While there are many components that make up the average home theater system most people often overlook the importance of their televisions to the overall video and movie watching experience. As with all things in life, bigger, when it comes to televisions for your home theater, is not always better. There are many things that must be considered when selecting the best possible television for your home theater and size is only one of many.

Mass retailers show televisions in a manner that suits their purpose, which is a sale. This doesn’t mean that their methods for displaying their televisions paints those sets in a proper light for your home viewing experience. Not so long ago, a 20-inch viewing window for your television was considered huge. It was a luxury saved for those who were extremely wealthy. The truth of the matter is that if you do not sit a proper distance from your television the quality of the picture will look horrible if your set is too large. [Read more…]

Sorry I just could resist this pic of a home theater television aqarium style. While there are many components that make up the average home theater system most people often overlook the importance of their televisions to the overall video and movie watching experience.

As with all things in life, bigger, when it comes to televisions for your home theater, is not always better. There are many things that must be considered when selecting the best possible television for your home theater and size is only one of many.

Mass retailers show home theater television in a manner that suits their purpose, which is a sale. This doesn’t mean that their methods for displaying their televisions paints those sets in a proper light for your home viewing experience. Not so long ago, a 20-inch viewing window for your television was considered huge. It was a luxury saved for those who were extremely wealthy. The truth of the matter is that if you do not sit a proper distance from your television the quality of the picture will look horrible if your set is too large. [Read more…]

When selecting components for your home theater you will come to a point in time when you must decide on which television types and size of television you will need for the best possible viewing experience. There are many types of televisions on the market today and technology is constantly evolving and emerging in order to bring newer, bigger, and better televisions to a market that one would think is already saturated.

The good news is that the very nature of this market makes yesterdays cutting edge technology today’s bargain of the day. The very brevity of new technology in the electronics industry works in favor of consumers by driving prices down rather quickly. Nothing is entirely out of reach for the average consumer for too terribly long. For this reason you can afford to be fairly selective when choosing components for your home theater. These options just so happens to extend to television types as well.

Television Types Available

There are basically three types of television sets burning up the home theater market today. Those television types include the following: plasma, rear project, or front projection television. Each of these have distinct advantages and disadvantages when it comes to home theater. [Read more…]

The liquid crystal display television is now a very popular product in the global markets. But lay person will find it difficult to understand the significance of many terms or characteristics that are mentioned in the catalogues or advertisements. Very often consumer wonders about the difference between High Definition Television (HDTV) and HD Ready LCD television.

It is to be understood that the high definition television is based on digital mode telecasting system. Due to the digital video compression, HDTV required lesser bandwidth. It will be provided with a high definition timer to make the system capable of receiving HD channels from a hook up antenna. Now a days LCD television sets are featured with HD timer and they can offer enhanced screen rate display.

But there are LCD televisions which usually display only analogue channels. To make such televisions capable of receiving digital telecasts a separate tuner should be provided. Once this special tuner is attached to the analogue unit, it is known as HD ready LCD television, indicating that the set is enabled to receive digital programmes also. To be precise, it can receive both analogue and digital programmes.

HD ready television can have conventional aspect ratio of 4:3 or the widescreen format of 16:9 ratio. There will be NTSC tuner also in the system which enables it to receive analogue signals. More and more areas and countries are changing over to digital mode of telecasting in the world, but there are places where analogue is still in vogue.

Consumers who live in regions where both types of telecasts are available can opt for HD Ready television to watch both types of programmes. The HD ready TV will have the advantage of having capability to process high definition signals at 720p, 1080i and 1080p in digital mode. Such LCD televisions will have a minimum native resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels.

The HD ready LCD television is now a much sought after product in the market. It can yield clear, sharp or crisp display. At times it may become necessary to up grade the existing television to make it compatible with high definition telecasts. Apart from the minimum native resolution, an HD ready television should also have analogue HD input, accepted video format without distortion and digital HDMI or DVI input. The consumer should make sure that television is having HD Ready logo while shopping for one. All leading players in the global television market have introduced their products with variety of features. LG, Panasonic, Samsung, Sony and Philips are among such leading manufacturers. Prices vary according to size and other features incorporated in them.

As in the case of all consumer electronics, television market is now very vibrant notwithstanding the global economic slowdown. There are special websites which deal with LCD television of all models, types and makes. Consumers should visit the relevant websites to locate a favourite product within the budget but with all desired features. Plethora of publicity materials and catalogues may at times confuse the shoppers. But there are reliable dealers who offer constructive suggestions in the matter of choosing a television. Make use of price comparison sites to strike bargains.

Checkout latest LCD television offers, compare prices and read unbiased reviews on 3D Televisions, Daewoo, Hannspree, Matsui lcd televisions at LCD TV reviews website.

