Home Theater Hacks

Hack #9. Get the Right TV

Getting the right television to provide that picture isn't trivial, but here are plenty of good tips to help you pick the right unit.

Figuring out which TV to buy, even with a fixed budget, is worth some explanation. The first decision you need to make relates to the aspect ratio [Hack #13] . If you've got less than $700 or so in your TV budget, this might be a moot point; you're going to have to spend at least that much to get into the widescreen TV market. You might consider saving up a little longer and making sure you can afford a widescreen TV, for several reasons:

• You'll get to watch movies in the closest possible format to how they were filmed, without losing much of the picture to the screen edges.

• Most HD broadcasts [Hack #28] are coming in 16:9 these days, so your favorite episode of CSI will look right on your TV.

• Xbox, PlayStation 2, and GameCube all support widescreen TVs; you simply can't beat Halo on a 16:9 screen.

• Widescreen TVs invariably come with the highest selection of inputs for video sources.

These are all worth considering, and if you can't afford a widescreen TV on your budget, you might want to wait an extra month or two and save up.

Once you've determined the aspect ratio of the TV, you should simply look for the biggest TV with the best picture available. Although you can buy most components for great prices online [Hack #6] these days, it's still best to buy a television in person. You'll pay a little more in many cases, and ...