Changing lifestyle priorities and the move to tablets has put less emphasis on a theater experience that was popular a few years ago. The design conversation is turning to hiding or disguising the television, so it isn’t a giant black rectangle in an otherwise pleasant room. When it’s time to replace the old television, or buy a second one, most people tend to buy the largest model they can afford. The trend now is to buy a quality component that fits with the aesthetics of your decor.
Audio-visual professionals like to measure from the best seat and divide by three to find the height of the screen. For a condo, the ideal size television might be a compact 32-40” model. A house with a large room may require a 75” model to accommodate a group. If you have a dedicated theater room, consider a cinema projector in 4K and 8K. These will fill the entire wall with brilliant, high resolution images for a truly immersive experience.
Buying a new TV is an opportunity to focus on quality and the latest technology. For example, an upgrade from LED to OLED can make a big difference in viewing enjoyment because OLED allows individual pixels to be on or off without the need for a back light. This results in a picture that has high dynamic range (HDR) between white and black pixels.
Network or broadcast television is making a comeback through the technology of ‘over the air’ (OTA) signals. This is actually an old technology that used an antenna to capture the signal broadcasted from a nearby television station. Today, the signal is digital, and channels are broadcast in high definition. Viewers can get popular stations for free with amazing viewing quality. Some new televisions have a built-in OTA tuner that is required to capture the signal. If you live in an urban area, this is one way to cut the cord without sacrificing local programming.
Siting the television is largely a matter of personal preference. There are benefits to table-top and wall-mount systems. The most important consideration is height of the screen. The vertical center of the screen should be at eye level when viewed from a normal position. Picture nooks over fireplaces were surrendered to televisions with the installation of coax plugs but at the expense of viewing comfort. Wall-mount systems also limit choices for furniture arrangement whereas table-tops positions allow the television to be moved to suit decor.
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