Among the flat screen television models, Plasma is considered to be the best option by the consuming public. Gaining public confidence and acceptance is not a simple exercise for a widely consuming product in an atmosphere charged with intense competition. But plasma television could achieve the same, despite initial setbacks. In the early stages of its introduction this product faced stiff consumer resistance due to some inherent deficiencies.

This is a very common phenomenon in the case of all products and services that are offered for public consumption. Till 1990 plasma television models had serious problems regarding its durability. It was widely perceived that this television has shorter lifespan than other categories. Burn-in was the culprit that caused the problem. Screen burn-in is an inherent defect found in the plasma television which made negative impacts on the longevity of the product. [Read more…]

Have you heard of Crutchfield? This is a mostly online company that is great for giving opinions and also selling products for sound and video of all kinds. Actually I went through these guys when I decided to buy a camcorder years back and they were great. Here is what Crutchfield has to say about optimum viewing distance for an HDTV.

We calculated the viewing ranges in the chart below by multiplying the screen size (measured diagonally) by 1-1/2 and 2-1/2.

Recommended viewing distances for high-definition TVs. We suggest a range because the ideal distance will depend on several factors, including signal quality. [Read more…]

Over the past years it was common to think How to choose a 1080P HDTV only worked the best on the smaller sized TV’s.

But with the advancement of technology in HDTV 1080p Flat Panel Televisions, they are becoming more and more amazing to watch as the screen pictures are crisper and cleaner even with all the larger size Flat Panels.

So, How to choose a 1080P HDTV?

Pixels play the major role in the newer quality screen shots as it helps focus light into a mirror which is called fluorescent back light. It also helps to match the right color tones which adds to the sharper and more realistic, true-to-life images. [Read more…]

Many people are wondering what the next technology will be in home theater TVs as now we are at the point that Plasma TVs and LCD televisions are both popular and dropping in price. There are many kinds of technologies on the horizon that will be dropping into Best Buy in the next few years.

OLED
OLED is the acronym for organic light-emitting diode. The technology was originally developed years ago by Eastman Kodak and is used for both light sources and television. Sony is one of several companies hoping to bring this technology to market. Images are produced via the electro-phosphorescent properties of certain organic materials. No back light is required in an OLED television. In addition to television, OLED may be used on small screens such as on cell phones, MP3 players, and digital cameras.

An OLED television (active matrix) will use less power than the average LCD television. They offer a superior range of color and brightness as well as a wider viewing angle. These televisions are lighter weight, thinner, and yet more durable. The most significant drawback to an OLED television in this early phase is their lifetime. The longevity of some of the LEDs (the blue component) is only 3,000 to 5,000 hours at this time. Once manufacturing technology advances are made, it is anticipated that OLED televisions will have a much more competitive lifespan.

SED
SED is a surface conduction electron-emitter display, a technology reportedly being pursued primarily by Toshiba and Canon. SED uses an electron emitter for each subpixel to light up the phosphors in the display and operates similarly to a CRT display. Unlike a CRT television however, SED provides a much thinner and flatter screen.

An SED television is said to have a long working life, with only a 10% reduction in emitters after 60,000 hours. They use significantly less power than traditional LCD and plasma screens and possess excellent contrast ratio and brightness. Unlike LCD, an SED television does not experience lag (blurring during fast action scenes) and provides a 180 degree viewing angle. Like early plasma sets however, an SED television may be at risk for burn in.

Laser based Television
Mitsubishi may be unveiling its new laser based HDTV models by the end of the year.

The television is a slimmed down rear projection model that will reportedly rival the space saving design of plasma and LCD screens. Said to be only 10” deep they should not be too imposing in any room. It is also anticipated that they will be lighter in weight, due in part to their lightweight plastic screen versus traditional glass.

According to the manufacturer, other attractive features include improvements in picture quality. These sets are said to offer better color content and blacker blacks than current technologies. In addition, this new laser based television reportedly consumes significantly less power and is expected to be priced well below that of similarly sized plasma or LCD screens.

FED
Another potential leader for the future is FED (field emission display). Sony is currently behind the FED push.

FED television is said to operate more like a CRT set but offers the flatter, thinner display like LCD and plasma. They use a more efficient emitter (carbon nanotubes) and can therefore create a higher resolution picture than an LCD, use significantly less power than a plasma, and display fast motion without blurring.

The good news of course is that the evolution of television technologies should present some options that offer outstanding viewing and yet are affordable for the average consumer. Only time will tell which technologies will actually reach the market and whether or not actual performance will match current expectations.

The author, Christine Peppler invites readers to discover more information about any type of television by visiting homemedias.info, her online home electronics store.