with all things in life, there are some downsides. Any time you buy into what’s currently considered the cutting-edge of technology, you’re going to be paying a massive premium. The cost to performance ratio is seriously out of balance. What’s worse is that in about six months to a year, your set’s price will probably drop by hundreds of dollars as it suddenly becomes merely a great set, no longer the cutting-edge. Often times, these TVs are packed with features that may or may not be utilized in the future. Hardware makers often include features (at a premium cost) that simply may never be used in the mainstream market, so don’t let unproven or radically experimental tech sway you into a buying decision. Finally, a cutting-edge set can make the rest of your home theater/gaming setups look dated and you may need to upgrade aspects of your gear to properly take advantage of your set’s features.

Playing the waiting game: So if you’re not willing to settle for a budget set, and you’re not quite impressed enough by current technology, you’ll probably find yourself waiting for the next wave of technological advancements. Right now there are several new technologies on the horizon that are possibly worth waiting for if you’re patient enough, but do they offer enough advantages over current tech to keep you from owning a new TV now?

• It gives you more time to save: While you’re waiting for the right technology to come along that truly grabs you, you can put aside more money to go toward your final purchase. By having more money saved up, you’ll ultimately feel better about your final purchase.
• Patience pays off in the long run: Instead of buying something now that will become dated with the arrival of new technologies, you’ll know that by waiting your investment will ultimately depreciate slower.

I can’t really give you specific things to look out for if you’re waiting for the right tech to come along to convince you to buy a set. Laser LED sets are coming soon and they look to solve the issue of having to replace bulbs in the DLP sets and will dramatically increase contrast ratios. SED sets have shown some promise, but nobody is sure exactly if or when they’ll hit the retail market. Sony’s work with OLEDs has been pretty exciting as well, so it’s worth watching how that technology progresses with time. There are a lot of innovations to keep your eye on, but knowing exactly what will materialize onto retail shelves is tough.

Again, there are drawbacks to this approach to TV buying. First of all, no matter when you finally decide to buy your set, there will always be a “next big thing” on the way; whether it’s real or a hollow rumor. You can essentially find yourself waiting and waiting for some sort of new standard to come along, or for some miracle tech that will completely sweep you off your feet, only to miss out on the great technologies that are avaialble right now. For those that were waiting for SED sets to release in late 2006, they’re still left waiting as nobody knows when (or if) they will finally come to the market. Sometimes it’s best to buy now and upgrade down the line when a massive technological leap is introduced onto the market.

The direction I took.

So now that we’ve talked about the three major buying philosophies, it’s time to identify for yourself where you belong. I found that I drew from each of the three camps almost equally, and I ended up buying a set that reflected that approach. After doing my research, knowing what I was willing to spend, and deciding which technology was right for me (we’ll discuss technologies in part two), I ended up buying the Samsung HL-S6187W. I figured that the set was sporting enough cutting edge features (1080p, HDMI, a good scaler, many inputs, etc.) without having to pay too much of a premium for what I was receiving. I estimate that this TV set will easily give me 5-10 years of quality use until I’m ready for another upgrade. Even though there are drawbacks to the DLP rear-projection technology, it still ended up being the best fit for my circumstances. In part two of this feature, I’ll discuss why I chose to go with a DLP rear-projection set and how you can know what technology is best for your home.