Tips for buying a new digital television

December 1, 12:56 PMGadgets ExaminerDan Appleman

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Analog broadcast TV is ending

With the transition to digital broadcast TV coming up soon, digital televisions are one of the hottest products this holiday season. Here are a few tips to keep in mind when shopping.

Decide on plasma or LCD. Some feel that plasma sets have richer color and a wider viewing angle. But LCD’s look very good, typically use less power, and most important – are not subject to burn-in if you’re using the screen for gaming.

Don’t buy more TV than you need. A 720p set is fine for smaller sets. Only the 42” and larger will really benefit from 1040p. Newer features like 120hz display sound good, but offer only marginable improvement (and some question whether the results are actually an improvement at all).

Look at the sets. Yes, it’s generally safe to buy a set online from a reputable dealer, but before you choose a set go to a store and look at them side by side. Purists will warn that sets never look their best in a store as the lighting is bad and store employees rarely set them up and adjust them properly. But in fact, this is exactly why you should look at them in a store. Most people use their TV’s right out of the box with the default settings. So comparing the store displays is a great way to see what is likely the worst possible display for each set. Or put another way – if the set looks good in the store, it will probably look better in your home.

Maybe you don’t need a digital TV after all – Visit www.dtv2009.gov and get your $40 coupons good towards a digital converter box that will allow your current analog set to receive the new digital signals. You won’t get HD quality, but you will be able to watch (you don’t need these converter boxes if you’re on cable or satellite – those will continue to send analog signals).