Every TV has one: a button that zooms in on the picture, or changes the aspect ratio. Sometimes called View Mode, Format, Size, Zoom, or something similar, these modes have a variety of names, but all have the same purpose.

In reality most of the time there is only one “correct” mode, the other modes offering less resolution, possible artifacts, and in a few limited cases, a better picture.

Overscan

One of the primary reasons why these controls exist is a “feature” called Overscan. In the olden days, TV makers had a lot of wiggle room in defining the edges of the image. So two TVs, of the same size, might show slightly more or less of the broadcast image. At the edges of the image, there was frequently a lot of noise (so of which was part of the image, some not).

Even in the early days of HD, many stations broadcast a few pixels of noise, so a TV was better off showing, let’s say, 1,900 x 1,060 of the original signal, then blowing it up to fill the 1,920 x 1,080 screen.

And that “blowing up” is the problem.

Scaling

Every pixel on your TV is active, regardless of the resolution of the source. With DVDs, the TV upconverts, (also known as scaling) the image to fill the screen. It is creating information that is not in the original source, in order to have data for every pixel.

To a lesser extent, the same is happening when you view an HDTV with any amount of overscan active, or when in one of the modes listed earlier. The TV is zooming in slightly on the original image, which requires it to modify every pixel in the image to fit. Look at it this way, if you’re watching a Blu-ray, or a 1080i image from cable/satellite, that image has a specific pixel for every one of the actual pixels on your TV. A 1:1 map, if you will. If the TV has overscan active, or is zooming in slightly, now it’s more like a 1:0.9 map. The TV has to scale the image.

Here’s an example. Compare this image to the one at the very top of this article:

Notice how you lose a little on the edges, the car at the bottom is barely visible, the building at the top is right at the edge of the screen (click here for the two images side by side).

Regardless of how good the scaler is in the TV, this is going to increase noise and artifacts, and potentially reduce resolution (if it can’t scale the image well).

Find this control on your TV, and for the best picture, set it to Just Scan, 1:1, Full, Native, Dot-by-Dot and so on. You’ll be able to tell which is the right one, as when you’re watching a 1080i or 1080p image, it will appear to zoom out slightly, and you’ll see more of the picture’s edges.

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A few exceptions

Occasionally, you’ll find a channel or program that has some weird, non-picture data on the edge of the screen, usually only a few pixels wide. If this bother’s you, well, now you know where the control is to zoom in and clip it off. This is pretty rare, these days.

One other use for this control is zooming in on a 16×9 image that resides in a 4×3 window. For example, on my AT&T U-verse, BBC America is only available in standard definition (thanks a lot AT&T). So if I want to watch the 16×9 Top Gear it’s only viewable with black bars on the sides (SD is 4×3) and on the top and bottom (because it’s 16×9 within the 4×3). Obviously I don’t, I buy the show in HD on iTunes, but you get my point. In this case, you could zoom in on the image, to better fill the screen with the tiny program. Keep in mind, this will likely look like crap.

A 16×9 image within a 4×3 window (note, I increased the brightness of the image so the borders were easier to see):

A 16×9 image within a 4×3 window, zoomed (note the loss of picture quality, even at this resolution).

However, and this is a HUGE deal, you should only be doing this rarely and for the few channels not available in HD. If you are doing this a lot, especially with network shows, you are likely not set up correctly for HD. Check out my article on How to Set Aspect Ratio on Your TV

If you’re black-bar-ophobic, there are often modes that stretch the entire 4×3 standard definition image to fill the screen, or the more clever of these modes that keeps the center of the image the correct aspect ratio, and only stretch the edges. It’s worth noting that using either of these modes is quite possibly the worst your TV will ever look, and should be avoided if at all possible.

For example, here’s the same image above, but stretched horizontally (for a side by side with the full image, click here):

This is really noticeable with people. Here’s a full 1:1 image:

And a stretched 4×3  image (click here for the full version):

This is almost always the default setting for TVs in hotels, which is one of the main reasons hotel TVs look so terrible.

Source Boxes

All cable/satellite boxes and Blu-ray players have aspect ratios settings too. The wrong setting will provide a distorted, lower resolution image. Most on-screen menus ask you to select your TV aspect ratio. For all current HDTVs this would be 16:9. If set to 4:3, the image will be badly distorted. (as shown in the faces image above). Make sure your source box is set to the 16:9 image setting.

Most boxes will also ask for an output resolution setting. Choices will  include 480i, 480p, 720p and 1080i. With 1080p TVs (most current models), this control should be set to 1080i (some cable/satellite boxes also allow 1080p output, but it only applies to pay per view movies).

Blu-ray players should be set to 1080p. Many offer a 1080p/24 setting, though not all TVs can do anything with this framerate. Most Blu-ray players will have a test mode to verify that your TV can accept the resolution prior to making the final setting.

If you have a 720p TV, you can set the cablebox to either 720p or 1080i, though the latter is probably better. If you choose 720p, the signal will be ideal for 720p content such as ABC and Fox but 1080i content (used by CBS, NBC, HBO and others) will be down converted in the box. It’s likely your TV will do a better job de-interlacing and downconverting 1080i content than your cablebox, so choosing 1080i output is likely better. Also, most non-1080p TVs these days are actually 1,024 x 768, slightly more vertical resolution than 720p. So you may squeeze a few extra lines of resolution when watching 1080i content by choosing the 1080i output.

