Getting The Best Time Warner Cable Deals For Your HD Television

HDTV sets are here to stay. With prices anywhere from a couple hundred dollars up into the tens of thousands, it's important to do your research and find an equitable review. Even though the sales rep at your local radio shack is perhaps a good guy, you can frequently find some outstanding HDTV deals online as well if you know what to look for. You need to know things like the sort of HDTV you want, which resolution you desire, what inputs the TV has, the right viewing angle, and the best contrast ratio to get. If all that makes you confused be sure not to let it. I'm here to aid in making sense of all the tech lingo and find the right TV for you.

Most likely you're a digital cable TV or satellite subscriber. Either way, the first thing you want to do is find out what kind of HD channel lineup your provider delivers. Most major digital cable service suppliers like Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Charter, and Cox have great high definition channel packages with some great specials and rates for new subscribers. Dish Network and DirecTV have the satellite picture covered through similarly robust HD tiers. Your digital TV provider should have virtually every HD channel now broadcast on hand, but double check just in case before you purchase a new HDTV.

Once you've gotten a great high-definition channel deal from you cable or satellite provider, you will have to judge whether you need to go with LCD, LED, plasma, or projection. Rear-projection based HDTV's are primarily based on the oldest technology and often have lower resolutions, contrast ratios and viewing angles. I usually counsel staying away from rear-projection HDTV's, but if price is an enormous hurdle you'll find some really good deals on rear-projection TVs and you can at least step in the high-def world. If your budget isn't as restricted, most HDTV's produced today are LCD based. There's wide selection of LCD HDTV's available but for the best picture target TV's with a 1080p resolution and stay away from 720p screens. These numbers refer to the screen resolution and determine how clear your picture will be. 1080p is the best and recommended for almost everyone. You'll find some HDTV's that advertise a 1080i resolution. Although it's typically a better picture than 720p, the "i" in 1080i indicates that it is an "interlaced" resolution which isn't as smooth or clear as a 1080p "progressive-scan" picture.  if you find a great offer on a 1080i HDTV, the price savings may justify the marginally lower picture definition. Plasma screen HDTV's were the first highres TVs which actually made everyone see what a difference HD made. The first plasma screens produced, though, were phenomenally pricey costing thousands of bucks. Now, with competition from LCD HDTV's, the costs have come down considerably. Both plasma and LCD screens have advantages and disadvantages over one another and usually it comes down to personal preference. LED HDTV's are the latest change in the market. LED screens are LCD's that use LED back-lighting to boost color range and contrast ratio while reducing power usage. Of course they cost more than standard LCD HDTV's and are aimed at those hunting for the newest and best. For television connoisseurs, though, LED's offer the best picture and the smallest profiles you can now purchase.

After you've decided which HDTV format is right for you it is time to examine the small features and make sure the TV you are pondering purchasing has what you want. Make sure the HDTV's you're taking a look at has all of the connections you would like. These include audio and video input/outputs and PC connections. Next, read the small print for the model's biggest viewing angle. This is how far you can be from the side of a television and still see a clear picture. The larger the viewing angle the better the HDTV and the more places in your living room you can enjoy the picture other than right in front of it. Last but not least, have a look at the HDTV's contrast ratio. This is a gauge of how dark the dark colors are and how bright the light colors are. Ideally you would like a high contrast ratio, but because each manufacturer may employ a different system for calculating the ratio you often have to decide for yourself by taking a look at the picture. Avoid picutres that produce blacks that appear gray or whites that are dull and lack "pop".

Even with all the confusing selling hype the base line is HDTV is astounding. Costs have come down greatly over the last couple of years and today you can buy a huge television and simply stay under $1500 or even a grand. But if you aren't sure what to look for you can find yourself with a low resolution picture with washed out colors. Hopefully my article has helped you know precisely what to search for when you head online or to the electronics store for a new television. When you get the right HDTV it will revolutionize how you watch television.