HDTV Is Awesome: What Was I Waiting For?

Finally, I can say that I own and HD television. Why I waited so long, at this point I honestly can't tell you. The second I plugged in and made the switch, I was thrilled with the results. Every day was a new "first"... first HD boxing match... first HD football game... first HD movie... and it was all fantastic.

After months of research, I had narrowed down my options to several leading choices. After spying a Black Friday sales deal, I was happy to end up selecting the LG 32LH30, which was extremely highly rated by other consumers and was a bargain for the price I purchased it at. I didn't even have to camp out all night, I sidled into the store at noon and picked up one of the many remaining sets that were available.

The LG 32LH30 is a 32 inch LCD HDTV, with 1080p resolution, 60 Hz processing and 50,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio. The other two "finalists" I was thinking about were the LG 32LH40 and the Samsung LN32B640, which had the best "stats" but was several hundred dollars more expensive than my other choices. Here are some of the factors I had to think about when making my HDTV choice:

Should I buy an LCD or a Plasma? This was an easy one in my case, because I was looking at a 32 inch size screen, maximum 37 inches. There are very few plasma screens made less than 42 inches, so LCD was basically the default winner.

Should I buy 720p or 1080p? Specifically with the LG TV models, the 1080p sets weren't too much more expensive. I wanted to get the highest quality here to ensure I wouldn't need to upgrade. However, all of the 720p models I looked at seemed to be high quality.

Should I buy 60 Hz, 120 Hz or 240 Hz? This is the new battleground for HDTV's. 120 Hz and 240 Hz are supposed to provide crisper shots for fast moving sports, as well as movies of all kind. This is because movies are shot in 24 frames per second, so a 60 Hz set has to convert that (60/24 = 2.5), while 120 Hz and 240 Hz are multiples of 24 and therefore don't need to convert anything. However, I was hard pressed to notice any difference when checking out the televisions, and for an extra $200 between the LG 32LH30 and LG 32LH40 it wasn't even close to worth it.

There were also a few other factors that I ended up considering. For one, the LG models I was looking at had swivel stands, while the Samsung did not. Additionally, while in the store I felt that the LG televisions loss less brightness when you moved to the side than the Samsung did, which was surprising giving Samsung's reputation. Combined with the fact that the Samsung was far more expensive, the decision was an easy one.

So if you've been tinkering with the idea of treating yourself to a new HDTV this holiday season, I say go for it. There are some really great bargains out there right now, and of course the quality difference is huge. I didn't even have to change cable boxes, I just had to switch out the plugs. Whether you're a sports fan, a gamer, a movie buff, a TV nut or anything else, a new HDTV is the perfect gift to yourself over the holiday season.