The quality of televisions today has increased at a geometric rate over televisions that are now a decade old. Ten years ago, high definition was in its infancy, available only for a few hours at a time in Japan. In addition, no television on the market at that time supported high definition natively. On September 6th, 2001, the first all high definition channel, HDNet was launched by Mark Cuban and Philip Garvin, and thus began the conversion from standard definition to high definition.
Manufacturers had begun to produce televisions that supported 1080i signals in 1998, no doubt because high definition had begun to take hold in their native country of Japan. High definition has been available since 1959, yet has only been available commercially for the last ten years.
Within the last ten years, high definition televisions have gone from supporting only 1080i, to 720p, to now 1080p. When purchasing an HDTV, this is critical to know. Purchasing a high definition television that is “last years model” can offer significant savings over a current model. What you as the consumer must determine is the difference between the current model, and the previous one.
Manufacturers often refresh their models on a yearly basis, and rarely are there major differences in the performance of the product. Some manufacturers are known to release up to three different models of the same high definition television in the same year!
Unfortunately, it is not often possible to perform a side-to-side comparison of last year’s model versus this year’s model. Most retail stores will rarely have both models in stock or on the sales floor for demo. In addition, most manufacturers sell the previous years models through the Internet, as online shopping is by far the best method to obtain maximum savings with respect to consumer electronics.
As it is difficult to see the models beside each other, it is necessary to rely on the manufacturers specifications to ensure that you make the best purchase that you can. However, treat the specifications with a grain of salt.
When comparing year-over-year models, the first thing that I look at is the side and back panel assembly. I make sure that the previous years television has all the necessary inputs that I will need to hook up all my equipment successfully. Do you have enough HDMI or component video connections? Do you need audio? Do all of the HDMI connections support HDCP?
Once you are content that the hardware is satisfactory, it is time to look at the soft numbers. The soft numbers are things like contrast ratios, brightness, and warranty support. The brightness is a measurable quantity, and this number year over year should not change significantly.
The contrast ratio is an entirely different specification, and may vary significantly from television to television. However, this is not something to be overly concerned with as there is no way to measure a contrast ratio.
Once you are content that the hardware is satisfactory, it is time to look at the soft numbers. The soft numbers are things like contrast ratios, brightness, and warranty support. The brightness is a measurable quantity, and this number year over year should not change significantly.
The contrast ratio is an entirely different specification, and may vary significantly from television to television. However, this is not something to be overly concerned with as there is no way to measure a contrast ratio. Manufacturers know that the public perception is that the higher this number is, the better the set will look. As a result, there is an almost overbearing tendency to ensure that this number is as high as they can possibly make it.
The other soft factor that you should consider is the manufacturer’s warranty. Both products should ship with a full warranty of at least one year. Anything less than that and the product is likely b-stock or a refurbished unit. In addition, some manufacturers increase the warranty of the product year over year, and that additional protection may provide consideration to justify the added cost of the current model television.
Finally, look at the price of the current year’s television versus the previous year’s television. If there is little to no price differential, go with the new model as the benefits of the new set (which are generally a slightly improved gain in brightness and/or contrast ratio, or additional connectors) will outweigh the added cost. If there are significant savings and you have done your homework and determined that there is not much difference between this year’s high definition television and last year’s model, then pocket the difference and purchase the previous year’s model.
Purchasing a high definition television is akin to purchasing a new car. Last years model can provide significant saving with little to no sacrifice in performance. Your wallet will thank you in the long run.
