LCD HD TV for Newbies—The Glossary

Are you new to the world of LCD HD TVs? Do words like “contrast ratio” and “color resolution” have you in a confused tizzy? If you are planning to buy a LCD HD TV, you should become familiar with the terminology. This way, when you read more about LCD and HD technology, you will understand exactly what you are buying. Then, you are sure to receive the best LCD HD TV for your hard-earned money.

THE TV FORMATS

LCD TVs
A LCD TV consists of primarily two transparent, glass-like materials, which are polarized, and “glued” together. One of the plates is coated with a polymer that holds the individual liquid crystals. Electric current is then passed through individual crystals. This allows the crystals to pass or block light to create images. Unlike plasma TVs, an external light source is needed. LCD TVs tend to be thinner than plasma televisions, and are somewhat limited in size. The largest LCD TV available to consumers is Sharp’s 65-inch Aquos LCD HD TV. The biggest disadvantage is that the majority of LCD HD TV models have poor black reproduction.

Plasma TVs
Plasma TVs heavily rely on the fluorescent light bulb. A plasma flat screen display consists of cells. Inside each cell are two glass panels separated by a narrow gap. These gaps are injected with neon-xenon gas and sealed in plasma form. The gas is electrically charged when the plasma TV set is in use. The gas strikes red, green, and blue phosphors. This is what creates the TV image. Plasma TVs tend to be very expensive and are susceptible to age and burn in.

CRT TVs
The TVs of ole’. These are your standard televisions that contain cathode ray tubes to produce color and images. The good thing about CRT TVs is that they can be viewed from anywhere in the room. However, they are bulky and limited to about a 40-inch screen size. They are quickly being replaced by plasma and LCD TVs.

THE BASICS

HDTV
HDTV stands for “high-definition television.” The word also refers to the broadcasts themselves.

HD-ready
LCD HD-Ready sets have the LCD HD TV receiver built in. These sets can receive and display a digital signal immediatley out of the box.

HD-capable
HD-capable LCD TVs (sometimes referred to as HD-upgradeable) require a external receiver that is usually purchased separately, to broadcast HDTV.

Flat Screen
All modern LCD HD TVs use flat screen technology. A flat screen TV has a screen that is flat instead of curved, like a conventional CRT television. Images on a flat screen have nominal reflection, and do not bend at the sides.

Burn-in
Burn-in occurs when an image is left on the television screen for too long. Once burn-in has taken place, you will always see an outline of the burnt-in image on your TV, no matter what you are watching. Burn-in can occur with plasma and CRT TVs, but not with LCD TVs.

THE FEATURES

Aspect Ratio
Aspect ratio is determined by the width of the image on the screen divided by its height. There are two typical aspect ratios:

-- 4:3— The aspect ratio, 4:3, is the traditional aspect ratio that most conventional televisions use. Most of today’s TV programming is broadcast in 4:3 ratio.

-- 16:9—The aspect ratio, 16:9, is considered wide screen and is a HDTV standard. Wide screen TVs allows the viewer to see a movie the way the director envisioned it. This is how a movie is viewed inside a movie theater, on the big screen. Wide screen televisions are becoming more and more popular. In fact, many stations now broadcast wide screen programming.

Resolution
Resolution is simply the number of pixels or, dots, per square inch used to create an image on a LCD HD TV. The more pixels a LCD HD TV has, the greater the resolution.

Color Resolution
Color resolution is measured in bits. The data width determines the amount of colors that the TV can display. A LCD HD TV with a high bit width can have more colors.

Contrast Ratio
Contrast ration is the ratio between the brightest and darkest area of a moving image. A LCD HD TV that has a larger contrast ratio will be able to display subtle color details with any kind of lighting.

-- Low Contrast ratio: less than 500:1
-- Medium contrast ratio: 500:1 to 1200:1
-- High contrast ratio: greater than a 1200:1 ratio (superior image quality

PIP
PIP stand for “picture-in-picture.” This is a feature on premium LCD HD TV models. With PIP you can watch two shows simultaneous. A small picture for a second program can be displayed in the corner of the screen. A LCD HD TV must have two tuners in order to have PIP capability.

We hope that this list of common LCD HD TV terms will help you better understand LCD technology in general. So, before you purchase your first LCD HD TV, decide which features are important to you and how much you want to spend. Then comparison shop either on the Internet or in person at local retailers. When you know exactly what you are buying, you cannot be suckered into a bum purchase.

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