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TV Buying Guide

The Difference Between LCD and Plasma Tvs

Over the past decade the two most common types of televisions purchased have been LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) and Plasma televisions.   Plasma televisions have two thin panels of glass with a matrix of pixels sandwiched between the panels, which contain compressed gas in tiny pockets. When an electrical charge is applied to a pixel, the gas reacts to produce plasma, which then produces light, and an image on the screen.

The main benefits of plasma technology is that it is able to produce higher contrast ratios, and is very good for watching fast moving images, such as sport, or fast paced movies.

The technology behind LCD TVs is slightly different in that they have two polarizing transparent panels, with a liquid crystal solution layered between them. When a light is shined at a perpendicular angle, the crystals act as shutters, either blocking or allowing the light to pass through, this then forms an image on the screen.

The benefits of an LCD television is that it has a relatively slim line profile, at around a few inches thick, have a wide viewing angle, i.e. you can see a clear sharp picture at various angles around the room, are more energy efficient than plasmas, and due to their slim line profile and weight, they are easier to mount on the wall.

For detailed information on a particular plasma or LCD TV, please see the retailers site.

LED TVs

Light Emitting Diode (LED) technology has been around for some time, however using LEDs for illuminating tv screens is relatively new development of the technology.  Fluorescent lamps are used in standard LCDs, which are relatively bulky, which increases the depth of the TV.  However by using hundreds of tiny LEDs to illuminate the screen, the depth is greatly reduced, and this results in an ultra thin television.  Therefore it is likely that LEDs will eventually overtake LCDs at the most popular illumination technology as manufacturers and consumers take advantage of the benefits that the technology offers.

High Definition TVs

High definition televisions, commonly known as HDTVs or high def TVs, can have up to 5 times as many pixels as a traditional TV.  The increased number of pixels creates a much sharper picture quality, which gives the higher definition look to the images on the screen.

You may have noticed that many TVs are advertised as ‘HD Ready’.  LCDs and Plasmas are sold as HD Ready, which means the TV is able to produce high definition images, however a high definition feed is required, such as a digital satellite service, console, or Blu-ray player, is still required to produce HD images. Without this, an HD Ready TV will only display standard images.

Screen sizes on televisions are measured diagonally across the screen.  The screen size that you decide to purchase should be determined by the viewing distance to the television.

See below for a general rule of thumb to determine the screen size.

6 to 8 feet away: 17 to 26 inches

8 to 10 feet away: 28 to 36 inches

10 to 12 feet away: 36 to 42 inches

12 feet plus: 42 to 50+ inches

There are also other factors to take into account to find the best TV, such as whether the television will be mounted to the wall, or on a TV stand, and the overall size of the room.

3D TV

Currently there are a couple of differing technologies used for producing the 3D TV effect of depth on TV’s or at the cinema.  The first method involves the viewer wearing glasses with lenses that control which eye sees which part of the image.  The two most popular methods for this are shutter glasses and polarized lenses.

Shutter glasses utilises a technology where the user wears powered glasses with an LCD screen that opens and closes extremely quickly and blocks the image from alternate eyes, creating the 3D effect.  With polarized lenses the images are displayed to the viewer and each lens blocks out one of the images to provide the depth effect.

At this point in its development the key issue for 3D TV is consumers’ unwillingness to wear the glasses.  One solution to this is autosteroscopic technology, where the picture is displayed in columns that are alternatively angled to the right or left eye to create the 3D effect.  However for the time being this technology is limited to small screens as there are viewer distance limitations for the technology to work effectively.

3DTV is expected to explode over the next few years with units of 3D TVs sold increasing from 5,000 a year currently, to 40,000 in 2014, so its clearly a trend that TV manufacturers are looking to take advantage of. 

Video Explaining How 3D TV Works

Surround Sound

If you are spending the money to get a new HD or 3D TV, its definitely worth also getting a home cinema system, to get the full impact of image and sound together.  When looking at surround sound, you ma have heard about 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound.  5.1 surround sound requires 6 speakers, 2 for the rear of the room, 2 for the sides, and one at the front, as well as a sub woofer to provide the bass.  7.1 surround sound gives the full 360 degree surround sound experience, as it adds a further 2 speakers to get the full sound immersion effect.