{"id":33620,"date":"2015-11-27T09:00:45","date_gmt":"2015-11-27T17:00:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/spijue.wpengine.com\/news\/tv-buying-guide-get-out-tape-measure\/"},"modified":"2015-11-27T09:00:45","modified_gmt":"2015-11-27T17:00:45","slug":"tv-buying-guide-get-out-tape-measure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/news\/tv-buying-guide-get-out-tape-measure\/","title":{"rendered":"TV buying guide: Get out tape measure"},"content":{"rendered":"

LOS ANGELES <\/strong>\u2014 If you\u2019re shopping for a TV, get out a tape measure and do some quick calculations before you head to the store. And count the number of gadgets you\u2019ll want to connect to your screen.<\/p>\n

Buying a TV is no longer just choosing how big a screen you want. Here are some big decisions you\u2019ll face:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

HD OR 4K?<\/strong><\/p>\n

There\u2019s an emerging picture standard that offers four times the pixels of today\u2019s high definition. It\u2019s known as ultra-high definition, or 4K. But do you need it?<\/p>\n

Measure the distance between your couch and the spot for your new TV. If you\u2019re sitting far away, a regular HD set will be just fine \u2014 for $100 to $200 less.<\/p>\n

The farther away you sit, the less the extra pixels matter, as your eyes won\u2019t notice the difference. Conversely, the bigger the screen you have, the worse the resolution will be, and you\u2019ll notice that more when you\u2019re closer up.<\/p>\n

How good is good enough?<\/p>\n

A rough rule of thumb: You should sit back a little more than 1.5 times the diagonal length of the screen for TVs with full HD, also known as 1080p. So if a screen is 48 inches, or 4 feet, that\u2019s 6 feet back. For 4K, it\u2019s one to one, or 4 feet for that same screen. If your couch is 7 feet back, having 4K isn\u2019t worth it because you won\u2019t be able to tell the difference anyway. But it might if your couch is 4 or 5 feet back.<\/p>\n

The calculation isn\u2019t that easy, but we\u2019ve created this online tool to help you: interactives.ap.org\/2015\/tv-buying-guide\/<\/p>\n

Also consider how little 4K content there is. A few streaming services, including Netflix, Amazon and M-Go, offer some 4K content, and a standard for 4K Blu-ray discs is coming together this year. But 4K broadcasts are potentially years away. Buying a 4K TV now is mostly about being ready for the future.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

HDMI PORTS<\/strong><\/p>\n

The more the merrier. TVs will have at least two, but I recommend three or four. If you pay for cable or satellite TV, you\u2019ll need one for your set-top box, then one more for a streaming device or Blu-ray player. If you want to add a game console or sound bar, you see how quickly they can fill up.<\/p>\n

Switches that let you connect multiple HDMI devices sell for $9 to $30, but that could mean another remote control to fiddle with, or getting up to press a button. Better to get extra ports with your TV.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

REFRESH RATE<\/strong><\/p>\n

Manufacturers fudge how fast images are refreshed on screen with technologies called \u201cAquoMotion\u201d or \u201cMotionflow\u201d that show \u201ceffective\u201d refresh rates. These help smooth out fast-action scenes that might otherwise look stuttered or blurry. It\u2019s largely a matter of taste and personal sensitivity.<\/p>\n

The minimum native refresh rate you\u2019ll see these days is 60 frames per second, or 60Hz. The most is around 120 Hz.<\/p>\n

Steve Kindig, senior editor at electronics retailer Crutchfield.com, says that even though 60 frames per second is the highest that will come from Blu-ray discs or video games, higher rates on a TV will still cut down on blur. Either the TV\u2019s processor will interpolate frames between each actual frame, or the backlight will blink, reducing the stutter.<\/p>\n

He says to play down effective refresh rates that are wildly higher than the native, though \u201cit\u2019s not totally bunk because they are doing something.\u201d<\/p>\n

Consumer Reports rates specific models with blur tests, but doesn\u2019t generalize about brands or numbers.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

OTHER SCREEN <\/strong><\/p>\n

FEATURES<\/strong><\/p>\n

Curved screens just look cool sitting on a stand, and some people say it cuts down on reflective glare, according to Kindig. They\u2019re about $200 more than non-curved screens and mostly made by Samsung. But he says they don\u2019t look good mounted on a wall.<\/p>\n

Organic light-emitting diode screens are pricey, but will give you true blacks and better color representation because each pixel illuminates on its own. Regular, LCD screens require a backlight, which can wash out the colors a bit. If you\u2019re willing to pay for OLED, you\u2019ll likely get every other goodie thrown in besides 4K.<\/p>\n

More expensive sets might also offer 3-D. \u201cActive\u201d glasses require batteries, which add to the weight and trouble of wearing them, but will offer better resolution. \u201cPassive\u201d glasses, like the ones you get in movie theaters, will suffice for those few times you want to settle in for a 3-D movie, likely on disc. Content is still limited.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

LOS ANGELES \u2014 If you\u2019re shopping for a TV, get out a tape measure and do some quick calculations before you head to the store. And count the number of gadgets you\u2019ll want to connect to your screen. Buying a TV is no longer just choosing how big a screen you want. Here are some […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":107,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_stopmodifiedupdate":false,"_modified_date":"","wds_primary_category":4,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[65],"yst_prominent_words":[],"class_list":["post-33620","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-nation-world"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33620","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/107"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33620"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33620\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33620"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33620"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33620"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=33620"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}