Conclusion

The short version? Ideally you’d watch all HD content set to fill the screen, with no overscan. Check your settings, there may be aspect ratio controls, and separate overscan controls. While most Blu-ray players will auto-detect the correct aspect ratio (nearly always 16×9), DVD players and cable/satellite boxes do not. Check the settings of these as well to make sure they’re sending your TV the correct aspect ratio (and resolution!). I always watch TV with the overscan off and in a 1:1 pixel mapping mode, and it has been years since I’ve seen noise on the edges of the screen. Check both controls, your TV may look  better… for free!

Geoff Morrison @TechWriterGeoff
Geoff’s book is now in paperback

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Copyright ©2012 HD Guru Inc. All rights reserved. HDGURU is a registered trademark.

This guide will help you sort through the marketing gimmicks and focus on what really matters.

Contrast ratio: Meaningless

While contrast ratio itself (the difference between the brightest part of the image and darkest) is the most important aspect of the overall picture quality of a TV, the numbers supplied by manufacturers are completely useless. For one, there is no standard way to measure contrast ratio, so companies often just make up numbers to suit the marketing department’s purposes.

Worse still, you can’t judge contrast ratio in a store. The harsh lighting of most retailers masks true contrast ratio. So a cheap LCD in a store may seem better looking than the plasma right next to it, when, in fact, at home the opposite would be true.

Refresh Rate: Meaningful, but becoming meaningless

LCDs suffer from motion blur, which means that objects on-screen seem to blur when they’re in motion. This can be as obvious as a sportsball person blurring as he runs across the screen, or as subtle as a closeup of a face, blurring slightly as it moves around a little.

The most common way of minimizing motion blur is to increase the refresh rate. This means more images on screen per second than a “regular” LCD. You’ll see these numbers in multiples of 60 (like 120 Hz, 240 Hz, and so on). With video-based content, like sports) these higher refresh rates do indeed decrease motion blur. The TV creates new frames to go in between the actual frames of video. With a 120 Hz TV, it creates a new frame for every original frame in the source. With a 240 Hz TV, it creates 3 new frames.

With film-based content (nearly all movies, most TV shows), however, increasing the framerate causes a noticeable artifact, colloquially called the “soap opera effect.” The smoothing of the motion caused by increasing the framerate causes movies to have an ultra-smooth look that makes them look like soap operas. Many find this to be objectionable (myself included).

Where the term starts to become meaningless, is in the constant effort to “one-up” the competition, companies are starting to market 480, 960, and even higher “refresh rates.” These are always done by some clever math and a flashing backlight. In other words, the backlight of the LCD flashes at some rate, increasing the apparent refresh. Flash it twice with every frame of a 240 Hz TV, now it’s 480 Hz! Using this as the example, some companies call this 480 Hz, while others come up with some clever marketing name for it. Will your eye see any difference between 240 Hz and 480 “Hz” using a flashing backlight? Probably not, though the latter will likely be somewhat dimmer.

Look for “true” or “real” 240 Hz models, if you’re interested. The other technologies are largely specsmanship.

For those who want to nitpick, when I say “film-based” I mean 24 frames per second, which is a frame rate option on modern video cameras.

Plasmas, because of how they work, don’t suffer from motion blur and don’t need higher refresh rates.

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Color anything: Meaningless

Pretty much any claim about color is meaningless. All current TV technologies are able to reproduce all the colors supplied on Blu-ray, DVD, and every cable channel. Any additional color is created by the TV is not accurate. You may prefer over saturated colors, but we at HD Guru think a TV should accurately display what’s in the source, not create something on its own. To that end, TVs with adjustable color points or color settings are idea (most mid- and high-end models have this feature).

Viewing Angle: Meaningless

LCD companies like to claim their TVs are viewable at wide angles, with many claiming “178-degree viewing” or similar. This is almost always nonsense. In most cases, yes, an image can be seen at these angles, but the contrast ratio and color accuracy is radically different than what you see straight on (also called “on axis).

The fact of the matter is, only plasma TVs offer a wide viewing angle, with the same quality of image off axis. The next best is IPS-based LCDs, which offer similar viewing angles to plasma, but have historically had a penalty in contrast ratio and black level on axis compared to other LCD technologies.

If you have a large couch, or viewing positions (i.e. “chairs”) that are at an angle to the TV, most LCDs aren’t for you.

TV depth: Meaningless (though read the fine print)

Many TVs are coming out that claim “under 1-inch” of depth. This is sort of true. Part of the TV is likely less than one inch, but not all of it. Most ultra-thin TVs have a bulge at the bottom. In some extreme cases, the TV is so thin that important parts of the TV are in a separate box. This may or may not work for you, depending on how you want to install the TV.

Like anything, read the fine print of the TV’s specs.

Energy consumption: Meaningful

Last year we saw new regulations go into effect that requires TV manufacturers to measure and publish the energy consumption for their TVs. This is, without question, absolutely fantastic. Interestingly, the claimed energy consumption superiority of LED LCDs has been largely marketing hype. While it’s true that the average LED LCD is more efficient than a comparably sized plasma, it isn’t significant enough to offset LED’s higher price.

In other words, if you’re buying an LED to save money, it will take years to recoup the price premium you paid over buying a plasma. If, however, your goal is just to be as green as possible, then absolutely get an LED LCD. Just be sure turn down the backlight.

All CCFL LCDs contain mercury, making them a poor choice if green is your goal.

So what specs do matter?

