Need Help ploughing through the jargon?

In today's digital era even the TV comes with an instruction manual bigger than a chef's cookbook! To help, we've put together a small guide which should help you decide which TV is best for your needs and explain in plain English what the main features actually mean!

Please select the specification you wish to learn about:

1080i & 1080p

AV In

Aspect Ratio

Brightness

Composite

Contrast

DVI

HD Ready

HDCP

HDMI

IR Port

Optical Out

RGB

Resolution

S-Video

SCART

Screen Size

VESA

Viewing Angle

Resolution:

The resolution refers to the number of pixels (dots) on a screen. If you look very closely at your screen you should be able to see that your screen is divided up into hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of small segments, each of which are 1 pixel on your screen. The higher the resolution, the better quality the picture will generally be. For example, a screen capable of a 1920 x 1200 resolution means that horizontally the screen can display 1,920 pixels and vertically the screen can display 1,200 pixels. This means that the screen has 2,304,000 pixels!

Native Resolution

The native resolution translates to the actual number of pixels on the screen, so if your screen has a native resolution of 1920 x 1200 the screen will have 2,304,000 pixels. Points to Note:

• No matter what the resolution of the source material is, whether Video, DVD or High Definition TV, the TV will always convert, or scale, it to fit its native resolution. If you reduce the screen resolution you are effectively squashing the image into a smaller number of pixels. If the image was produced at 1920 x 1080 and you reduce the resolution to 1280 x 720 for example, you will lose some image quality.
• If the input source has more pixels than the TV's native resolution, some visible detail and sharpness will be lost, though often what you're left with still looks great.
• If the input source has fewer pixels than the native resolution, you're not getting any extra sharpness or picture quality from the television's pixels.

Brightness:

The brightness, as it name suggests, refers to the level of brightness the screen can display. When choosing a new TV, look our for TV's that support a higher brightness level as this will reflect in the overall quality of the TV picture.

Contrast:

The contrast ratio is the difference in light intensity between the brightest white and the darkest black. A high contrast ratio is important in choosing your new TV, and generally the higher the contrast, the better quality the picture will be.

HDCP:

HDCP (High-Bandwidth Digital Content Protection) is present on some TV's where the TV has a DVI interface port, Display Port or HDMI port and is designed to encrypt data sent from the transmitter (such as a computer or DVD Player) where it can then be decrypted back at the TV. It is disigned to protect the privacy of the data being transmitted. For anyone looking for a high definition TV with the intention of playing high definition content such as Blu-Ray movies, HDCP is strongly recommended.

Aspect Ratio:

The Aspect Ratio is the relationship between the width and height of the image on your screen - the proportion of it's width compared with its height. The most common aspect ratio amongst high definition TV's is the 16:9 widescreen format. Many old programmes were filmed/screened in the 4:3 format, which was the most common aspect ration before widescreen TV's came about. Sometimes, when watching older programmes on a new high definition TV, the TV will either automatically adjust to fit the 4:3 format without strecthing it, or will stretch the image to 16:9.

 

HD Ready:

HD Ready stands for High Definition Ready - and TV's with this capability are ready for HD TV, which is already being broadcast by some networks such as the BBC, Sky and ITV. HD ready TV's are capable of displaying their picture at a resolution of 1280 x 720 or 1920 x 1080 which will deliver a superior quality image. Any person looking for a high quality and future-proof TV should ensure that HD Ready is a mandatory feature, and if within budget, opt for a TV that is capable of supporting the higher of the two resolutions. See also 1080i & 1080p.

Screen Size:

The screen size refers to the width of the visible screen area, excluding the enclosure. The screen size is measured diagonally accross from corner to corner and usually referred to in inches. Please refer to the image below for more details:

Viewing Angle:

The viewing angle refers to how far you can sit on either side of a screen before the picture's quality is affected. For example, in your living room, if the TV was mounted on a flat wall and you were to stand directly in front of the screen and then side step left, with each step you would increase the angle from which you were viewing your TV. Eventually, you would reach a position where you would not be able to view the TV picture correctly, which could be limited by the quality of the TV screen. The maximum theoretical viewing angle would be 180 degrees (90 degrees on each side) but we would regard anything above 150 degrees as a more than adequate viewing angle.

The image below demonstrates a person sat almost directly in front of the TV, and so this person is viewing from a small viewing angle. The people to the left and right are viewing from a large viewing angle.

