Your HDTV experience hinges, for a large part, on the type of HDTV monitor that you buy. Different monitors offer different picture quality.
Instructions
1. Understand flat panel TV. They are available as flat panel plasma and flat panel LCD. Plasma TV is extremely thin at around 3 inches and provides an incredible image quality. It is susceptible to burn-in problems in the first 100 hours of viewing, which can be avoided by keeping the contrast lower than 50 percent. New models even have features, which help avoid burn-ins. A plasma TV's lifespan can stretch up 60,000 hours of clear viewing, which is long considering normal TV viewing habits. On the other hand, LCDs offer great variety in screen sizes, ranging up to 65 inches in diagonal size. Though the picture quality is inferior to plasma, newer advances have improved it to a great extent. Besides, when viewed from the sides, the picture quality suffers. The prices of both plasma TV and LCD have come down in recent times making them affordable, without a reduction in the quality.
2. Understand direct view TV or tube TV, as it is commonly known. The most popular among all the HDTVs, it stretches up to 36 inches diagonally. Though inexpensive, it has disadvantages like its bulk and weight. They are good to view from any angle but the picture loses sharpness with high-definition feed. Its make also causes straight lines to bend on the screen. With innovations, Direct view TV sets now appear in flat screens and are even compatible with high-definition feed.
3. Acquaint yourself with rear-projection TVs. A lesser expensive TV than plasma TVs, it runs on two different technologies - CRT tubes and micro displays using DLP, LCD or LCoS technology.
4. Understand CRT TV. Though inexpensive, they don't deliver the same amount of brightness as micro displays. Not only do they require regular maintenance in terms of convergence adjustments for sharpness but also require careful setup.
5. Understand microdisplays. They are advanced TV sets, which run on microchips containing thousands of pixels. All microdisplay sets contain a lamp that relays light to the screen through or off the microchips. These lamps need to be replaced every 3000 to 10000 hours depending upon your usage habits. They are easy to replace and do not require an expert. They are best suited for Digital feed rather than an analog feed. DLP chips, made by Texas Instruments, are the most popular amongst the three chips. There is a wide range of DLP chips, all varied in their price and picture quality. Some DLP chips cause what is called the Rainbow effect - passing streaks of colour on the TV sets. It also at times leads to appearance of grainy pixels but future versions of DLP TV promise to circumvent these drawbacks and deliver a better viewing experience. LCD is less popular than the other microdisplays. Though it gives freedom from the rainbow effect, it is not as bright as LCoS or DLP TVs. It also has a lower black level and is prone to the screen door effect - appearance of faint grid lines on the screen - when seen from a close distance. White uniformity is another issue with LCD sets. It causes discolored patches on the screen at times. LCoS TV sets deliver good image quality due to deep blacks and outstanding pixel fill. Like LCD, it stays clear of the rainbow effect, further making for a pleasant viewing experience. But like LCD, it also has white uniformity issues.
6. Familiarize yourself with front-projection TVs. They are very different from the conventional TV sets. It is a display projector, which is not ideal for everyday viewing. It offers a brilliant image quality but require a great deal of light control. They are available as DLP projectors or LCD Projectors. While DLP scores on brightness, uniformity and blacks, LCD scores on the number of features. DLP suffers from the rainbow effect and is relatively expensive while LCD has some screen door effects and is not as bright as DLP sets.
Tags: picture quality, flat panel, image quality, rainbow effect, from rainbow