Recently, TVs have gotten wider and thinner and some would even say … ‘sexier’, but have they gotten better?
Sure, the latest trend is HDTV (High Definition TeleVision), which promises astonishing picture quality, but at a much higher price than regular CRT (cathode ray tube) televisions.
Buzzwords like plasma, rear projection, and LCD will be out of the seller’s mouth when they walk into their local electrical store, before they are asked to choose from a variety of screen sizes, shapes, and brands. It’s enough to make you give up before you even start looking!
So do I need an HDTV for my PS3?
PlayStation 3 comes with a cable that will allow you to use a regular TV, so you don’t ‘need’ one, but be prepared to be very disappointed with the picture quality.
The PS3 is not cheap, while the PS2 is, so make sure you are happy that you will barely be able to see any difference between the games of either system on an old TV.
The biggest problem for people who were among the first to buy an HDTV was that there was almost nothing to watch on it that showed the very high levels of detail that these televisions can produce. Regular TV channels can look even worse on an HDTV because they emphasize every little blemish. Digital TV looks better, but again it can look terrible when you’re watching fast-moving or highly detailed scenes. Ideally, you should subscribe to a variety of dedicated high definition channels.
So everything sounds negative at this point, and until the launch of the Sony PS3, it was.
Now things are different. All PS3 games are high definition, making your HDTV produce amazing details, sharp images, and a color gamut that is not even possible on your home computer monitor.
A recent PS3 firmware update now improves normal DVDs and makes them look amazing when played on an HDTV.
The PlayStation3 has a built-in BluRay player. Blu Ray movies are coming down in price and there is now a huge selection of movies to choose from; all recorded in high definition. I would personally recommend that you rent Blu-Ray for now, until its price drops a bit more.
The PS3 also lets you surf the Internet, which is a whole new experience on a 32-inch screen sitting in a comfortable chair. Many HDTVs will allow you to split the screen, allowing others to watch TV while browsing the web.
So the choice is now more difficult.
If you are satisfied with a small screen and don’t need TV channels, the alternative is to connect your PS3 to a computer monitor. You will need a special cable and a monitor with digital input, but this will work fine. If your monitor does not have speakers, you will need to buy some.
If you want a screen larger than 22 inches, definitely get an HTDV, but make sure it has at least one HDMI connector on the back and it has a resolution of 1080i or 1080p and a screen refresh rate of 8ms or less. .
