If you’re looking at purchasing a new 3D TV, then you may have noticed a number of 2D to 3D conversion TV sets available to buy. Before you make your decision based on features like this, it’s important to understand what this means and whether it’s worth paying the extra money for.

What Is A 2D To 3D Conversion TV?

3D TVs that have the ability to convert 2D images to 3D mean that you can watch standard content – content that wasn’t traditionally designed to be viewed in 3D quality – in 3D. The TV does the work of converting things like 2D movies or TV shows so that you can get the viewing experience of 3D all the time.

One benefit of a 2D to 3D conversion TV is the fact that there will now be a much greater range of 3D content for you to enjoy. At present, there aren’t too many 3D movies or TV shows available, meaning you won’t get to experience the technology with most things you watch. By converting 2D pictures into 3D you can really make the most of your 3D television set.

However, the major downside is the cost. Because converting 2D into 3D takes greater processing power than displaying either 2D, or content that was made for 3D, these TVs are sold at higher prices to the models that don’t include conversion capabilities.

Do You Really Need 2D To 3D Conversion?

If you can afford it, your first thought will probably be that a 2D to 3D conversion TV is more than worth it. After all, it will dramatically increase the range of content available for you to view in 3D on your brand new TV. However, it really isn’t as simple as that.

You have to bear in mind that TVs that advertise the ability to watch everything you want in 3D do have their flaws. Made-for-3D content, such as 3D movies, is going to look good. But converted content doesn’t always work so well. In reality, you may not enjoy the end product. You may not find you even need it for certain TV shows which simply don’t require a 3D image for you to enjoy them to their full effect.

There are alternative options, such as other devices or even Blu-Ray players that will have the ability to convert 2D to 3D. But you should remember that any of these devices – including a 2D to 3D TV – isn’t going to be perfect yet.

HDTV stands are pretty much essential for anyone who buys a new flat panel TV. The chances are that your old TV stand just won’t cut it. Newer TVs are generally bigger and wider than old CRT screens ever were, not to mention the fact that you want a high quality stand to protect your expensive investment. Here’s a guide to choosing the best stand for your new HD screen.

Wall Mounts Vs. HDTV Stands

First things first, you need to decide between a wall mount and a stand. The benefit of a wall mount is that you can get the perfect position on the wall, taking up a lot less space in the room. The downside is that it takes a little more work, you’ll have to spend more money on a mount, and you’ll have to find a way of covering up the cables.

When looking for the perfect wall mount, try to find one that has the ability to swivel. This means you can alter the viewing angle if you need to, and you can also easily adjust the position of the TV if you need to access the ports at the back.

Choosing The Perfect HDTV Stands

If you do opt for the stand, then there are a few factors to consider:

Height – the perfect height for a TV should be set so that the lowest part of the screen is at eye level. Depending on the chairs you sit on to watch TV, try to find a stand that fits within these specifications.

Size – Some people simply want a stand to hold the TV up, but many others choose an extra wide unit and use it as a place to display photos and other decorative ornaments at the same time.

Shelves – Most of us will want to purchase a stand with shelves that can easily house DVD players, games consoles or any other accessories. Check that the measurements will fit your devices or opt for adjustable shelves instead.

Movable TV stands – Lastly, consider whether you might want to move your TV to adjust the viewing angle depending on where you’re sitting. Swivels are very useful: even if you don’t foresee the need to move, a small alteration in the angle of the screen can reduce glare in bright light.

Although you may not realize it, HDTV stands are an important part of the TV-buying process. Getting the right stand means you’ll achieve the very best viewing experience possible.

It can all seem very overwhelming when shopping for your brand new flat screen TV. There are a huge range of specs to consider. Before you do, however, you need to decide between LCD vs LED vs plasma TV screens. Here’s a guide to the differences between the three different technologies.

Range Of TVs Available: LCD and LED TVs are by far the most common, made by all TV manufacturers and coming in sizes small to large. Plasma, on the other hand, is limited mainly to larger sizes and to Panasonic, LG and Samsung.

Picture Quality: Note that LED TVs are actually LCD TVs with LED backlights. The effect of this backlight is improved contrast and color quality. Plasma screens generally have the best contrast of all technologies, but in reality you’ll find that all of the newest models have the potential for a fantastic picture no matter what technology they employ. The difference comes down to the specific manufacturer and model.

Energy Usage: If you’re concerned about the amount of power your new TV is going to use, bear in mind that plasma screens use quite a lot more power than their LCD or LED equivalents. LED screens are currently the most energy efficient, though you can also find LCD models with a number of power saving options.

Viewing Angle: The viewing angle measures how the picture looks when you view the TV at an angle to the side, as you would in a typical living room environment where more than one person watches the screen. Plasma TVs are known to have a better viewing angle than LED or LCD screens, though again it depends on the manufacturer.