HDMI:

HDMI stands for High-Definition-Multimedia-Interface and has been designed to carry umcompressed digital audio and video signals from the transmitter (i.e. DVD Player) to the receiver (i.e. TV). For any modern High Definition TV, a HDMI interface is a must-have as it will provide an unrivalled quality digital signal to your TV and because it can also carry the audio signal, it also reduces the need for extra wires.

DVI:

DVI stands for Digital Video Interface and is predominanty used for carrying digital signals from computers to monitors and TV's.It is a great feature to have on your TV should you be planning to add a media center or link your computer to your TV. The DVI port can also be used to carry the audio signal (subject to the graphics chip sending the signal) and therefore the signal can be converted and transmitted through a HDMI cable (via an adapter). This can allow 1080i & 1080p signals to be sent to your TV and in the future streaming High Definition TV from the internet!

SCART:

SCART stands for Syndicat des Constructeurs d'Appareils Radiorécepteurs et Téléviseurs - a connector that was originally developed in France but has since become the standard method of connecting audio-visual equipment in Europe. The majority of TV's come with at least one SCART connector, often two or three. SCART cables can only carry an analog signal and although widely used, will eventually be phased out by newer and more high quality transmission methods such as HDMI.

There are two types of SCART - half-SCART and full-SCART. A full-SCART connection carries RGB data and is suitable for DVD Players and set-top boxes, and a half-SCART connection carries less information. This means you can't use half-SCART connector on a DVD Player or set-top box and is only useful for a VCR or another device that doesn't need RGB.

Optical Out:

An optical Out connection (official name EIAJ optical, also known as TOSLINK connection) is predominantly used in audio equipment, such as amplifiers and CD players to transmit a digital audio signal by a fibre-optic cable. When considering setting up a HTPC (Home Theatre PC) or media centre system with the use of an amplifier and/or PC, an optical IN/OUT connection on the TV unit is recommended for transmitting high quality audio signals.

S-Video:

S-Video (widely accepted as meaning Super Video) is a connection that carries analog video signals from devices such as DVD Players and computers to your monitor or TV. S-Video is not acceptable for High Definition TV and therefore we recommend you choose a TV with HDMI rather than S-Video. Alternatively, to ensure backwards compatability with your old DVD Player or Video device, you may wish to ensure that your new TV has an S-Video IN port. S-Video can also be converted to Composite Video through an adapter.

Composite:

Composite Video, like S-Video, is a connection that carries analog video signals from devices such as DVD Players and computers to your screen or TV. Composite Video is not acceptable for High Definition TV and therefore we recommend you choose a TV with HDMI rather than Composite Video. Alternatively, to ensure backwards compatability with your old DVD Player or Video device, you may wish to ensure that your new TV has an Composite Video connection.

VESA (also known as VESA Wall Mountable):

VESA (often referred to as VESA Wall Mountable) refers to a universal standard for mounting brackets that can be purchased to attach your TV to the wall. This means that if you choose to mount yout TV on a wall, providing the TV is VESA compatible, you can be confident in purchasing a universal wall mounting bracket that can have several different features, such as a tilt option or height adjustment option without the worry that the bracket won't fit the mounting connections on the TV.

AV In:

AV In stands for Audio/Video Input and is a type of component connector on the TV that allows Audio/Video Input in. See S-Video and/or Composite Video.

RGB:

RGB literally means Red Green Blue and is a method of displaying images on a TV. RGB technology is used on several devices, such as D-Sub connections, SCART connections or through an RGB S-Video cable.

IR Port:

IR Port stands for Infrared Port and is a method of transmitting data wirelessly through radiation. The most common usage on TV's is the remote control transmitting data to control the TV.

1080i & 1080p:

Firstly, 1080 refers to the number of vertical lines on a TV's resolution, for example a resolution of 1920 x 1080 will have 1,080 vertical lines. See Resolution for further information.

1080p is a full high definition (true HD) format using the widescreen aspect ratio of 16:9 and a resolution of 1920 x 1080. The "p" refers to progressive scan. 1080i is also a high definition video mode, using the same resolution as 1080p (1920 x 1080). However, the "i" in 1080i refers to interlaced. This means that the image you see on your screen is passed twice, the first pass filling the odd numbered lines on the screen and the second pass filling the even numbered lines on the screen. This takes a total of 1/30th of a second and to the human eye the image appears as one frame.

Which is better?

1080p is the better of the two, and we would recommend choosing a TV that supports 1080p as this is likely to be the dominating format for future TV's.