RPTVs Revisited

Expanding upon my last post, some other things to keep in mind:

-Off-axis viewing: will you be sitting directly in front of the television or close thereto? Or will many viewing positions be off to the side? If people will be viewing from side angles, be sure to check out how badly the picture darkens as you move to the side. This will vary between models. Some models actually employ a glossy covering that helps direct more light directly forward. This is good when sitting in the sweet spot but can impair off-axis viewing.

-Glare: I mentioned the glossy covering. This can be good and bad. It can be bad if you have a lot of untreated windows around. In such a situation, a set with a matte finish over the screen would probably be a better bet.

-Features: I’m guessing that whatever set you get will have plenty more features and inputs than you need, but it’s something worth keeping in mind. Preferably, the set would have a DVI (and HDMI, ideally) input as well as two high-bandwidth component inputs.

-Signal Sources: some televisions might look excellent when displaying a high-def signal but look lousy when displaying standard cable, etc. Not really something you can test out in the store but good to keep in mind.

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