Gaming: The main risk of using a plasma TV screen for gaming is that you can get image burn after pausing your game for too long. This means you’ll still notice an outline of the past picture even when you’re doing something different. Although this is rarely a problem any more, it is something to consider for avid gamers.

Sound: No flat panel TV is going to have amazing sound, due to the fact that there simply isn’t enough space for a big set of speakers. That said, since LED TVs are the slimmest, they often have the worst quality speakers.

Price: The prices of plasma and LCD screens are now much more even than they used to be, though you’ll generally pay more for an LED backlight. Note that LCD/ LED screens will usually last longer, helping to make up for the cost over time.

Conclusion

Although there are differences in LCD vs LED vs plasma TV screens, as shown above, it really does come down to the specific models you choose and the way they are put together. This is why it’s cr

You can’t fail to have heard of the latest 3D technology you’ll find in TV screens. These modern TVs mean you can watch movies in 3D quality from the comfort of your own home. This provides an excellent viewing experience, but it’s still worth asking yourself “is 3D TV worth it?” Here are the main factors to consider.

Glasses: Unfortunately, for 3D TV to work, you currently can’t avoid the need for 3D glasses. There are a few downsides to this, notably the fact that they can cost as much as $100 per pair, and aren’t always included with the TV set. They can also be uncomfortable for some viewers to wear, though most people get used to them quickly enough.

Available Content: Although some televisions have built in 2D to 3D conversion, this does cost more and the quality of the converted content is questionable. The best results will be achieved when watching content that was originally designed to be 3D. Unfortunately, since 3D is such a new technology, this content is currently limited.

However, 3D movies are becoming more popular and new releases are out all the time. More and more TV providers are also broadcasting certain shows or sporting events in 3D format. And many games are now being released in 3D, as long as you have a games console that can handle the technology.

Are Your Favorite Shows/ Movies Really Enhanced By 3D? Next you need to consider whether the type of content you like to watch is really enhanced by 3D viewing. Many people love to watch sports in 3D, but the programs you’re used to watching might not need to be in 3D for you to enjoy them at their fullest. It really is down to what you’re looking for.

Price: At present you can buy HDTV screens for a few hundred dollars upwards. However, as soon as you add in the capability to play 3D content, you add an extra few hundred dollars onto the price (especially if the set includes 2D to 3D conversion).

Equipment Needed: When you view 3D content, it isn’t just the 3D TV set and 3D glasses you need to worry about. You’ll also need to buy a 3D Blu-Ray disc player if you’re going to watch movies that come out in 3D. And, unfortunately, those discs cost even more than the standard Blu-Ray offerings. This is all bound to change, in time, but for now 3D is an expensive business!

Conclusion

There’s no denying that watching movies and shows in 3D greatly enhances the viewing experience. You literally feel like you’re part of the action, rather than just a spectator.

That said, the answer to the question “is 3D TV worth it?” is a completely personal one. It all depends on how badly you want to keep up with the latest technology, and how many of the types of movies you enjoy are currently available on 3D Blu-Ray. Thankfully, available 3D content is growing all the time.

A flat screen TV doesn’t come cheap, which is why you need to take steps to keep it protected against any damage. Among these steps is regular cleaning. But how do you clean a flat screen TV without doing more harm than good? Follow this advice for best results.

How To Clean Your Flat Screen TV

Before you do anything else, check the instructions of your particular television set. It’ll usually come with recommendations relating to the specific materials it’s made from. It’s essential to get this right – you don’t want to invalidate your warranty by doing the wrong thing.

Many flat screens will come with their own cleaning cloth. For routine cleaning, it’s usually enough to wipe the screen with this cloth without any water or added product. A little water can go a long way, but again check the instructions to make sure water is suitable for your particular model.

If you didn’t get a cloth with your TV then search stores for a microfiber cloth. It’s important to stick to this type of cloth as it’ll avoid scratches on any sensitive screens. Never use paper towels on your expensive TV screen!

If you have tougher marks, such as fingerprints, then you can use a designated screen cleaner for the purpose. Don’t spray this cleaner onto the screen directly, as it can potentially drip down the TV. Instead, spray the cleaner onto the cloth before you wipe. Wipe in circular motions to help remove marks as quickly as possible.

It’s best to avoid using any other chemical products, such as soap, especially on glossy screens. These can end up leaving streaks and other marks, and could ruin the screen over time. Never use hot water – lukewarm will do.

Other Important Steps To Follow

When you clean your television, you should always protect your safety by unplugging it before you get started. Never use a dirty cloth: you don’t want to make the situation worse! When wiping the cloth over the screen, bear in mind that pressing too hard can damage sensitive screens. Lastly, make sure that the screen is completely dry before plugging the set back in again.