Here’s the part that’s annoying. There are certain specs that matter a great deal, but you’ll never see them supplied by a manufacturer. These numbers, if reliably measured, would tell you almost everything you’d need to know about a television. In order, they are:

Contrast ratio
Black Level (minimum luminance level)
Brightness (maximum luminance level)
Accuracy of Color and color temperature
Actual viewing angle (what angle do you lose brightness and color accuracy)
Audio (actual volume potential, without distortion)

It’s worth nothing that while they don’t publish their actual specifications, THX Certified TVs have to meet minimum requirements for color and color temperature accuracy and other specifics.

These numbers, if supplied, plus more subjective factors like video processing performance, would make it easy to judge one TV from another. Too bad manufacturers will never publish specs like this. Why would they? It would be too easy to see what TV was “best.” Fortunately, the better TV review websites (ahem, like this one) do publish these numbers.

And if that’s not gratuitous self promotion, I don’t know what is. Speaking of which, have you seen my book…

Geoff Morrison   @TechWriterGeoff
Geoff’s book is now in paperback

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Copyright ©2012 HD Guru Inc. All rights reserved. HDGURU is a registered trademark.

Samsung, the leading seller of HDTVs in the US settled a class action lawsuit this month. The affected class covers over 7 million owners of Samsung HDTVs (including plasma, LCD and DLPs) made from 2006 through 2008. Samsung agreed to provide free inspections, free repairs (if needed) and reimburse owners of these out of warranty TVs if their sets previously failed and were repaired at the owner’s expense due to defective capacitors within the affected TVs power supplies. This  capacitor defect causes an affected  TV to be unable to power on and produce a picture . (CBS4 Miami, Fl. reported the number of affected set owners through court documents it obtained).

A list of affected sets and how to contact Samsung follows below.

Defective capacitors are an issue that has plagued a number of consumer electronics manufacturers, first reported by computer owners beginning in 2003.  We contacted lead plaintiff attorney William B. Federman by email and phone and asked if there are other class actions pending regarding TVs with defective capacitors. He would not comment.

Under the Class Action Settlement, Samsung posted a list of all affected sets and the remedies along with links to settlements and a contact number at Samsung. They are as follows:
“You must fill out and submit this form to obtain reimbursement  for:

1: Expenses you incurred, prior to March 2, 2012, to evaluate or diagnose the capacitor issue covered by the settlement up to $150

2: Expenses you incurred, prior to March 2, 2012, to fix the capacitor issue covered by the settlement up to $150, or up to $300 if the repair included replacing a power supply board

3: Shipping expenses, including insurance costs, you incurred, prior to March 2, 2012 to fix the capacitor issue covered by the settlement, up to $150

4: A $300 fully transferable debit card if you reported to SEA, prior to March 2, 2012 the capacitor issue covered by the settlement, but did not get it fixed and you now no longer possess your Television; or

5: A payment of $50 if, after March 2, 2012, you require more than on repair to fix the capacitor issue covered by the settlement.

6: In addition, a payment of  $50  if, after [the date of this notice] you require more than one repair to fix the problem covered by the Settlement”

The models covered are: (asterisks are a substitute for any number; thereby all models in the series- models numbers are located on a sticker at the rear of all televisions-Ed)

For information on whether you qualify for a free repair, or for reimbursement of a repair you paid for, or for other benefits, as well as how to make a claim, please see the Full Class Action Notice link below, or call 1- 888-899-7602.

• To view the Full Class Action Settlement Notice, please click here.
• To view the Settlement Agreement, please click here .
• To view the Summary Class Notice, please click here.
• To download the Claim Form, please click here.

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Summary and Commentary

Samsung claims only a very small percent of the class have the cited bad capacitors which may indeed be the case. We find Samsung’s response and rapid settlement a reflection of a company that stands behind its products and commend its actions. We consider this a win-win all parties. We hope other consumer electronics manufacturers take note and follow Samsung’s lead.

HD Guru has and will continue to report to our readers’ product issues regarding HDTVs and how the respective companies deal with their customers’ experiencing defects and premature product failures.

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Sharp’s new models are big as the company continues to migrate its image and marketing to be known as  “the big screen HDTV maker”. Sharp brings to CES five new series topping out with an 80-Inch 3D Smart TV. Read on for details.

945 Series

Sharp’s 945 series is its top of the line and includes its 1080p Quad Pixel Plus II (red, blue, green, yellow) LCD panels with active Full HD 3D using its 3D X-Gen Panel. Sharp claims its new panel is the brightest panel its ever produced.  Other improvements are 3D depth enhancement, full LED backlight with local dimming (available in the Elite line this is a first under the Sharp nameplate).  Other enhancements are 240Hz (likely to be 120 Hz with scanning backlight as in its Elite models).

Smart TV functions include a newly designed user interface with full screen or dock views caled SmartCentral, an Internet browser and more that 100 services and apps including CinemaNow, NetFlix and Vudu and Aquos Advantage Live online customer support. 945 models include built-in WiFi and 5 HDMI inputs.

The 945s ship in June in the 60 and 70-Inch screen sizes.

847 Series

The 847 models use a “Quad Pixel” LCD panel and offer the same functionality as the 945 but in an edge lit LED array instead of full backlight. The series is ultra slim with a narrow bezel with brushed aluminum finish. This model includes 3D, 240 Hz refresh, built-in WiFi, 4 HDMI inputs and all the same Smart TV functions. The 847s are available in April in the 60 and 70-Inch screen sizes.

