Choosing A Flat Screen LCD HDTV

Presented by HDTV Shop

There are four important factors to consider when searching for a flat screen TV HDTV. The first is the whether to go plasma or liquid crystal. The other factors are resolution, screen size and price.

First, let’s talk about the two major types of flat-screen TVs: plasmas and LCDs. Both are much lighter and thinner than that outdated CRT TV you used to watch. In fact, plasmas often look exactly the same as LCD TVs to the untrained eye.

Inside plasmas, tiny fluorescent lights (one red, one white, and one blue for each pixel) are illuminated to provide all the colors displayed in a picture. LCDs, on the other hand, work by filtering and blocking lights streamed through crystals.

Because of this, LCDs have a slight advantage when it comes to image burn-in. It takes a static image longer to leave its permanent mark on an LCD than on a plasma. Manufacturers can pack pixels closer together on an LCD screen too. The result is an often clearer picture. The lack of burn-in and greater pixel density make LCDs a good choice for anyone who plans to connect a laptop or computer for display. LCDs also provide a brighter picture and less reflective glare, making them ideal for brightly lit rooms.

However, plasmas typically provide richer colors thanks to those red, white, and blue phosphors, giving them the advantage in natural and lower lit rooms. Plasmas are also typically better at dealing with contrasts, and that enables them to show better shadow detail.

The biggest stumbling block for most consumers is resolution. Resolution is the number of lines of color in the picture. 1920 lines of resolution is pretty standard for vertical (top to bottom) resolution on televisions, so that is why most televisions are referred to by their horizontal (side to side) resolution. The larger the number of lines of horizontal resolution (420 for standard definition, and 720 or 1080 for high definition) the more precision in the picture’s detail. Like using different paint brushes for different projects, you would not use a roller to paint a portrait. The concept is the same with high definition resolution, more lines of resolution act like a smaller paint brush offering more precision of color and detail. Once that is understood the concept of integrated (i) or progressive (p) scan becomes another stumbling block. Simply stated, at the same number of lines, a progressive scan provides a better picture than an integrated scan. 1080p is the highest quality picture currently

When searching for the perfect flat screen television, work out what size you want and if that size is appropriate for the room it is going in. Big is not necessarily better (remember the underwear analogy). For some rooms a really big television will look odd and if the tv is too small, it will only remind you that you should have got a bigger one. So size is important.

Right now, the plasma market offers TVs as big as 60 inches, and no plasma TV is available smaller than 32 inches. LCD screen sizes range from 13 inches to 46 inches, and because of manufacturing innovations, larger models are becoming available every year.

In choosing the HDTV best suited to you, your decision will be governed by the dominating actor of price. With an impressive range to choose from you will find one that suits your needs but you may have to spend a little more than expected.

You must consider your budget. This may change forcing you to save a little more to enable you to buy the HDTV that meets your needs. Being such an integral part of our lives, I would advise to spend more to fit your personal criteria, rather than regret opting for a lesser model two months down the line.

Read my other article : 40 LCD

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• Flat-Panel HDTV Choices: LCD vs. Plasma HDTV – Part 1 (Picture Quality, Price, and Power Consumption)
• Advantages & Disadvantages of LCD and Plasma

This entry was posted on Monday, June 28th, 2010 at 12:00 am and is filed under Buying Tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.