LCD TVs Buyers Guide

If you don’t have the space for a rather large television set, LCD TV’s may still be for you because most LCD TV’s are 32 inches or smaller and offer a very thin, sleek design. Many can be mounted on the wall, so if space is limited, you still maybe able to fit it into your room. They have a flat panel so they won’t stick out too far from the wall as well. Others are set on display stands, which will require substantial space for the television.

LCD Screen

LCD screens offer better quality viewing than Plasma televisions do. They are much better than the old CRT (cathode ray tube) television screens and most LCD TV’s come in widescreen format except for the portable ones, they come in 4:3 format. The liquid crystal display technology found in computer monitors is used for LCD television screens. This technology creates sharp, bright images that are displayed on the screen. LCD TV pictures are composed of liquid crystal cells suspended between two glass plates. Electrical charges cause the cells to allow light of the red, green and blue wavelengths through.

Resolution is much higher than most widescreen televisions and they have 1,280x768 pixels, meaning that they provide better picture quality. Unlike plasma screens, there is no real deterioration of the image-making pixels over time.

LCD Screen Longevity

LCD screens typically last at least 60,000 hours, which is satisfactory to most buyers. Think of it in these terms. If you left the LCD television on for 24 hours a day, every day, the screen would last approximately seven years. In a more reasonable scenario, let’s say that you left it on for only six hours a day, every day, then the screen would probably last a good twenty-seven years. You would most likely be replacing other components before the screen actually wears out.

Key Features

There are four key features to look for when shopping for a LCD television. Of course size and price need to figure into the equation as well, but they are affordable enough so that you can get these features affordably.

·         Brightness - The higher the brightness ratio the better. Look for 450Cd/m2 (or it may be expressed as "nits") or higher for the best level of brightness. Keep in mind that brightens ratios will vary between manufacturers and models.

·         Contrast – The same applies to contrast. Look for the highest ratio of contrast, at least 400:1 (contrast is always expressed as a ratio). Contrast makes a big difference of how images appear on screen. The contrast measures the difference in brightness between the white and black tones. The higher the contract is, the sharper the image will be.

·         Viewing Angle – Viewing angle is not that important if you plan to view the television sitting directly in front of it. Viewing angle only becomes important if you or your guests need to view it from the side. The wider the viewing angle, the further to the side you can view it. A good viewing angle is at least 140 degrees. Some models list horizontal and vertical viewing angles at 40-50 degrees, while newer models often provide better viewing angles of 170 degrees or more.

·         Response Time – Response time, unlike the other features mentioned here, should be as low as possible, the lower the response time the better. A better explanation is that it is the amount of time it takes for an LCD pixel to change from black to white, and back to black again. Response time is particularly important to view fast-moving images without the blur. Response times of fewer than 20 milliseconds (ms) are best. If the response time is too slow, fast-moving images will appear blurred and be of poor quality.

Aspect Ratio

Aspect ratio refers to the ability to display resolution of either 720P or 1080I as mandated by the US government, as the standard required for HDTV. LCD screens with aspect ratios of 16 x 9 are classified as HDTV ready, this doesn’t apply to 4 x 3’s. A 720P aspect ratio allows the screen to refresh itself more frequently while resolving fewer lines on the screen. It is the best choice for action and sports viewing, much better than an aspect ration of 1080i.

LCD TV’s vs. Plasma TV’s

Here is a small comparison of LCD televisions versus Plasma televisions.

Price

The price of LCD TV’s has been steadily dropping and it is expected that prices will fall even further in the future. As a matter of fact, they are expected to fall to around £380.85 in 2007, or drop almost £57.64 per year.

Currently a decent 20-inch LCD television can cost between £334.77 and £808.15, while a decent 30-ince LCD TV will cost between £692.71 and £1,731.79. The larger the LCD TV, the better the viewing experience and the more features it will have, making a dramatic impact.