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745 Series

Edge lit LEDs with 120 Hz refresh, 3D, ultra slim with narrow bezel with brushed aluminum finish, 3D, Smart TV, WiFi built-in and 4 HDMI inputs. The 745s ship in March in the 60 and 70-Inch screen sizes.

640/540 Series

Features include X-Gen three color sub-pixel (red,blue,green) LCD panel, edge lit LEDs. 120 Hz, ultra slim design with narrow bezel, Smart TV, built-in WiFi and 4 HDMI inputs. Shipping in March the 640 series is available in the 52,60 and 70-Inch screen sizes. The 540 models ship in March in the 42 and 46-Inch screen sizes.

XV-Z30000 DLP Front Projector

Sharp’s latest 3D front projector ships next month. Here is a list of features as appears in its press release.

Center Lens 3D Full HD DLP Theater Projector

Lens Shift Horizontal / Vertical Shift for accurate setup

Exceptional 3D Image Quality Free From Cross Talk

Two Pair 3D Glasses and Built-in IR Emitter included

3D Glasses have both 3D and 2D selection modes

50,000:1 High Contrast Ratio

1,600 ANSI lumens High Brightness

Image Shift + Eco Quiet Mode

2 Iris modes Brightness / Contrast

6x Speed / 6 Segment Primary (RGB) Color Wheel for Natural Color Reproduction

2.35: 1 Cinema Scope Vertical Stretch mode

Dual HDMI Terminals (Ver. 1.4 – 3D over HDMI)

Component / S-Video / Computer Inputs

HQV Reon VX-210 Imaging Processor incorporated

Gamma Adjustment and Color Management System

RS-232 Control Port + 12 Volt Trigger + RJ45 LAN

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Whether you’re trying to decide which HDTV to purchase, how to get the best deal or how to hook-up and set a new HDTV for the best image, we have all the answers to these issues and more. Below find holiday advice on all things HD.

LED, LCD, Plasma, DLP? Connected TVs, 3D and more our “How To Pick the Right HDTV” article with chart will guide you through.

Buy an HDTV from a brick and mortar store or online? Check this out.

Want to learn about negotiating a better price?   This article will tell you which stores will let you bargain a better price and how to do it.

Just bought a new HDTV?  Our article will guide you getting the set from the store to home without hassles or problems.

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You just gave the family a new HDTV for the holiday? Click here to learn how to set it up.

Read this before you are misled into overpaying for an HDMI cable. Need a longer HDMI cable?  Read our HDMI test report.

Perhaps you don’t want to run a cable or can’t due to brick or concrete walls. This article compares wireless HDMI systems.

Ready for theater like surround sound? Check out our Surround Sound receiver buying guide.

Are you really watching programs in HD? You may not be. Make sure by reading this.

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Copyright 2011 HD Guru Inc. All rights reserved. HDGURU is a registered trademark.

If you haven’t adjusted the settings on your new HDTV, you’re not getting its full performance

By eye or with a Blu-ray setup disc, having an understanding of what each picture control does is crucial to getting the best picture.

With a Goldilocks-esque “just right” amount of technical bits and practical advice, our guide should have you on the road to a better picture in minutes.

Picture Modes

Nearly all TVs have picture modes that adjust multiple settings to create a certain “look” to the image. The best idea is to start with the “most accurate” setting, then adjust as you see fit. With nearly all TVs, this mode is called “Movie,” “Cinema,” or something similar. If these aren’t options, “Standard” is likely close.

If you’ve been watching your TV for a more than a few minutes, switching to one of these modes is going to be a shock. It will seem red (warm) and soft. It isn’t, which I’ll explain as we go.

Contrast

This control adjusts the bright parts of the image: Clouds, white shirts, snow, etc. The idea is to set this control high enough that the image “pops,” but not so high as to mask detail. All TVs have a maximum contrast setting, above which you’re not making the image any brighter, you’re just making near-white objects totally white.

If you’re using a setup disc, the contrast pattern will have a ramp of progressively whiter bars. The idea is to be able see most of these (but not those labeled “above white”).

If you’re not using a setup disc, find a TV show (ideally a live sporting event) that takes place outside. Skiing works great for this, though baseball does as well (fly balls, any shot of the sky). The idea is to be able to set the control so that you can still see detail in bright white objects. There should almost never be bright white blobs on the screen. If there are, turn the contrast control down some.

There is no average number to use as a guideline for this setting, but it’s almost never 100 or anything close. Try somewhere around 80% and go from there.

Brightness

This is the opposite of the contrast control. It adjusts the dark parts of the image: Shadows, black hair, black leather jackets. The idea here is to set this control low enough that the picture has lots of contrast (as in, the difference in the light and dark parts of the image), but not so far that there’s just huge swaths of blackness on screen during any night scene.

If you’re using a setup disc, the brightness pattern will have a ramp of progressively darker black bars. The idea is to be able see most of these (but not those labeled “below black” or similar).

If you’re setting this by eye, any night or darkly lit scene will do. Set the control fairly low, past the point where you lose detail. Now gradually increase it until you see detail. If the picture looks gray or washed out, you’ve gone too far.

Color/Tint

Generally speaking, you shouldn’t have to adjust these at all. These are holdovers from the old tube TV (CRT) days. With component and HDMI connections, the TV shouldn’t need adjustment to color or tint.

