What is 2008’s Answer to 1080P?
In 2006 and 2007, HDTV technology really started to enter the mainstream of consumer electronics. Prices got down to reasonable levels, picture quality went up, and problems with the technology, such as plasma burn-in, continued to fade away. The highest available resolution, 1080p, became more and more popular among the middle- and even low-end HDTV sets. So, choosing an HDTV in 2007 had a lot to do with finding out which sets had the resolution you wanted, which had more resistance to burn-in, and so on.
Now, in 2008, about 80 percent of all new HDTVs have 1080p resolution, just about all the plasma sets have kicked the burn-in problem, and picture quality continues to get better and better. So how do you tell one set from another anymore?
You can concentrate on some of the newer technologies that still have not penetrated into every part of the HDTV world. Here are a few to think about:
- 120 Hz Frame rate. Look here for a full explanation: 120Hz Frame Rates
- Local dimming. This technology causes parts of the picture to shut completely off (for the duration of one frame) when that part is supposed to be black. This increases the contrast ratio of the picture and makes a more lifelike scene.
- More advanced upscaling hardware. When you look at standard definition content on your HDTV, the signal needs to be adjusted to fit your high resolution screen. If this is not done well, the picture can actually look worse than it would on a standard TV set. Check customer reviews to get a feel for this.
- Anti-glare screens. Since plasma sets use a glass screen, they often have a tendency to reflect light or images from other parts of the room. Some of the new plasma HDTVs have a special coating to reduce glare when the set is used in a bright environment.
