You’re going to the store to look at video displays. This is a happy time. Until you encounter a wall of TVs, all showing the same animated movie—and all looking the same. What to do?

The first rule is, don’t enter the store without some test discs you will ask the salesperson to play. Your first disc should be a movie you are very familiar with. Have certain scenes picked out—especially dark scenes and ones showing human flesh tones—and know them well. Leave the animated movies at home. It’s easy to make a TV look good with saturated colors. You want challenging material to help you select the best display for you.

The second disc you should have is a test disc, like the HQV Benchmark, from video processor company Silicon Optix. This disc is an obstacle course of sorts that will reveal a lot about a set’s video-processing abilities, which are important. Another good bet is any THX-certified disc that comes with a THX Optimizer, which can also spot problems.

“Using a test disc is the best way to evaluate a display, because there is no way to know the source or origins of the content that is being presented on the retail floor,” says Patrick Dunn, director of display technology at THX, which certifies audio and video products that meet high performance standards. “The demo content could include artifacts, or the artifacts could be introduced by the playback system. Having your own test disc ensures that you are looking at the same image across a variety of displays.”

Don’t get caught up in the specs like contrast ratio. Some of the most important things to judge are black levels and grayscale, which show how detailed dark scenes can be; and the video processing, which is difficult to qualify without test discs.

Also be aware that in a store, the TV sets are often displayed in “torch mode,” which enhances colors to overcome harsh lighting. Try looking at the set in another mode, like movie or sports. What else should you do? Video display experts from THX, video processing companies Silicon Optix and Anchor Bay, and calibration company ISF (Imaging Science Foundation), offer some great tips that will get you demoing TVs like a pro.

Shopping Tips from the Pros
1. It can be very hard to evaluate a display on the retail floor because you don’t know the origins of the content. However, if you know the source is 1080i (most HD broadcast content is 1080i), you can look for artifacts on the screen. An example of this is pixels that do not line up correctly between frames, causing jagged edges on objects. Also look for image distortion. For example, if you have a 720p display, 1080i content will often present soft or blurred edges around objects on-screen. And some text can be difficult to read, such as sports and news graphics in broadcast programs. - Patrick Dunn, director of display technology, THX

2. Look at standard-definition content with thin near-horizontal lines, like car grilles in auto commercials and weather maps. Also, sports like basketball and tennis are great, as they have lines painted on the court that can cause artifacts in substandard video processors. Large-venue sporting events like football and soccer work well, too. Look at the banner ads and the people in the stands. - Jed Deame, vice president, Video Technology, Silicon Optix

3. Look at color fidelity. Is the grass greener? If it is, it’s wrong. Look at flesh tones. Does he look wrong? Very few TVs show precise colors. Another torture test is to look at motion with sports. Which one has less wiggle? And you must know where your chair is going to be, because if you’re too close, you’re going to see the wiggles. - Joel Silver, founder and president, Imaging Science Foundation

4. One thing to look at is the quality of non-HD content when displayed on a high-resolution, high-definition display—to see if this content is viewable. This will demonstrate the quality of the video processing. - Josh Allen, product marketing manager, Anchor Bay

Got a tip or two of your own? Let’s hear it.