But so you know, color is color saturation. Set too high, people will look sunburned, and everything will seem cartoony. Tint adjusts the green/red in the image (Martian/lobster). Without specific color filters (that usually come with setup discs), you can’t adjust either of these settings these correctly. Skip.

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Sharpness

This is a highly misleading control. Generally speaking, the Sharpness control adds enhancement to the image to make it appear sharp. Ironically, by doing so, it’s actually masking true fine detail in the image. This setting should be set as low as possible. Some TVs actually soften the image if you set it too low (bizarre, to be sure), so watch out for that. Look for dark lines on a bright background. Edges of buildings work great. Lower this setting so there isn’t any ghost line next to the dark edge. This ghost line is called “edge enhancement,” and goes a long way in making the image look artificial.

Once you get used to the naturalness of the image without edge enhancement, you’ll never go back.

Color Temperature

This one is going to be tough. Not because it requires any labor on your part, it’s just going to do something to the image that at first is going to seem bad.

Color temperature is how bluish or reddish the image looks. Picture a typical scene of people walking down a street. Set the color temp too cool, and it will look like they’re walking down the street in winter, with that season’s normal bluish tones. Set the color temp too warm, and it will be a reddish warm day instead.

With most TVs, the idea setting is “Warm” or “Low.” In some cases, this is too warm, and “Normal” is closer. If you’re changing the settings for the first time, and the TV was set in the “cool” color temp mode, it is definitely not accurate and even “Normal” will appear to your eye as too warm. Give your eyes time to adjust. Watch on “Normal” for a few hours, and “Cool” will seem incredibly blue.

Check out my article on color temp over at CNET for more on this.

Backlight

If you’ve read Gary’s buyers beware article on TV backlights, you’ll know the importance. Interestingly, no setup disc offers instructions on how to set this control. This is an LCD/LED LCD specific control. Plasmas don’t have backlights.

The backlight setting is like a volume control for the image. Turn it up, and the entire picture (bright whites and dark blacks alike) get brighter. Turn it down, and everything gets darker.

If you leave this turned all the way up, not only are you wasting energy, but at night your TV can be hard to watch. Modern LCDs are extremely bright, and watching such a small bright object in a dark room can create severe eye fatigue.

During the day, set this as high as you want.

For critical viewing, or watching at night, the idea is to get the best black levels, while still creating a watchable image. Once the you set contrast and brightness correctly, turn the backlight control all the way down. This will likely be too dark for most viewing. Turn it up to the point where it looks the best. Often, at night, this could be as low as 20%, depending on the TV.

Check out my article on Contrast Ratio for more info.

Conclusion

It’s not possible for a TV to be set at the factory with the best settings possible for your home. Twenty minutes or so on your end can drastically improve the picture quality of your TV. We strongly suggest a setup Blu-ray. They’re cheap, and the Disney WOW disc is especially helpful and easy to follow.

Beyond that, a local ISF Calibrator will dial in your TV perfectly, including calibrating the color temperature and often the actual color points of the TV.

Geoff Morrison  @TechWriterGeoff
Check out Geoff’s book.

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Lets say you into 3D. Lets also say you think active shutter glasses are the work of the devil.

Well Tru3D has a solution for you: a converter that turns any 3D projector requiring active shutter glasses into a 3D that only requires cheap passive 3D glasses, plus all the brightness benefits that go along with that.

Background

All 3D projectors under $15k for the home market currently use “active” 3D technology. This means they require active shutter glasses, battery operated LCD lenses shutter in sync with the image to allow/not allow light to enter your left or right eye. In addition to the cumbersome nature if these glasses, they reduce the apparent light output of the projector. Even a bright projector will be dimmer in 3D mode while wearing the glasses. A bright 3D projector, in 3D mode, will offer marginal-to-mediocre brightness. A marginally bright projector, will be outright dim in 3D mode.

Most movie theaters use a different method, called passive 3D. The glasses required for this method have simple circular polarized lenses. These let far more light through to the eyes. Passive 3D puts some of the heavy lifting on the projector (instead of splitting the burden with the glasses, as with active). It also requires the use of a screen that maintains the polarization of the light, which most don’t. These two factors are why you don’t see more passive 3D projectors for the home.

Enter Tru3D, with their “Polarization Modulator,” a device to convert an active 3D projector into a passive 3D projector.

The core of the Tru3D system is a single-plane polarizer. Mounted in front of a projector lens, it twists the light depending on which eyes information is displayed. On your face all you need are cheap circular polarized glasses like you steal borrow get at most 3D movie theaters. The only trick is you need a silver screen that keeps the polarization of the incoming light. This, of course, is an added cost.

If you have a big family or have big movie parties requiring a lot of glasses, this could be cost effective. Also, if you’ve got a huge screen, the extra brightness possible with non-active glasses 3D will be extremely welcome.

Setup

My review sample was an Optoma HD33 with Tru3D rig attached. They sell this setup, for $3,300.  Separately, the Tru3D Polarizer is $1,499 and will work with any “single-lens stereoscopic 3D projector (up to 6K Lumens) “. The polarizer hooks up to a small box that itself plugs into the service port on the back of the projector.

My review sample also came with a Da-Lite silver screen, though it was a small portable unit that isn’t fair to review on its own. As far as screens that maintain the polarization, this silver Da-Lite fits the bill. Stewart makes a  screen that is said to work well with both 2D and polarized 3D.

