Buying Guide to Flat Panel Televisions

Plasma versus LCD: Which is the better bet?

Plasma TVs hold tiny cells of noble gases between two glass screens. When charged, these gases form plasma, emitting ultraviolet light, and excite phosphors to emanate visible light. Like computer monitors, Plasma TVs have an external digital TV tuner for receiving broadcast signals. They display true lifelike colours, deeper blacks and brighter whites. However, Plasma TVs produce heat and are thus energy-inefficient. Plasma screens are prone to ‘burn in”, which means that when the TV is on for longer hours, static images such logos, game icons etc, freeze onto the screen leaving a ghost-like shadow or a watermark due to premature aging of pixels.

Liquid Crystal Display Television or LCD TVs have low reflective screens and offer vivid images. These are great for viewing in brightly lit rooms. Compared to a Plasma TV of the same screen size, LCD TV are lighter and energy-efficient and display higher resolution images without any “burn in” issues. Some LCD TVs feature built-in ATSC and NTSC tuners while some also feature a QAM tuner to receive unscrambled HD cable programming without a cable box.

Listed here are some other important features that need to be understood.

Screen Sizes: A vast range of screen sizes are available in both plasma TVs and LCDs to suit various room sizes. Plasma TV displays start from 37 inches and goes all the way up to 103 inches to give you a movie theatre experience right inside your living room! Thanks to their CCFL technology, LCD screens are available starting from 10 inches onwards to an astounding 70 inches! Laptop screens and desktop LCD monitors use the same LCD technology. With a built-in TV tuner cards and supported programming capabilities, these smaller screens can also be used to watch TV programs. LED TVs are part of the same family, but with a Light Emitting Diode for backlighting. This enables higher contrasts resulting in sharper display.

Take into consideration your room size and the available viewing distance before you decide on the screen size. The viewing distance and the image quality are two essential aspects of the screen size equation. Watching your TV from the right distance optimizes the viewing experience and eliminates visual distortion. Sitting too far may make you miss the finer details that these TVs offer while at a closer distance you may see dot-like pixels.

Some recommended optimal viewing distances for FPTVs:

26” FPTV - 3.25 to 5.5 feet,

32” FPTV, -- 4 to 6.66 feet

 42” flat panel TV - 5.25 to 10.5 feet

50” to 70” inch - 7.5 to 16 feet

Viewing Angle: Depending upon the model and size, Plasma TVs have a near perfect 180 degree viewing angle while the minimum viewing angle for a LCD TV is 120 to 178 degrees. This enables you to watch the TV comfortably from anywhere in the room, as you would if seated in front of the screen.

Native pixel resolution: The number of pixels per square inch determines the screen’s resolution. Pixels are very tiny coloured dots that combine to display an image on the screen. Higher the pixels, higher the resolution and what you see is a smooth and seamless high quality image.

Enhanced Definition (EDTV) or High Definition (HDTV) are two variants of FPTVs. EDTV is capable of a 704x480 (widescreen) or 640x480 (4:3 aspect) pixel resolution that is represented as 480p. As 480i it is known as standard resolution which is used by DVD players and some digital broadcasts.

HDTV is represented in two formats - 1280x720 and 1920x1080. 1080 is the maximum resolution that a FPTV can currently produce. It is represented by the vertical number as 720p and 1080p and 1080i. Here "p” stands for progressive scan and "i” for interlaced. Resolution measurements indicate the number of pixels present per square inch horizontally and vertically.

In the interlaced format the FPTV projects every alternate lines of the image and is hence incapable of reading progressive scan DVDs. HDTVs with 1080i and 1080p are compatible with high definition DVD players and Blu-Ray DVD players.

HDTV with 720p resolution reads standard and progressive scan DVDs and displays it in the correct sequence to gives an enhanced display. This is the minimum display one should opt for when buying a FPTV.

Some models are marked as “HDTV ready”, which means that although the TV has HDTV capabilities, it will not broadcast high definition signals unless attached to a similar high definition tuner.

