The Advantages LCD High Definition Televisions

The most sold HDTVs on the market are currently LCD HDTV televisions. The acronym LCD stands for Liquid Crystal Display. The ever increasing popularity of this television sets is mostly attributed to the fact that they normally have a lower price tag than Plasma sets of the same size on smaller models. They have some advantages over Plasma other than a lower price on smaller sets. Usually these sets are thinner, requiring less room space and their lighter weigh allows for wall mounting to be easy and safe. They are less fragile than Plasmas and they consume significantly less power than other types of HDTV televisions in the market. Plus, LCD HDTVs are easier to set up. As opposed to other technologies their screen is not made of thick glass permitting better viewing under heavy lighted conditions. This avoids too much reflections on the screen, maintaining a clean glare free image.

Usually images on set equipped with this technology are super sharp and very bright if operated in their native resolution. They perform best in moderately to very lighted rooms and they do not suffer from burn in like older Plasma HDTVs and CRTs. One problem that this technology faced was that it was very difficult for manufacturers to create really big screen. This has lead to the phenomenon that smaller LCD HDTVs are cheaper than a Plasma equipped one of the same size, but in bigger models LCDs become very expensive way more than a big Plasma of a similar size.

They are a very good investment if a good model is bought. It is a reliable technology that gives ages of service while retaining most of the original sharpness and clarity. Some newer models even have replaceable back lights expanding their lifetime for many more years than the best Plasma or CRT would live. We can think of them as the ultimate budget friendly high definition TV set if we take in consideration power consumption, price and maintenance.

Disadvantages of LCD Screens Compared to Other Technologies

As with all HDTV technologies these television sets have some disadvantages in some areas.

Normally, they have a native resolution and a fixed aspect ratio. A native resolution is the resolution in which it performs best. As a rule of thumb, the more the operating resolution is far from the native resolution that was stated by the manufacturer, the more unwanted imperfections are introduced to the image. This is not really a big problem, normally consumers just leave their set in the native resolution and forget about the rest.

They have a smaller viewing angle. At extreme viewing angles the image can look extremely dark, extremely bright of may even look like colors are missing in the image. In order to view the best possible image sitting directly in front of the television set is advised.

Low quality sets from unknown brands have slow refresh rates. This leads to what is known as ghosting on fast changing images.

Older models have problems displaying true blacks. This problem is caused by the back lighted nature of the screens but it has improved a lot to a point that the the best hd lcd television models can easily rival Plasma  HDTV televisions.

The performance of these television sets is very dependent of the model in question. Some models can give performances that can get close to those of some plasma televisions. Some of the best brands are Sony, Samsung and Sharp.

How can I get the best performance out of an LCD Screen?

To get the best out of your LCD HDTV Televisions it is necessary to have some light in the room, avoid pitch black rooms if possible, one or two night lights can help and they won’t raise your electricity bill to much. This helps get around the problem of dark grays instead of blacks. Avoid extreme angles, it is best to be sitting in front of the TV set and that the height of the lowest area of the screen is about the same as that of the chair, sofa or whatever furniture you and other people on the room will be sitting. Try to view at resolutions that match the native resolutions specified by the manufacturer even if it is not the highest one that the set can display.