by Derek Draven

Created on: November 19, 2008   Last Updated: March 17, 2009

Just as computer processor power is constantly growing at a geometric rate, so too are today's home electronics. When the home consumer decides to abandon their traditional TV in favor of a beautiful new HD display, the choices can be quite staggering. The good news is that TV buying is a lot easier than it was a mere 2 or 3 years ago, if one takes the time to investigate some crucial issues regarding today's TVs. But is it really that simple? Let's find out.

The two main types of HDTVs are LCD and Plasma. There are benefits and drawbacks to both formats. LCD TVs were notorious for "ghosting," a term used to describe the lag between the technology of the TV to the actual screen. Ghosting has almost been eliminated in today's newest TV sets, with shortened response times of around 8 ms. Nevertheless, it is always wise to research the TV in question to make sure the response time is no greater than 8-12 ms. LCD technology is also much more versatile and consumer friendly, and a cheaper alternative to Plasma displays. LCD monitors are even capable of handling a hookup to any PC or laptop via an HDMI or DVI cable which comes standard on most of today's newest PC hardware. Since there is little difference between LCD TVs and computer monitors, the LCD TV can effectively act as a big-screen PC monitor. One will need an HDMI or DVI cable to properly take advantage of this benefit, however.

Plasma TVs utilize vastly different technology compared to LCD TVs. The advantages to this form of technology over LCD reside mostly in the presentation of colors and contrast ratio, both of which are important. Color display on Plasma TVs is generally much more vibrant and saturated for improved image quality. Similarly, Plasma TVs have a higher contrast ratio than LCD TVs. This mainly effects how deep and realistic the blacks are when translated on screen. LCD TVs cannot achieve true, deep black color, and can sometimes be tinged with a dark green that makes the black color appear unrealistic. Plasma TVs achieve better picture quality, but at a much higher cost. This has continuously been the main source of conflict for the potential buyer unsure of which avenue to tread.

One of the potential problems for Plasma displays is "burn-in," a term used to describe the burning of a still picture into the actual screen. This can be caused from any static display, such as a video game kept on pause for too long, or a media information bar on a channel like CNN that stays fixed in the same

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