Firing up the projector, I can see a potential issue right away. The polarizer acts as a mirror, reflecting a bright image exactly backwards. I calculated about 10% of the brightness of your projector is now lopped off and shot backwards. So tabletop placement is out of the question, as is any placement that would put the polarizer in your line of sight. Depending on your room, this reflected image will make your back wall a second screen. At least mostly, the bottom part of the reflected image hits the projector itself.

The fix for this would be fairly easy, some sort of black matte cloth acting as a sort of shroud between the lens and the polarizer (but not much more, you don’t want to cover any of the projector’s vents).

Even in home theater we not immune to the laws of physics, so all that light bouncing backwards is light not going on the screen. So right away some of the advantage of a passive 3D system is being lost (i.e., the added brightness). It didn’t seem to matter much.

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Testing

The 3D effect is quite good, with a lot of depth. There’s also a naturalness to it I find lacking in most active shutter systems. Maybe it’s a subconscious revulsion of the shutters. As far as 3D goes, it’s more relaxing to watch than many other 3D projectors, though how much of this is the extreme brightness of the small silver screen in my review sample, I honestly can’t say. I did get the mild eye strain I’ve gotten with some active shutter glasses though, so that’s something. There was some slight cross-talk, but not any more than I’ve seen on some other 3D displays. It had a slight red tint, but it wasn’t that overly noticeble. If you move off to the side, the 3D effect flattens a little, but not badly. Overall Irate the 3D as “very good.

How much light is lost with this system is debatable. The passive glasses themselves certainly seem to pass more light, compared to active shutter glasses. Putting them on doesn’t have the intense sunglasses at night feeling you get with actives. When you add in the light lost to the reflection, plus what’s lost in the polarizer itself, I’dsay that there’s still an advantage in brightness going for passive, but not as much as it may seem at first.

The most notable difference between active and passive, though, is there’s always light going to your eyes with passive. That seems to have an effect on perceived brightness, though whether this is psychosomatic or physical, I can’t say.

Conclusions

Being such an odd product, I feel I have to qualify this review slightly. The small silver screen used in this review created an extremely bright image. Brighter is always better, even to trained eyes. On a normal sized screen, with normal projector brightness, I bet the difference between active and passive would be less severe. That said, the lightweight glasses and added perceived brightness are definite and worth considering.

So overall, the Tru3D is an interesting, if niche, product. It’s a bit pricy in my eyes, but then again I’m not keeping a family of 5 in $100 3D glasses. If you watch a lot of 3D and are tired of replacing batteries or recharging, or you like to have big movie nights and don’t feel like buying $1,000 worth of 3D glasses, the Tru3D certainly looks a lot more appealing. Also, and it may seem trivial, but wearing passive glasses is way less annoying than active. Lastly, the extra brightness of the 3D image is very welcome. If this seems like something you’d be interested in, I can say that it works exactly as advertised (placement concerns aside).

The Tru3D Active-to-Passive 3D Polarizer is priced $1,499.99 at Tru3d.com. HDGuru.com awards the Polarizer a ♥♥♥.5 out of ♥♥♥♥♥ heart rating.

Geoff Morrison   @TechWriterGeoff
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Copyright ©2011 HD Guru Inc. All rights reserved. HDGURU is a registered trademark.

You did your research, checked the reviews, the viewing distance chart, and our article on how to avoid what the biggest mistakes people make when choosing a HDTV (link).

Now that you’ve decided on the right set, it’s time to find the right dealer. Brick and mortar or on-line, we’ll look at both.  We’ll also discuss the store’s policies (which may be hidden).  To avoid problems you must know all the store polices before you pluck your money down.

1) Return Policy

You would be surprised how many brick-and-mortar and on-line retailers have a “no return” policy when it comes to HDTVs. The store does not care if the set has shipping damage or is dead or what the problem is, they simply refuse a return. Your only alternative is to get the manufacturer to repair the set. If said manufacturer doesn’t have local parts or service you may have ship it to the company’s US offices… possibly at your expense! Furthermore, if the set has physical damage, they may not repair it under warranty.

2) Exchange Policy

So you thought you bought the ideal HDTV. Then you get it home and discover it is a fraction of an inch too wide for your custom made home entertainment unit. Then you check the store’s exchange policy and learn they don’t accept any TV exchanges or it’s past the short exchange time period. In other words, don’t take too long to check that the TV is the perfect one for you, or buy from a store with a decent exchange policy.

3) Restocking Charges

More and more on-line and B&M stores are instituting restocking charges for returns or exchanges, regardless of the problem or issue. These can be as high as 15 to 25% of the purchase price. An example, hidden deep on its website, Radio Shack charges a 10% restocking fee for Cinego DLP TV projectors.

4) Return Freight

If the store or on-line dealer charges for delivery to your home, odds are they’ll charge you return freight… if they accept returns at all. Pre-check the cost before making your purchase, not after. Amazon Direct is one of the few companies that always pay the return freight on HDTVs.

5) Must Use a Servicer For Repairs

Many retailers (on-line and otherwise) require the customer to call the manufacturer for repairs on any HDTV, even if it’s brand new. If this is the store policy, be prepared to wait days or weeks for a serviceman and possibly an additional wait for parts. We do not recommend stores that employ this anti-consumer policy.

6) The Set Was Delivered Yesterday, It’s Too Old For Refund!

