LCD Or Plasma For Your New Flat Screen TV?
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It seems that everyone either has or wants to get the latest Flat Screen TV for their home. Of the many and varied types of Flat Screen TV available (and there are) which one do you purchase? Of the many choices it really boils down to two really, Plasma or Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) for your Flat Screen TV?
From its origins as a humble �electromechanical information system� and early Cathode Ray delivery systems to the broadcast medium we know it to be nowadays, television has travelled along way to get to the multi dimensional full colour Liquid Crystal Display sets /Flat Screen TV of today. Perhaps it is a rather sad indictment on our times to find that when asked about essential items, quite a few people will list their TV set.
So how many people now actually understand in some detail exactly how televisions work and what they actually have to achieve to deliver this magic image that we see on the screen? The term television may refer at one point specifically to a television set yet also at the same time be used as a term to refer to the medium of television broadcasting itself.
Like most forays into a technical arena nowadays it is very easy to get confused by the wide range of technical phrases and terminology in use within the industry today.
Rather than continue with a basic history of the industry, it might be best to stop and take a look at the latest developments within the industry mainly that of digital television, what digital television actually means, its formats, bandwidth and the technical terminology and jargon used today.
How would we define exactly what Digital TV is?
Well the short answer is that phraseology is mixed here and quite often people get confused, LCD, TFT and Plasma are all terms that get bandied around yet they don�t all mean the same thing.
The two main types of Flat Screen TV or screens available today are either Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) or Plasma.One of the major differences between the two technologies probably lies in the fact that with LCD TV�s because the main technology used is TFT (Thin Film Transistor) by and large the screens are able to be much more energy efficient and potentially much smaller and more mobile.
Digital television is much more flexible and efficient than conventional analogue television and digital signals provide a much clearer picture, much better sound quality and a far greater choice and availability of programming.
So in basic terms, how does a Digital TV differ from a more conventional one? Let us use one of the newer LCD TV�s available to help us as we detail what exactly this all means.
The LCD TV that we shall use for our illustrative purposes here is the B&O Beovision 8.
Now the key items of information that we need to be familiar with are as follows.
Firstly we have to understand the phrase Screen Resolution and all of that implies. In this case it refers to the number of distinct pixels in each dimension that can be displayed.
Whether the TV is Hi-Definition Ready would be the next thing to look at. By Hi Definition Ready we mean that is the TV is ready and suitable to take advantage of the latest Hi Definition TV pictures that more and more programmes are being broadcast in.
The next item that we would need to look at is what types of connectors are used between the peripherals used alongside the main Digital TV?
We are referring here to the exact nature and number of the Scarts Sockets and Plugs in use. SCART stands for �Syndicat francais des Constructeurs d�Appareils Radio et Television (SCART).
The final item we would look at would be what is the nature and number of the High-Definition Multimedia Interfaces (HDMI) being used. Here High Definition Multimedia Interfaces (HDMI) refers to the audio/video connector interface that transmits the uncompressed digital streams of information between two or more digital components such as a HD DVD Disc player, a Blu-ray Disc player, a Personal Computer or Video Console.
The Beovision 8 is a 26in LCD TV and the prices for these are around 1800 pounds sterling or 2900 US dollars. The screen resolution is 1366 X 768 and with regards to being HD Ready the answer is yes. The Beovision has 2 (2 RGB) scarts and the type and number of Multimedia interfaces the Beovision 8 uses is HDMI and 1. The type of Tuner for this TV is Analogue and the Beovision is available from specialised outlets only.
So how would we rate the B&O Beovision 8?
The most obvious place to start with as far as TV's are concerned would be the picture quality and our score here would be 8, and closely tied in to the picture quality is the sound quality and our score for this would be 8. Another useful aspect to review is the availability and number of relevant connections and our score here would be 6. As far as overall features are concerned we would give it 6 and the final individual verdicts would relate to the ease of use and overall value for money and our scores here would be, 4 and 6 respectively.
Finally our overall opinion would be this is definitely one to consider if you don't mind paying a huge premium for the appearance and looks
Remember that all the prices we use in these reviews are very much designed for illustration purposes only and in some cases you may well find the actual price cheaper but also in some cases, more expensive.
About the Author
Scott James writes quite regularly on the Internet about TV and Home Entertainment issues and more on the above can be found at sony flat screen tv and also at http://bestflatscreentv.biz </p>
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