JJ Lighting & Electrical - Home Electrical Centre

THE ASKMOOK GUIDE TO WATCHING THE WORLD CUP

By the time you read this, World Cup fever should be in full swing.  A lot of people will be having World Cup parties and going to the pub, but what’s the best way to watch the World Cup at home?

A lot of people will be treating themselves to a new flatscreen television but perhaps don’t know what to look out for. Certainly buying a TV on size and price alone is a foolhardy exercise.

The first thing you will notice on the market are different types of screen – LCD, LED and plasma. Contrary to popular belief, both LCD and LED utilise the same basic technology; an “LED television” still uses a standard LCD screen, but features a different type of backlight illuminated by LEDs. LED generally gives brighter images as a result of the brighter backlight, but you need a good one to benefit from a high contrast ratio and realistic blacks. Sony and Panasonic have both joined the LED market this season, having taken time to analyse the flaws seen in other brands and come up with better designs.  However, if you are looking for a screen 37” or above, then you really must consider plasma. As good as the LED sets are, a good quality plasma can still comfortably outperform them in almost all aspects of picture quality. The most popular plasmas are Panasonic’s Viera range, featuring a remarkable 100,000 hour quoted panel life and energy consumptions comparable to modern LCD screens. This truly solves the old concerns about plasma whilst offering far deeper blacks and better motion response. It’s also worth bearing in mind that plasma sets feature a much more robust front panel than LED or LCD, an important point for those with kids – or those prone to throwing their Nintendo Wii remote!

Either way, if you will be watching sport, you really MUST choose a screen with a good refresh rate, generally 100Hz or more. “Hz” relates to the rate at which the image updates (i.e. movement on the screen), and the faster this is, the better. Any screen rated at less than that 100Hz figure will suffer from motion blur on panning shots, such as when watching football or tennis. The S Series LCD from Panasonic, 503 series LCD and above from Sony and ALL Panasonic Plasma feature a laudable 100Hz speed, whilst the G series Panasonic plasma sets operate at 600Hz!

So, what about HD then? For the first time ever, High Definition can now be received through an ordinary TV aerial. However, to receive it you must have either a latest “Freeview HD” TV. A standard “HD ready” or “Full HD” television will not work without an additional set-top box. Again, Sony and Panasonic are first out of the blocks with a range of Freeview HD sets available this year. The only downside of pursuing HD is the current lack of content. At present the BBC and ITV only broadcast selected content for a limited number of hours per day – however this content does include all the football, Six Nations rugby and primetime viewing, with Wimbledon also set to be included.

If you don’t fancy a new Freeview HD set and you have Sky or Virgin Media, you can upgrade your package to receive HD as an extra subscription. Then all you need to choose is any HD Ready TV and you’re set. A fourth option is Freesat, which like Freeview HD does not require a subscription. If you’ve got a satellite dish you no longer use, or perhaps are thinking of getting rid of Sky, you could choose a set with Freesat built in. This allows you to receive BBC HD and ITV HD channels free of charge.

Pop in and see us for more advice and a demonstration at JJ Lighting and Electrical, or visit us online; www.askmook.co.uk – your local electrical retailer!