A number of dealers require reporting a defective TV with 24 hours upon delivery to be eligible for a return and refund. For example, here is the policy of on-line HDTV seller Beach Audio as appears on Amazon.com:

“Damaged Items – In the rare event that an item arrives damaged, please refuse shipment if the damage is external or notify us within 24 hours if the damage is concealed. WE CAN NOT ACCEPT DAMAGE CLAIMS AFTER 24 HOURS from sign date. Beach Audio, at it’s sole discretion, will either ship a replacement or issue a full refund when and if the claim is settled with the carrier.”

7) No Replacement TV In Stock

If the store makes exchanges, what happens if you bought the last one in stock, or if the store is no longer stocking that model? Will they give you a refund, full store credit for another model or a free upgrade if you can’t get a replacement?  You don’t want the dealer to tell you to wait weeks or months for them to get in the another unit of the same make and model. Check inventory and the store exchange policy before making your purchase

8) What Happens If The Store You Just Bought The Set From Goes Out of Business

In this economy, consumer electronics stores are closing all over the country. Recently, 35 year old 6th Avenue Electronics closed all operations in New York, Delaware and Pennsylvania. Its website is still up, however it only list hours of 9-6 Monday through Friday. 6th Avenue  continues to operate three brick and mortar retail stores in New Jersey.

A quick Google news search of 6th Avenue Electronics back in March would have revealed its serious financial problems. That’s when GE, its floor plan company, filed a lawsuit against them for nonpayment. Check out a retailer on line for news stories and complaints. Consumeraffairs.com is an excellent source of reports on retailers and etailers.

9) Bad Installs

If you need your new HDTV connected and set-up, research the company’s installation department before buying. Many retailers outsource their installs to subcontractors, others simply do shoddy work. Check out from previous clients how good the store is beforehand, again consumeraffairs.com is a good place to begin to find complaints. The Better Business Bureau keeps records of complaints against businesses nationwide.  CEDIA.net, a custom installation trade organization, lists certified installer members by area.

10) Make Sure the Store Takes The Right Credit Card

If you want to double the manufacturer’s warranty for free, you need to use the right credit card. Our article (link) provides the information to the credit card companies rules. For example paying with an American Express can double the manufacturer’s warranty up to one year. Some online retailers do not accept it, locking you out of the free extension. Make sure the retailer or etailer you pick takes the right card before placing your order.

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Copyright ©2011 HD Guru Inc. All rights reserved. HDGURU is a registered trademark.

All TVs manufactured after May 10th (that’s now!) are required to prominently display one of the Federal Trade Commissions’ stylish new Energy Guide labels.

Starting July 11, websites that sell televisions will be required to display an image of the full label as well, given that you can’t, you know, see the TV.

More info and Guru-tized analysis after the jump.

The Energy Guide labels are similar to those found on appliances, and must be displayed conspicuously on each TV. Each label will show the estimated yearly cost of that particular TV, based on a certain number of hours and cost per hour of electricity. In current (pun!) examples, this is $0.11 per kilowatt hour, with 5 hours a day of use.

More useful on the label is the comparison to other TVs of similar size, and where the TV discussed fits in the range of best and worst in that size category.

The power consumption is found using ENERGYSTAR testing procedures. We first wrote about ENERGYSTAR here.

Analysis

We at HD Guru think it’s a great idea to give consumers power consumption data, but there are a few details our readers should know when comparing different TVs.

The first is the real difference between “energy efficient” LED models, and “power hungry” plasmas. In a recent discussion with LG, for example, they said their 47-inch 47LW6500 LED LCD will have a Energy Guide yearly estimated cost of $13. Their 42-inch 42PT350 plasma, on the other hand, will have an estimated cost of $21. Given the vast price discrepancy between the average plasma and the average LED LCD (in our example, over $500), it is highly unlikely you would ever see a return on your investment, power consumption-wise (62.5 years, between these two).

The second is that if you change your TV’s initial settings, the power consumption will change. With LCDs (both LED and regular), increasing the backlight will increase power consumption. With plasmas increasing the contrast setting in the picture menu will increase power consumption. Increasing the contrast control with LCDs will have a negligible effect on power consumption.

As we’ve said before, the best setting for any LCD is the lowest backlight setting you can stand. This will supply the best black levels and conveniently the lowest power consumption possible while still creating an image you can actually see.

John Taylor, VP of Government Affairs for LG Electronics USA, told HD Guru: “LG embraces the new FTC labeling, as we believe it’s always helpful to give consumers more and valuable information.”

We expect other manufacturers would voice similar sentiments.

You can read more about the new labels here.

Geoff Morrison @TechWriterGeoff
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Copyright 2011 HD Guru Inc. All rights reserved. HDGURU is a registered trademark.

A few days ago I wrote an article espousing the virtues of front projection. I am an unabashed fan and hopelessly biased towards PJs. But to get the best performance out of a projector, you’re going to need a screen.

And this is the point where I lose the audience.

Still with me? Screens may seem boring, and there’s a lot to learn, but if you’re spending any amount of money on a projector you owe it to yourself to get a screen that lets you get the most from your new purchase.

Size (That’s What She Said)
The first thing to determine is how large a screen you can fit in your room. A custom installer (if you go that route) can fine tune it, but getting a rough idea is always a good, um, idea.

I’d recommend starting with a 100-inch diagonal 16×9 screen. This is a pretty average size for a screen, it’s large enough to give a “damn that’s a big TV” feeling while still being “small” enough to let you use any projector to create a bright image. This will mean a screen that’s roughly 87-inches wide, and 49-inches tall. You’ll need some space on the top and bottom (and maybe sides if you have a narrow room) depending on the frame, but we’ll get to that later.

