by Jeff Mclaughlin

Created on: January 29, 2007   Last Updated: May 12, 2007

Buying a television these days is much more complicated than it has been in many years. Quite frankly, if you do not get some form of education on the topic it can be overwhelming. There are four important factors to consider when searching for a flat panel television. The first is the whether to go plasma or liquid crystal. The other factors are resolution (720p, 1080i, 1080p), screen size and price.

Plasma vs. LCD
Consumers can easily be confused when deciding between plasma and liquid crystal display (LCD) and rightfully so. While there are differences between these two types, if you were to walk into any national or regional retailer of flat panel televisions it would be very tough to tell which TV is plasma and which is LCD from a distance. Both have contrast ratios that will satisfy anyone except for the strictest of tech geeks. The main thing when considering plasma or LCD is the front pane and its relationship to reflecting or absorbing light. Plasmas use glass which reflects light and can cause a glare on the screen if there is sunlight or a bright lamp or light fixture near the screen. LCDs use plastic and absorb light, so the there is no problem with glare. Plasma is said to have the brightest and truest color in a complete dark room, and that coupled with its slightly lower cost usually gives it the edge with consumers when lighting and glare is not an issue.

Resolution 720p, 1080i, 1080p
The biggest stumbling block for most consumers is resolution. What is it and why is it so important? 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 available. The only problem

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>