Remember, gently wiping down your television regularly with a dry cloth is the best way to keep on top of dirt and stop things building up.

If you own, or are thinking of buying, an HDTV, then HDTV calibration is a term you’re bound to hear. But what does it mean, and is it really necessary? Keep reading to find out more.

Why You Need To Calibrate

Most TVs are set up for the sales room. This means that they’re often designed to be brighter and more obvious than they’d normally be in your traditional living room environment. You may find that the colors don’t look the way you want them to when you first switch on your new TV at home. This doesn’t mean there’s a fault with the screen, it means you need to set aside a little time to calibrate the television: to make sure the colors accurately represent real life.

How To Calibrate Your New HDTV

Some people may not bother calibrating the TV at all, if it looks OK out of the box. Most TVs also come with a few manufacturer presets to choose between. That said, you’ll almost always achieve better results when you take the time to calibrate. There are two main methods of HDTV calibration.

The first is to pay professionals to do it for you. This can cost hundreds of dollars, however. For some this will be well worth it to get their $2000+ TV looking right. However, most of us just don’t want to fork out the extra cash after having already spent so much on the television itself. This is where calibration software comes in.

HDTV Calibration Software

The good news is that a number of Blu-Ray DVDs come with THX Optimizer as standard. This is a tool that’ll help you calibrate the TV yourself. However, in order to use it you’ll need to purchase glasses with blue lenses for a few extra dollars. If you don’t have a disc with the software included, you can usually find it in stores.

When you use the optimizer, it’ll take you through a number of different tests. While wearing the glasses, you simply alter your settings until you pass each test. By the end of it, your HDTV will be calibrated for viewing in that room. Note that if you ever move it, or you drastically alter the brightness of the room (say with blinds), you will need to recalibrate.

Remember, your TV will also look different when viewing it in daylight or at night. For this reason, try to calibrate one mode during the day, and one mode during the night. Save the two to different settings presets so that you can easily switch between the two for the best viewing experience.

When it comes to buying a new 3D television, the first question most people ask is whether it’s possible to purchase 3D TVs without glasses. Here’s a guide to the situation as it currently stands, and what you can expect from 3D technology in the future.

Why Are Glasses Necessary?

If you’ve done any research on 3D TVs without glasses then you’ll know that current limitations mean we all have to wear glasses if we want to experience a 3D effect in our homes. This is down to the fact that, for 3D  to work, we see a different image in each eye. The 3D glasses make sure the image looks just right. If you ever remove the glasses and take a look at the screen, you’ll see this just doesn’t work!

There are a number of downsides to glasses: they are expensive, they can be uncomfortable, and they are just inconvenient. But most of us put up with them for the fact that they let us enjoy 3D.

3D Without Glasses As It Currently Stands

So far, 3D without glasses only really exists on personal devices such as smartphones or portable games consoles. The reason for this is that one person views the device at a time, and there is always a specific viewing angle. With TVs, we can view it from all sorts of angles and distances, meaning this just wouldn’t work in the same way.

The good news is that manufacturers have already started to preview 3D TVs without glasses. In 2011, Sony, Toshiba and LG all showed prototype models. But they all had one major downside, that that is the fact that the viewing angle is extremely limited. You can only view the television from around 15 degrees each side of the centre for the 3D to work. Compare this to 180 degree viewing angles of current LCD TVs and you’ll see where the problem lies.

The next problem is affordability. As you will have noticed, 3D TVs with glasses are already more expensive than standard HD sets. Although no-glasses 3D will save money on glasses, the technology is expected to cost a lot more when originally released.

How The Future Looks – Is It Worth Waiting?

There’s no doubt that 3D TVs without glasses will be released in future. However, it’s almost certainly not worth putting off buying your 3D TV now if you know you want one. Current 3D screens have a far better viewing angle, and will still be cheaper than glasses-free 3D sets when they are released.

If you’re in the market for a new television, all the listed TV specs can quickly become overwhelming. The truth is that manufacturers and salesmen will often deliberately overload you with a whole range of technical terms to impress you. However, some TV specs are more important than others. Here’s a guide to the 4 specs you can safely ignore.

1) Contrast Ratio: Although contrast is an important measure on any HDTV, as it shows the range of color the screen can display, measurements of contrast ratio are almost worthless. Because there’s no one way of measuring this spec, manufacturers largely make the number up and you can’t trust their measurements. Better to take a look at the screen instead.

2) Resolution: Although TV resolution is undoubtedly important, it’s not as vital as some manufacturers will make out. In reality, there’s very little noticeable difference between 720p and 1080p models, despite what manufacturers will claim and charge for the higher resolutions.

