There are several types of big screen televisions which can be purchased. How do you determine which is best for you. In this article we will take a look at the several types of televisions and have the pros and cons of each.
Are you in the market for a brand new big screen TV? If so, you may be confused by all the choices and terminology that surrounds the modern big screen TV. Basically you have four types of big screen TVs. They are the plasma, LCD, CRT, and rear projection. To further help you determine which type of TV to purchase, you need to look at your budget and see how much TV you can afford. Prices for big screen TVs range from $500 to $3000. This price range includes TVs that are at least 27 inches. Of course the different price range for each type of big screen TV is different.
Flat panel plasma TVs has thousands of illuminated fluorescent lights that form an image. Plasma TV’s are more like monitors which needs an external TV tuner to display broadcast signals. Plasma displays are digital and they have higher resolutions than CRTs. Here are some of the pros and cons to owning a flat panel plasma TV:
Pros
Large Screen Size
Slim Profile
They can be wall mounted, ceiling mounted, or placed on a stand.
Cons
Very Expensive
Very susceptible to burn-in (damage done to a TV screen as a result of the long display of a static image).
You can only expect about a year and a half of serious use before apparent loss in picture quality.
They have a poor black level (ability to render the color black, which affects picture detail).
The flat panel LCD TV is basically a larger version of a laptop computer screen. As plasma TVs requires an external TV tuner, so do flat panel LCD TVs. LCD’s are almost an inch thinner than plasma but is limited to a size of 40 inches. Here are some of the pros and cons of owning a flat panel LCD TV:
Pros
Slim Profile
Retail Price is falling
Cons
Limited screen size.
Poor black level.
Rear Projection CRT’s are great if you want a screen size of 40 inches or more. The idea behind Rear Projection CRT’s is to combine both a projector and screen into one box. The projector casts the image on the rear of the screen. You see the image when you look at the screen head-on. These TV’s use three cathode ray tubes to shoot red, green and blue onto the projector screen. The pros and cons to owning a Rear Projection CRT are as follows: