If you are a TV lover and have spent any time at all walking past the displays of big screen TV’s in your local stores, I can fully understand what happens — your remote control finger starts to twitch, your rear end starts to long for that comfortable spot in your favorite recliner, and you have a sudden urge to take your shoes off. At least that’s what happens to me. I admit it, I am a TV junkie. Not that I spend a lot of time in front of the TV but when I am there, I require quality, and the more quality in video and audio, the happier I am.
But with the
...to upgrade further to a plasma or LCD screen. Both have very thin designs and can be mounted almost anywhere, but they can be expensive. If your busget allows for thwem why not get the best picture quality possible? If ...
Regular tube TV: Yes, depending on your budget, this needs to be mentioned as a viable option, although unless you’ve been living in a cave for the
...market. As technology improved, prices decreased, and more people could enjoy progressive scan video in their home theaters. Fast forward 15 years or so. Now you can get a DVD player with Faroudja progressive scan technology on a chip for ...
...video projection, film projectors have a niche market of buyers. Film projector rental demand comes from residences, film festivals and university and school campuses. Film projectors come with different widths such as 8mm, 16mm and 35mm. The type of projector ...
Now on to the big stuff. But first, since I already mentioned it, a word about HDTV. HDTV is great, providing an incredible picture quality, provided of course that you have the screen that can display that quality. With HDTV, without getting all techie about it, the digital signal contains much more information, and the picture is created in PROGRESSIVE mode rather than INTERLACED mode, meaning that the ENTIRE picture is refreshed with every scan instead of just every other line as is done with interlaced.
I would also recommend a unit with the wide aspect ratio, like 16:9 or sometimes 16:10. This is the ratio of width versus height of
...it well. That can certainly be the case with modern TV monitors. The old analog TV sets of yesteryear did not have to have a very advanced monitor because the TV signal was only so good anyway, So CRT monitors ...
Another word of warning: there are big screen units that cannot do HDTV but they can do EDTV. Be aware that these are not the same. In fact, with the next step (SDTV) right around the corner, I don’t see a long lifespan for EDTV. EDTV provides better quality than standard analog TV, but not as sharp and crisp as HDTV.
The
...enough information to reaaly make use of them. But HDTV has changed the whole TV viewing horizon, and there is no better time to make the switch from analog to HDTV. Here are five reasons why a HDTV DLP should ...
Plasma TV
Advantages: long life (30,000 to 40,000 hours from brand names, significantly less with noname brands), very bright - up to 4-5 times a standard TV, viewing angle is huge - you can be 75-80 degrees off center and still see a clear picture, instant-on feature - there is virtually no warm-up time required, small footprint - since these units are very thin and could even be wall-mounted.
Disadvantages: possible burn-in or “image retention” if the same image is left displayed on the screen for an extended period of time (although when used as a TV this is probably not a concern), can be very pricey at the largest sizes
...television broadcasting. If you haven't heard much yet about DLP TVs, you will soon. But here are some of the advantages to their design: 1. They are great in brightly lit rooms. Because they use a reflective technology to produce ...
LCD TV
Advantages: Great brightness levels, also very thin and could be mounted on the wall, long life (about 40,000 hours on brand names, substantially less on noname brands), viewing angle is about 45 to 50 degrees from straight on.
Disadvantages: Ghosting - where there may be “artifacts” left on the display during a fast-action movie scene because the LCD cannot keep up with it that
...pass across the screen, it lights up phosphor dots on the inside of the glass tube, thereby illuminating the active portions of the screen. By drawing many such lines from the top to the bottom of the screen, it creates ...
DLP Rear Projection
Advantages: Low purchase cost although this is typically offset by higher operating costs. At the sizes above 42 inches, the DLP big screen is approximately the same price as plasma.
Disadvantages: high operational cost (the single bulb in the projector can cost upwards of $300 to replace), large footprint - you will need to allocate about 15-18 inches from the wall to accommodate the unit, not wall-mountable, poor viewing angle - not much more than 20-25 degrees from straight on, gradually decreasing bulb brightness over time which means your picture is not as sharp
...can appear confusing to someone who is trying to decide on which of these is best. Here is a quick look at what goes behind each of these technologies to bring those fantastically real images to the viewer: Plasma Television: ...
Understanding the various display technologies available should help you, but keep in mind that this is not the whole story. Also know that as technology advances, prices will continue to fall and there may be more options in the future. There are many other factors to be considered which are discussed at my web sites below. But at least now you have a good feel for the type of technology that will work with both your desires and your budget.
Jon Arnold is an author and computer engineer who maintains various web sites to provide tips and information on a variety of topics. More info on this topic can be found at his
...a traditional tube TV. Assuming you have the power to get the TV into place, all you have to do is put the TV on a stand or in the entertainment center, connect the antenna or the cable TV signal ...