3) Response Time: Although this is technically a useful spec to look at – it helps to show that a TV can deal with motion well without blurring – the way manufacturers report it can sometimes be misleading. The response rate is a measure of milliseconds, showing how long it takes for a pixel to change from black to white and back again. Unfortunately, some manufacturers report the number for shades of gray instead, artificially altering the specs as this is a lot faster.

4) Refresh Rate: This is another important specification when it comes to avoiding motion blur, especially important if you like to watch sports on your TV. Although you can notice a difference between the 60Hz and 120Hz screens, you’re very unlikely to notice any different beyond that. In fact, sometimes the 120Hz models can out-perform the higher ones.

Conclusion

The TV specs listed above are important for your purchase decision, it’s just that they mean very little in the way they’re reported by manufacturers. Sales staff in store are unlikely to give you any more honest answers. Instead, you’ll have to see for yourself by looking at the way images display on the screen.

You’ll also find that certain specs have little meaning if they aren’t put together in a well-made finished product. This is why it’s essential to read individual TV reviews, or check the picture quality in person, before buying any new flat panel TV. Never make your purchase decision on an arbitrary list of TV specs alone.

3D technology is now becoming more mainstream in movie theaters, and even in our own homes. Enjoying 3D is one thing, but understanding how 3D TV works is another. Here’s a guide to what you need to know about this technology.

What Is 3D?

3D is the technology that transforms content from two-dimensional pictures into images that leap out at you, making them seem as real as possible. How is this effect achieved? By showing two very slightly different images to each eye separately. Our brain creates the 3D image from a combination of the two.

Passive 3D: The first type of current 3D technology is known as passive 3D. This is down to the fact that the glasses don’t have any shutters (see below) and the TV screen shows the image for the left and the right eye at the same time. The downside to this technology is that image resolution must be halved, so the images aren’t full HD. This is why you’ll find that TVs generally make use of active 3D.

Active 3D: Active 3D is the second type of 3D that makes use of two separate images, one for the left eye and one for the right, that alternate in quick succession. The glasses for this kind of 3D make use of shutters that quickly open and close to control which eye views the image. The benefit of active 3D is that it can be displayed in a higher resolution – as such, this is the technology you find on most modern 3D TV sets.

3D Without Glasses: The technology for 3D TV without glasses is expected to be delivered within the next few years.

What Else Do You Need For 3D To Work?

Note that neither of these types of 3D glasses will work with just any TV set. You need to have a 3D-ready TV to synchronize the images on the TV with the glasses. TVs usually make use of an infra red emitter to communicate with active 3D glasses. In addition to this, you’ll also need a Blu-Ray player capable of reading 3D Blu-Ray discs.

Note that not everything you view on a 3D TV is going to be shown in 3D. There’s a limited amount of 3D content currently available, but this is growing by the day. Some 3D TV sets even have inbuilt 2D to 3D converters so that you can watch standard content in 3D, but its quality doesn’t match that of content that was designed with 3D in mind.

Now that you know how 3D TV works, you should be in a better position to choose the right television set for you. Whether it’s worth the added cost really depends on you, but many people love the added viewing experience they get from replicating 3D in their own home.

There are many reasons why people choose to buy TVs online. Aside from the fact that the best deals are usually found over the internet, there’s usually a greater selection of models available, the ability to get the TV delivered to your door for a reasonable price, and the chance to do your research without the pressure of being in a store. Here are five things you should consider when you’re shopping for your new TV over the internet.

1) Read Reviews

One of the benefits to buying online is that you’re not pressured by a salesman. Instead, you can take your time to read detailed reviews before you make your ultimate decision. This is doubly important if you’ve never seen the television in person before. You want to be sure that it works the way it says it does, and that it has all the inputs and other features that you specifically require.

2) Visit Stores If Possible

It may seem counter-intuitive to waste time visiting stores when you’re buying your television online, but it really helps you to get a feel for how the pictures look. You can’t see this on a website, except from what past customers have said in their reviews. Visit the store to check out what the TV looks like and come home and order it from the internet to get the best price.

3) Pay With A Credit Card

The safest way to pay for anything over the internet is to use your credit card. You will always have added protection from your credit card issuer should anything go wrong with the order, such as the television being damaged in transit.

4) Understand Your Warranty

There are usually a couple of different elements to your warranty. You’ll often find that the store will cover you for a short period, after which you’re covered for a year or more by a manufacturer warranty. Make sure, if anything does go wrong, to contact the store you bought it from first. They should then point you in the right direction. It’s also a good idea to check any online store’s terms for returning items – they may charge a fee for the shipping or restocking.

5) Buy From A Reputable Source

Lastly, you need to be careful where you purchase your TV. There are many legitimate places to buy TVs online, but if in any doubt do a quick search for the store and you should be able to find a number of user reviews.