If you want a wider-than-widescreen, 2.35 or 2.40:1, I’d still recommend starting with 49-inches tall, as you want to make sure that what you’re going to be watching most (16×9 material) is still large. This will depend on your room, of course.

For me, I have a 120-inch (ok 117.5) wide 2:35:1 screen, which means TV watching is about 102-inches.

The major determining factor in how tall of a screen you can fit (and by extension, how wide) is how far from the floor you want the bottom of the image. Too low, and it’s going to look weird. Too high and you’ll waste space. You want enough room below the screen to fit a center channel, but not so much as the center of the image is way above your seated eye line. Again here a 49 or 50-inch tall screen should fit nicely in a room with an 8-foot ceiling.

(We are living in a) Material (World)

Screen material is your next choice. These days, with most projectors, screen material is often just personal preference than any necessity based on the technology. In the early days of digital projection, the black levels were so poor that screen companies developed “grey” screens that made it seem like the black levels were better. This isn’t strictly necessary anymore. Most projectors have black levels that are at least decent enough that they’re not distracting. As I mentioned in the PJ article, some offer better black levels than then vaunted KURO plasmas.

Positive gain screens are the opposite. They focus the light so more light bounces towards the seating area, and less is scattered towards the walls, ceiling, and floor. While this may seem like a good thing (and in some cases, it is), keep in mind the black level is going to go up with a high-gain screen. Also, very high gain screens can have a hot spot, where the center of the image is noticeably brighter than the edges. People sitting off to the side will also enjoy a dimmer image, with more light being focused on the main seats.

In a large install, its desirable to place speakers behind the screen. Not only is this aesthetically pleasing, but it allows voices and sound effects to come directly from the screen (like a movie theater). This is possible because of perf, or perforated, screens. Millions of tiny holes that let the sound pass through reasonably unmolested. Pretty much all perf screens these days have holes that are small enough that they won’t interact with the pixels from a projector. You will lose a little overall light output though. A version of the perf screen is a woven screen (like those from Screen Research, Screen Excellence, and SI).

Slide Up, Slide Down, Slide Stationary
The ultimate in cool is an electric drop-down screen. Hidden in a ceiling or in a nondescript hosing, the screen remains rolled up and out of sight until you need it. Certainly more pricy than fixed screens, electric screens allow you to use the room for other things than watching movies.

What’s quite common now is a low cost LCD/plasma for daytime viewing, with the screen coming down at night for movies and serious TV viewing. Granted this adds $700-$1,000 to the total cost of the system (plus an HDMI D/A), but if you’re contemplating a drop-down screen, this money won’t likely break the bank.

An alternate version of the drop-down screen is the drop, well, up screen, where the housing lives on or in the floor, and the screen rises up.

(Another Brick in the) Walls
The color of whatever walls you can see when you’re watching the screen affects what you perceive on the screen. In other words, if you have a bright red wall, the image on screen will appear to have less red in it. This is true for TVs too, by the way. Ideally the wall around the screen will be a neutral color, like gray, but any mild color is better than something bright.

On a Budget
Can’t swing spending much money on a screen? There are options. Some DIYers will tell you to just paint a wall, or use some goo to create a reflective surface. If you want to go this route, I doubt I could talk you out of it. I won’t, however, recommend it. The main reason is that the screen surface is visible, it is part of the image. If you’re using a screen, then in most cases you won’t notice it. If you’re using a wall, every little imperfection, paint stroke, and most importantly texture is going to be visible when watching a movie. It can look… well, lumpy.

There are so many low-cost options available, I don’t understand the desire to paint a wall. Here’s a sampling of what I found on Amazon.

Vutec Lectric I 16:9 Motorized Projection Screen – $576.02 (38% off)

Elite Screens EzFrame Fixed Frame Projection Screen – $429.39 (46% off)

Elite Screens ER120WH1 120″ Diagonal Sable Frame Series Screen – $320.09 (32% off)

Draper Accuscreens 92″ Diagonal Electric Wall/Ceiling Screen – $260.10 (36% off)

Vutec Silver Star 110″ Diagonal Fixed Frame Projection Screen – $1,905.32 (13% off)

Setup. Begin enjoyment… now!
All screens are going to have an effect on the color temperature of the projector. If you’re buying the two at the same time, then this isn’t a big deal. When you calibrate the projector it will be part of a “system” with the screen. But if you change screens, you’ll need to re-calibrate. It may just be a subtle shift, but if you’re looking for the most accurate image possible (aren’t we all?) then this is something to keep in mind.

Now that I’ve scared you off with over a 1,200 words of screen info, let me close with this, there is nothing better than a projector for watching movies and TV at home. Nothing. If you can make it work, you’ll never regret it. You’ll also never go back to a lowly, boring “TV.”

More Resources

Stewart Filmscreen (world renowned, made entirely in the US, highly recommended)
Da-Lite (great screens and resources for choosing screens and sizes)
Elite (great value and options)
Vutec (Silverstar high-gain screen)
Screen Research (Acoustically transparent woven screen)
Screen Excellence (Acoustically transparent woven screen)
SI Screens (Black Diamond screen claims to be watchable with ambient light)
Draper (Not Don. In business since 1902)

—Geoff Morrison

Notice To Our Readers

HD Guru extends our sympathies to the victims and their families of the disasters in Japan.

To aid victims of the Japan Earthquake and Pacific Tsunami with a direct contribution, here is a link to the  Red Cross Relief Website.

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