HDTV Settings and Room Lighting

by Mary Ann Romans | More from this Blogger

20 May 2008 11:37 AM

With the new high definition television (HDTV) sets, you can get amazing picture quality! You will feel as though you are in the movie theater at home or perhaps even in the middle of the movie itself, and the picture quality gets closer and closer to reality. Unfortunately, you can also get eye strain, garish colors and more if your setting and room lighting aren't correct. In fact, I would bet that most HDTV users haven't considered some of the basic things that should be done before watching your HDTV. Let's first take a look at lighting.

Most people turn off all of the lights when they are about to watch a movie. Perhaps this is training from the days of watching a movie in a darkened theater. If you look closely, though, most theaters aren't completely dark. Not to mention that movie theaters use large screen projectors to show their films, and this is a completely different animal. In fact, watching a movie at home in the dark could lead to eyestrain, especially if your HDTV viewing occurs in the evening, when your eyes may already be tired from working on a computer or under florescent lighting all day.

If you have a bright plasma screen or a smaller direct view or LCD HDTV, then follow this advice. Place a dim light directly behind the HDTV if possible. You can then leave the rest of the room dark. Or if placing the light behind the television is not practical, place it off to one side. You want to avoid any light reflecting off of the HDTV itself, because this can reduce the image fidelity.

What kind of bulb and how bright should it be? Aim for a "daylight" light bulb, rather than a soft bulb. A good standard is one that glows at 6,500 degrees Kelvin, according to Cnet.com.

If you are watching the HDTV during the day, close the curtains or blinds if possible to darken the room. Use the HDTV presets that came with your television when you are viewing it in a brighter room. See which preset works well for you. Most of the time you will have presets, such as one for standard viewing, one for sports viewing and one labeled "vivid."

Mary Ann Romans writes about everything related to saving money in the Frugal Blog, technology in the Computing Blog, and creating a home in the Home Blog. You can read more of her articles by clicking here.

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Learn more about Mary Ann Romans

Mary Ann Romans is a freelance writer and mother of three children. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, the kids and a 16-pound cat.

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