LCD Televisions

LCD televisions are currently one of the hottest consumer electronics products around. That's because flat-panel screens are becoming more and more affordable as the prices of both LCD and plasma televisions fall, and the maximum size of LCD screens becomes larger.

LCD vs Plasma

Reasons to buy an LCD TV:

LCD TV's are available in smaller sizes than plasma (less than 32"), so are ideal for bedrooms or smaller rooms.
LCD TV's are becoming more affordable than plasma at increasingly larger screen sizes.
LCD TV's are more compact and lighter, and so are easier to handle and to transport than plasmas.
LCD TV's don't suffer from "burn-in", which can be a problem with plasmas. Newer plasma screens incorporate technology to combat burn-in.
LCD TV's have a slightly wider viewing angle (170° vs 160°).
Plasma TV's may not operate correctly at high altitudes, although this is unlikely to be a problem for most people!
LCD TV's have lower power consumption than plasmas and do not generate as much heat.

Reasons to buy a plasma TV:

Currently plasma TV's are available in larger sizes than LCD TV's (up to 60" or even more). LCD televisions are being released in larger sizes all the time - up to 46" or more.
Plasma TV's have higher refresh rates than LCD TV's and so are less prone to "ghosting" (blurred or jerky movements), but the latest LCD TV's don't really have this problem.
Plasma TV's provide better colour saturation than LCD TV's.

Developments in the technology of both LCD and plasma screens are narrowing the differences between LCD and plasma, and LCD is becoming the better option for all but the very largest of screens. As a rough rule, LCD is now the best technology for screens of up to 42" or smaller and plasma is preferred for the very largest screens (50" or more).

HDTV

Not all flat-panel televisions are HDTV (High Definition TV) compatible. HDTV-compatible displays have a higher resolution than normal televisions, which means that you will get a better quality picture, if the picture source can supply it. In order to view HD signals you will need a TV that carries the "HDTV Ready" logo, in order to connect to a HD source such as Sky HD.

HDTV can be a confusing concept. The first thing to realise is that not all High Definition TV's have the same screen resolution. To qualify as HDTV, a TV must have at least 720 pixels in the vertical direction, but may have as many as 1080 pixels (standard definition PAL TV's have 576 vertical lines). At the time of writing (February 2007), most TV's available in the shops don't support the full 1080 pixel resolution, and so HDTV signals are downgraded to a lower resolution. However, even this isn't as simple as it might sound.

Broadcast HDTV (e.g. Sky HD) uses the 1080i standard. This means that signals are broadcast with a vertical screen resolution of 1080 pixels, but the i means that they are "interlaced". Interlaced signals transmit the picture in pixels from top to bottom, but only for every second line - they then go back to the top of the screen and repeat the process, filling in the missing lines. In contrast, "progressive scan" signals (denoted 720p or 1080p) transmit the picture in a logical line-by-line fashion. All digital TV's are inherently progressive scan displays and so a process of "de-interlacing" is required to convert 1080i signals into images that the TV can display. The effect of de-interlacing is to reduce the effective resolution of the image, and so in practice a broadcast HDTV signal will display pretty much the same on a TV supporting the 720 standard as one supporting the 1080 standard!

The obvious question then, is why spend more on a TV that supports 1080 pixels (known as "Full HD"? The answer is that high definition DVD's (HD DVD or Blu-Ray) use the full 1080p standard, and so, if you want to enjoy the new generation of high definition DVD's, you will want a TV that can display them in their native format, i.e. a Full HD TV showing 1080x1920 pixels.

Connections

First, let's be clear about one thing. Connections are not just a subject of interest to technology geeks! If you want to ensure that your new LCD TV is futureproof, then pay close attention to connections.

If you are spending a lot of money on a high quality screen, it is worth making sure that you are using the highest quality inputs. Inputs may come from a variety of sources - a TV aerial, a digital set-top box (e.g. Sky), a HD set-top- box (e.g. Sky HD), a DVD player, a video recorder, a games console, a computer or a digital camera or camcorder. It is well worth choosing a TV that has more inputs than you think you will need, because technology is moving forward very rapidly. A TV with a variety of input types offers the most flexibility for connecting different kinds of devices.

The standard for connecting HD Ready devices is called HDMI. A HDMI cable carries the HD video signal in its native format, and also carries full 5.1 digital surround sound. You will need a HDMI cable to connect your TV to: a HD set-top box (e.g. Sky HD), a high definition DVD player (HD DVD or Blu-Ray) and possibly other devices such as a PlayStation 3, high definition camcorder, etc. If your TV has only one HDMI connection, then you won't be able to do this! You'll have to make use of one of the secondary connections, e.g. component video, S-video, SCART, etc which are all analogue low-definition connections. This means that you'll have spent your hard-earned money on a HD Ready TV but won't be able to view high definition all the time. So, before buying it's vital to anticipate how many high definition devices you'll want to connect to it (now and in the future) and choose a TV with an adequate number of HDMI connections. How many is up to you - but it will almost certainly be more than one.

The quality of input connections makes a huge difference to the TV image. In order of quality, input connections are usually of the following types:

HDMI is the standard for HDTV and offers the best possible picture quality.
Component video (RGB) or DVI digital inputs offer the best quality for non-HDTV compatible devices.
S-video inputs offer a high quality, not far behind component video.
SCART sockets are better than basic AV cables, but not as good as S-video.
AV cables offer the lowest quality inputs and are not recommended for use with a flat panel TV.

Other than the above, read what other consumers have to say via our reviews, and if you purchase an LCD TV please leave a review for others to read!