Contrast Ratio: The ratio between the darkest and the brightest parts of an image as produced by a television is referred to as its contrast ratio. Static and Dynamic are two types of Contrast ratios and are expressed as 2000:1, for instance where the larger number represents the brightness. Static contrast ratio measures the blackest black and brightest white in a static shot or within the same scene at the same time. Dynamic Full On/off contrast ratio, uses a built-in processor to analyze the brightness levels in the picture and adjusts the back lighting to enhance the black levels.

A higher contrast ratio indicates the TV’s capability for a sharper display. Dark images on a TV with a low contrast ratio appear gray and insipid while bright images look washed out. A good static contrast ratio starts at 1,000:1and goes all the way to 5000:1. !800:1 is a high static contrast ratio. 10,000:1 is an average dynamic ratio. Plasma TVs have a higher contrast ratio than LCDs and produce better blacks. Finally trust your eyes and select one that pleases you.

Aspect Ratio: 4:3 or 16:9 –Units of horizontal measurement of your TV display in proportion to its vertical measurement is known as its aspect ratio. Conventional TVs and widescreen HDTVs come with an aspect ratio of 4:3 and 16:9 respectively. A widescreen HDTVs combined with a surround sound audio gives you a cinema hall experience right at home. To view the same image size of a normal TV onto a widescreen TV, without any cropping, squeezing, stretching or distortion, the height of the widescreen TV has to be the same. To avoid this, the TV automatically adjusts the display without compromising on the image. However, widescreen TVs still continue to stretch images meant for conventional TVs.

Screen Refresh Rate: This indicates how often the moving image displayed on TV is reconstructed within the span of a second. A higher refresh rate, translates into a smoother image with reduced flicker. Refresh rates are measured in Hertz “Hz”. A refresh rate of 60 Hz for instance, indicates that the TV can reconstruct the image on the screen 60 times in a second, resulting in smooth and better looking images.

Motion Response Time: This indicates how fast a TVs displays high definition images in a smooth seamless manner without any motion judder. A faster response time ensures that you don’t miss out on a single motion or action sequence. A motion response time of 8 millisecond or 4ms is considered to be fantastic, particularly for watching fast action movies or playing action sports.

Media Connectivity: For setting up a home theatre, your FPTV needs to be able to connect with external media including a DVD or Blu-ray DVD player, audio systems, a digital A/V receiver and others.

HDMI connector: An important connector, this connector transfers digital A/V signals to the FPTV to give a Full HD resolution of up to 1080p. If your digital A/V receiver offers HDMI switching, then you can make do without any HDMI inputs on your TV. Nonetheless, it helps to have at least one HDMI input on your TV to connect your HD devices like HD DVD player, Blu-Ray players, set-top box, game consoles and your upscaling standard DVD players. The newer models of these media come with one HDMI out that helps connect them to your HDTV to get HD sound and images.

DVI Connectors: These are used to connect older versions of HD devices to the TV. It may not play copy-protected programs though.

Component Video connector: This analogue connector is used with an old-style DVD player without an HDMI. In this manner, a progressive scan DVD player with no HDMI out can transfer progressive signals to a television.

The S-video and composite connector are other connectors that connect a camcorder or a standard DVD player to your TV to view your home-made videos.

For audio, a TV should have analogue stereo audio inputs and digital audio outs along with optical and coaxial digital audio jacks to be used with set-top boxes, DVD players and receivers.

Other features to look for:

Surround sound: This is a must-have for the home theatre ambience. TVs now feature a pair of stereo speakers, a subwoofer and SS decoders.

Picture-in-Picture or PIP: allows you to watch another program simultaneously in a small window and you require two tuners to avail of this feature.

Combo Television: These include VCRs and DVD players either or both in a single box and relieve you from having too many dangling wires.

V-chip feature allows parents to lock some channels that are unsuitable for viewing by kids.

Memory stick readers let you attach your digital camera to display pictures on the TV screen.

A USB connector lets you view stored pictures from your PC or laptop.

Universal remotes eliminate other multiple remotes and control all your multimedia from one single device.

Warranties: This includes a basic manufacturer’s warranty, alongwith which the dealer offers extended warranties by paying a small amount, so that you don’t have to pay heavily for repairs and services after the initial warranty period expires.

Summary:

It is evident that selecting a flat panel TV that is just right for you is not easy given the abundance of choices in the market. This guide will help you to narrow down your choices letting you make a well-informed and intelligent purchase.