So you have been blown away by the 3D special effects in Avatar or Disney's Up and you want to get in on the action in your own home. But before you splash out ,000 or more on a 3D ready TV, have you considered some of the costly mistakes you could be making when buying such a technologically advanced TV?
Buying a cheap brand
If you opt to save some money on a cheaper brand, the 3D TV probably won't have the same technical specification as a branded TV. While it might be able to handle 3D content, there are features like the warranty, ability to convert 2D in to 3D, contrast ratio, refresh rate, firmware updates and power consumption that are considerably lower than a branded model. You may save hundreds of dollars at the beginning but your 3D viewing experience may be disappointing.
Buying a converter instead of a 3D Ready TV
Even worse than buying a cheap 3D TV. If you think that buying a 0 convertor is going to give you the same experience as a purpose built 3D TV then you are going to be bitterly disappointed. It should also be mentioned that these convertors only work on CRT televisions because they require the refresh rate to be at least 120 Hz and most normal LCD TV's are just 60 Hz, so you will get a lot of flicker if you try and us it on an LCD TV!
Buying an incorrect size
When we were watching standard definition TV, the manufacturers recommended that we sit at a distance of at least 3 to 6 times the width of the TV. Since HD TV has a much higher clarity, you can actually accommodate a larger TV in your room without causing eyestrain. Therefore it makes sense to choose the largest TV that can be accommodated by your room size. For example, if you are going to be sitting about 100 feet away from the TV, you can have a screen size up to 80 inches and watch it comfortably.
Not budgeting for the 3D glasses
Many of the 3D TV adverts forget to mention that you need to buy 3D TV glasses to view the 3D images. Because these use active shutter technology and are completely different to the glasses you use at the cinema, they can be very expensive. For a family of 5, you may need to budget as much as ,000 for the 3D glasses.
Expecting to watch regular TV in true 3D
At the time of writing, no major TV drama, sit-com, soap or news channel has announced plans to broadcast in 3D. So if you are not a major film addict or not in to sports, spending thousands of dollars on a 3D TV might not be a wise purchase at the moment.
