Buying an HDTV Requires Pre-Purchase Decisions
By: Source: AARP.org Date Posted: 2006-06-30 08:33:00-04:00
Dad loves shopping in those big box stores to get the best bargain for his money, but he tends to buy on impulse. After he came home with a quart of Tabasco sauce and a 50-pound bag of cat food, Mom asked for my help. She was worried about those impressive displays of flat panel high-definition televisions (HDTVs) that Dad has his eye on every time he walks into the store. Dad is ready to buy one now but Mom isn't so sure that he's done the research.
So I sat down with Mom and Dad one weekend morning to make a list of those things we needed to know and understand about HDTVs. Surprisingly, the HDTV set itself turned out to be the last thing we would need to consider. There were several other decisions to work through before we could settle upon which flat panel HDTV to buy.
For starters, we had to figure out where the best high-definition signal was coming from. Would it be from cable, satellite or their roof top antenna? The signal from that old antenna delivered free programming, but they were limited to only a few local channels and would have to select an HDTV with a built-in tuner. An HDTV built for satellite or cable reception would not require a built-in tuner and offers a wider selection of manufacturers and price range. Although cable and satellite companies both charge extra for high-definition service, there is also a greater selection of high-definition programming available. Since Mom and Dad already have a cable provider, they made the decision to spend the extra money to add the high definition service.
The next thing we needed to check into was whether their cable provider offered a high-definition cable box with a digital video recorder (DVR). Dad relies on his DVR to pause live TV when the phone rings, record programs to view later, and zipping through commercials. Since high-definition programs require more disk space for storage, we realized that they would need a new cable-DVR box. Dad decided that he would talk to their cable provider about the availability of a DVR-plus-HD cable box to make sure they could install one when they bring home the new HDTV.
One feature Dad really liked about a flat-panel television was the ability to mount it on the wall. I asked him if he had any ideas on hiding all the cables that would hang down. I also pointed out that he would need to make sure that the mount was sturdy enough to hold the 40 to 60 pound set securely on the wall. We knew the mount would cost an extra $300 to $600, but if he wanted to hide the cables in the wall there would also be an additional cost of wall re-construction.
Then I pointed out that their cable box and DVD player were located on top of their current television set. They would have to find a different location for those items if their television were hanging on the wall. With that, Dad reluctantly agreed that the existing television cabinet would do just fine. The new HDTV could stand in the cradle that comes with it and the cable and DVD player could be placed on the side shelves. I cautioned him that most HDTVs were wider than their old boxy television set and they should take the measurements of their cabinet to make sure a new set would fit. I also pointed out that if they decided to purchase an HDTV wider than their cabinet then they may want to consider purchasing a tall narrow table to replace the cabinet.
Dad was getting impatient and asked if it was time to select the actual set yet. I reminded him that they would need to decide between plasma or liquid crystal display (LCD) screens, both of which are available for high definition sets. As this additional item was added to their check list, Mom noted that there was plenty of time that afternoon to visit several stores in the area to check out the color and picture quality on both types of screens.
With a quietly pleading look from Dad, Mom smiled as she got up to take the measurements of their television cabinet. She popped the tape measure and check-list into her purse and picked up a notepad to write down the sizes, cost and other pertinent information for any HDTV models they may like. Dad couldn't hide his delight as we headed out the door to go HDTV shopping. Even if they didn't find the right set tonight, he knew that Mom was finally satisfied that he had done his homework and it was only a matter of time before he could brag to his buddies about his latest hi-tech acquisition.
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