Why Buy an LCD TV?
If you are looking to buy a high quality flat screen television set there are currently two options available on the market:
Plasma screen TVs and LCD screen TVs. Both have advantages and disadvantages for a prospective buyer.
To start with, LCD screens are backlit and their surface is relatively un-reflective, so they are easier to view in most of the usual viewing situations and give off less unpleasant glare. They also have a wide viewing angle unlike other flat screens; their viewing angle is often quoted at around 175 Degres; which means that you can see the image on the screen from any direction between right in front of the screen and at an angle of 87 Degrees.
LCDs are small and light when compared with other available options, which is of course a major factor in both home entertainment systems and particularly in portable TV sets. Because they don't need the bulky cathode ray tube of traditional TVs, they can be made extremely thin and light, allowing them to be positioned imaginatively, with wall and ceiling mounting becoming possible. They can also be carried around easily. With the decreased weight comes a higher durability and little or no maintenance is ever required for the whole lifetime of LCDs.
Issues of images which have been displayed on the screen for a long time burning in and becoming permanent on plasma or CRT TVs are simply not present with LCDs because of the technology employed. Their power consumption is also significantly lower then plasma TVs which is a big plus for an eco-conscious consumer and directly increases the life of battery powered devices, improving their convenience of use and versatility.
The brightness of all televisions decreases as they age, with current technology this is simply an unavoidable fact. With modern LCD TV, however, you can be sure that the brightness will remain at an excellent level for many years. Indeed manufacturers state that the brightness of LCD screens will not decrease to 50% of its original level until it has been viewed for over 30,000 hours. That corresponds to 32 years of viewing at 3 hours a day.
One of the most important advantages of LCD TVs and something that many consumers are looking for now with the avent of Blu-ray discs and HDTV is their ability to display high definition images. Most large screen LCD televisions are now capable of producing images at HDTV resolution, which pixel count of 720p (HD ready) up to 1080P (full HD). The smaller units frequently offer a resolution at EDTV or extended definition television which is a lower resolution, reflecting the reduced screen size but is still higher resolution that a regular TV.
As LCD televisions continue to evolve, prices will continue to fall. With the recent introduction of LED back lighting, the contrast ration (the difference between the darkest blacks and lightest whites) has improved dramatically as the backlight is now an integral part of the image control and can be varied along with the LCD pixels themselves. This has addressed one of the inherent weaknesses with earlier LCD TVs wherein the contrast rations were inferior to those of equivalent plasma sets. Refresh rates are also increasing, with 100HZ (100 times per second) now commonplace in today's LCD TVs. This minimizes any image blur in fast motion scenes and provides a still crisper picture.
In conclusion, LCD TVs have many advantages over rival technologies. They are the first choice for high quality high defintion LCD TV and the major manufacturers are committed to produce them well into the foreseeable future.