couple things I don't get about HDTVs

[demonikal]

I'd like to get an HDTV, preferably something over 30", but I don't understand some of the details given on the Tigerdirect.com website for all HDTVs. Some have a 16:9 ratio, others a 10000:1 ratio. What do these ratios mean for me?

The other thing I don't get is why an HDTV would have 2 and especially 4 HDMI inputs. Would that be for hooking up 2 to 4 different PCs?? May sound like a dumb question, but I've never had an HDTV before.

Thanks!

P.S. I'm assuming if an HDTV's specs say "5 ms", that means the refresh rate is 5 milliseconds, correct?

 

[Microtomer]

16:9 would be an aspect ratio. The width of the screen by the height of the screen. 16:9 is pretty standard for wide screen (4:3 is full screen, and some tvs have 16:10 also).

10000:1 is probably the contrast ratio. Higher contrast should mean deeper blacks and whiter whites. As long as you are buying a quality tv from a good brand I wouldn't worry about this too much.


As for hdmi ports. They have multiple ones because you may have a tv tuner, a PS3, an XBOX and a PC all plugged into one tv.

 

[diduknowthat]

As Microtomer said, 16:9 is the width to height ratio for the TV. That's pretty much standard. 10000:1 is a contrast ratio. That is, it is also a marketing gimmick. Go to the store in person and pick out the best looking TV.

TVs have multiple HDMI ports so you can hook up multiple devices to it (blu-ray players, game consoles etc etc)

And yes, 5 ms means refresh rate of 5 millieseceonds. You have to be careful to and see if it's black to black or gray to gray. Gray to gray refresh rate is also a marketing gimmick.