Flat screen TV

A relatively lightweight and ultra-TV - especially those that can be mounted on the wall. The biggest television technology revolution since color, flat-panel plasma and LCD TVs are well on their way to replacing tubes as the TV technologies of choice. You can hang flat sets on the wall, on the ceiling, or above the mantle in place of a trophy buck--although most people just put 'em on stands . At only a few inches thick, flat screen TVs offer unparalleled flexibility and convenience.The flat screen TV technology currently used plasma or LCD.

Today's technological choices for large (and small) flat screen TV sets include liquid crystal display (LCD) television, plasma TV, rear projection TV, front projection TV, DLP TV, and yes these days even the good old CRT based television screens can be made perfectly flat and fairly large.

Plasma and LCD TVs generally look similar however they use very different technologies. Plasma utilizes a grid of tiny cells of gas plasma that light up and create a picture when charged by precise electrical voltages. LCD (liquid crystal display) screens on the other hand are made of liquid crystals sandwiched between two glass plates and create images by varying the amount of electrical charge applied to the crystals. Both Plasma and LCD offer excellent picture quality.

Almost all plasma and LCD televisions over 32 inches are HD-ready--that is, they can support high-definition programming supplied by an external HD receiver. Many have integrated HD tuners, so there is no need to add an HD set-top box to enjoy the benefits of high-definition content.

Plasma technology has the better picture quality in normal to low room lighting conditions and are better in 4 out of 5 picture quality categories. Plasma technology will almost without exception triumph during night time viewing. LCD televisions are great for sunroom/breakfast room type environments. Also, LCD monitors are generally better for public display such as airport signage and retail store signage due to the bright room light environment.

LCD displays will have a higher resolution per same size comparison than plasma. The lowest resolution of a 40 inch LCD will be 1366 X 768 – easily full HD resolution in 1080i or 720p. A 42 inch HD plasma has a resolution of 1024 X 768. While this is not truly an HDTV resolution, it’s close enough so that it’s difficult to detect the difference. A 50 inch plasma TV will have an HD resolution of 1366 X 768 and now many also have 1920 X 1080, while a 45 inch LCD displays 1920 X 1080 (1080P) resolution.

Those extra pixels and the production process of LCDs cost more money to produce. Expect to pay a third as much more for a similar size LCD than a plasma TV.