HDTV information resource - HD TV plasma television

Consumers are currently able to purchase televisions with 2 distinct screen sizes: 4:3 and widescreen. 4:3 is the most familiar size and represents four inches of width for every three inches of height.

Widescreen options, or 16:9 televisions create a similar experience to watching a movie on a movie screen. Almost all flat panel and rear projection TV's sold today are widescreen, and though the 4:3 screen size is currently the more popular of the two, widescreen is fast becoming the norm.

If you are investing a significant amount of money in your next TV purchase, you will be hard pressed to find anyone who would recommend that you not invest in a TV with the widescreen format. Advantages are numerous and include enhanced viewing of DVD's as well as the available HDTV broadcasts.

Hesitation toward widescreen TV's can often be attributed to the letterbox bars that many believe distort viewing. In fact, all widescreen TV's have ways to adjust the normal 4:3 image by stretching, cropping or zooming in on it. Though this occasionally creates some image distortion, for the most part, it does not play significantly into one's viewing experience.

Making a decision to purchase an HDTV is easy, deciding which type of TV will best suit your needs, provides more of a challenge as there are a few really great options available, each with their own unique set of features and group of fans. In the end, you really should choose whichever HDTV that looks best to your eyes, as you will likely be spending a heck of a lot of time on the couch enjoying your new purchase.

These are the biggest flat screens available and use a layer of gas trapped between two glass screens to create images. They offer up the best image detail of the non CRT technologies but are not known to be especially bright. In the past, plasma's have had some trouble with image burn in issues as well as limited lifetime, however, burn in has been greatly reduced in newer models and product lifetimes significantly extended. The least expensive plasma models offering true HDTV start at around $4000 and can climb up to above $10,000 for larger models.

LCD or liquid crystal displays provide the brightest images and extremely rich and vivid colors. However, black levels aren't typically as dark as those seen on plasma display panels, and they sometimes have trouble rendering details in darker scenes. Additionally, some of the older LCD panels have shown slow response times which might lead to streaking in high-motion video. A good way to test this is to ensure that you view a sports scene or an action scene in a movie.

Relatively low prices are the biggest draw of cathode ray tube Tv's. Many also believe that they have better black level displays than most, have deep saturated color and they can achieve a sharp picture if they are adjusted properly. But being adjusted properly is the key for these sets and it it is no easy feat to maintain the alignment of the red, green and blue levels as well as all of the convergence adjustments required.

Relatively low prices are the biggest draw of cathode ray tube Tv's. Many also believe that they have better black level displays than most, have deep saturated color and they can achieve a sharp picture if they are adjusted properly. But being adjusted properly is the key for these sets and it it is no easy feat to maintain the alignment of the red, green and blue levels as well as all of the convergence adjustments required.

LCOS represents the newest microdisplay technology: Liquid crystal on silicon. This represents a hybrid of traditional LCD technology in which liquid crystals are sandwiched between two glass plates. This new technology makes use of liquid crystals coated on a silicon chip. This allows for cheaper manufacturing and super high resolution images. The danger of a rainbow effect is eliminated as there is no need for a color wheel, and the smaller pixels and between pixel gaps create an extremely smooth picture akin to the vividness of the CRT displays. Several companies have already abandoned attempts to produce these sets as the high density image chips are extremely difficult to manufacture. As a result, these displays are somewhat more limited and more difficult to find than the others.

If size is what your after, its hard to beat the possibilities of front projection TV's. As is the case with their rear projection cousins, front projection DLP's do very well with deep blacks and, unfortunately, also still display some rainbow effects. The cheapest of the DLP front projectors use SVGA resolution chips (800x600) which do not allow for the display of full HGTV. However, only the 1,280x720 versions can display every detail of 720p HDTV, and their 16:9 aspect ratios are tailor-made for home theater.

Again, LCD and DLP are quite comparable in quality and fairly comparable in price as well. LCD front projectors are slightly less money than their DLP equivalent of the same resolution, however, newer, cheaper DLP models are hitting the scene and challenging the LCD's to come up with bigger and better models.