With the biggest sporting event on earth starting in just few days, the FIFA World Cup 2010- are you ready to watch the event live from your home? Why not, with so many HDTV models available on the market, its so easy to grab a live experience just sitting at home. But if you are planning to shop a HDTV……for the World Cup, then here is a quick guidance for you to choose the correct HDTV.
Viewing Angle
If you’re going to invite folks around to enjoy some World Cup football, then another important attribute you should consider is the TV’s viewing angle. In this area plasma TVs again reign supreme: like CRT TVs, they exhibit virtually no drop-off in contrast and colours when watched from an angle however acute. This is different from LED/ LCD TVs where blacks start to lighten, and colours begin to fade when viewed off-axis. LCD TVs tend to lose contrast and colour saturation when viewed from an angle. Some LED/ LCD TVs do fare better than others though depending on the type of panel used. We find that LED/ LCD TVs blessed with IPS (In-Plane Switching) panels (like the Panasonic and LG LED/ LCDs) usually have better viewing angles than those with VA panels.
Integrated Freeview HD Tuner
Freeview HD transmission was launched in December 2009, adding a few HD channels to its existing standard-def line-up. Although currently the only available high-def channels on Freeview HD are BBC HD and ITV HD, fortunately these are the two channels responsible for broadcasting almost every World Cup 2010 match in high definition so you won’t be missing out (provided you stay in an area with Freeview HD reception. If you’re going to buy a new HDTV anyway, it makes sense to choose one with integrated Freeview HD tuner, so all you need to do to enjoy HD World Cup football is to hook the TV up directly to your aerial without needing to install a satellite dish or pay any subscription.
Screen Size/Viewing Distance
While it’s tempting to spend your money on the largest flat-screen HD TV you can afford, your TV’s screen size should primarily be dictated by how far you’re going to sit from the TV. Sit too close and you’ll notice pixelation and other undesirable video artefacts; sit too far and you’ll lose out on seeing the extra detail that HD resolution brings. The resolution of the source material plays an important part as well. If the majority of your viewing is in standard definition then you may have to sit further from the screen to avoid seeing compression and scaling artefacts. HD content (especially Full HD 1920 x 1080 ones) allows you to sit closer to the screen, and enjoy the additional detail and immersive cinematic experience. Because the quality of scaling/ upconversion on modern HDTVs has improved a lot recently, when watching SD content today you can sit closer to the TV than the viewing distance we recommended a few years ago.
Motion Resolution
The HDTVs most suitable for watching football are those that can handle fast on-screen sporting action without excessive motion blur. Here at HDTVTest, something we routinely measure on each HDTV we review is motion resolution, which refers to how well the TV maintains its on-screen resolution during movement. The higher the motion resolution, the less the motion blurring you’ll see on the HDTV. Even though LCD TVs have made great strides in recent years, generally plasma televisions still deliver some of the highest motion resolution on offer today, making plasma the best display type among flat-screen HD TVs for watching fast-action sports like football. We’ve been really impressed by Panasonic’s 2010 range of plasma TVs (such as the Panasonic S20 and G20 NeoPDP series) which boasts deep blacks, wide viewing angles and virtually no image retention in addition to high motion resolution.
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