Q. I'm looking to buy a 52 inch LCD TV. What brand is most reliable? Also, what accessories do I need? Some people recommend the UPS instead of the expensive power surge protector.
A. Don't go by a single brand for your decision. You should look at specific models. Every brand makes stronger and weaker models. You want to get a good middle to high end model to best ensure you're getting the best parts.
All of the big name brands are going to be fairly comparable though reliability wise. Look to Panasonic (if you consider Plasma), Samsung, Sony, and LG. I think a set from any of those will serve you well from day of purchase until you're ready to buy again.
You likely want an HDMI cable, or two. Stick with no-name, generic brands. There are loads of consumer reports that have show the generic brands provide 100% equal quality as the big name, expensive options. Look to computer stores or online at like amazon.com, monoprice.com, bluejeanscable.com, etc. for good cheap cables. There's no need to spend more than $15 on a cable unless you're buying something of extreme length.
A UPS is handy to have sure, but we're not talking about needing to save documents here. UPS is good for a computer so the machine doesn't just turn off in a power outage. On your TV you just want to be worried about surge, so a good protector there is good enough really. Unless maybe the electricity in your area is really bad, in which case a UPS that also conditions the electricity might well be worth the investment.
All of the big name brands are going to be fairly comparable though reliability wise. Look to Panasonic (if you consider Plasma), Samsung, Sony, and LG. I think a set from any of those will serve you well from day of purchase until you're ready to buy again.
You likely want an HDMI cable, or two. Stick with no-name, generic brands. There are loads of consumer reports that have show the generic brands provide 100% equal quality as the big name, expensive options. Look to computer stores or online at like amazon.com, monoprice.com, bluejeanscable.com, etc. for good cheap cables. There's no need to spend more than $15 on a cable unless you're buying something of extreme length.
A UPS is handy to have sure, but we're not talking about needing to save documents here. UPS is good for a computer so the machine doesn't just turn off in a power outage. On your TV you just want to be worried about surge, so a good protector there is good enough really. Unless maybe the electricity in your area is really bad, in which case a UPS that also conditions the electricity might well be worth the investment.
HDTV,plasma,LCD differentiate?
Q.
A. plasma and LCD are both HDTV
Plasma: This new technology utilizes a unique display panel that alleviates the need for a cathode ray type picture tube. At the present time this type of TV is somewhat expensive. A major benefit of the plasma display is that it has been sized to accommodate new HDTV 16:9 aspect ratio's and is similar in pixel resolution to a personal computer monitor, thus allowing drastically improved picture clarity.
LCD: Liquid crystal display television is, as indicated by its name, a television using LCD technology (generally TFT), as opposed to cathode ray or plasma for its visual output.
HDTV: Regular NTSC signals have 525 lines of resolution. HDTV has 1125 lines of resolution having over five times the video information than that of a conventional NTSC-type TV set. In spite of its obvious advantages, transmission requires extraordinary bandwidth of five times the capacity of a conventional TV signal. TV receivers are estimated to be 30% more expensive than today's most costly sets.
Plasma technology has certainly achieved quite high contrast ratios, a measure of the blackest black compared to the whitest white. Many plasma display manufacturers boast a contrast ratio of 3000:1 these days though our tests have not proven these numbers out. Panasonic has long been the leader in plasma black levels and we measure contrast of a 42" HD Panasonic plasma at about ANSI 1450:1 - still impressive. Plasma displays achieve such impressive black levels by using internal algorithms to block the power to particular pixels in order to render a pixel "dark" or black. While this can limit a plasma television's gray scaling, it does produce exceptionally black blacks - depending on the manufactured plasma display element (i.e. glass). A plasma TV uses the most power when it is producing full white. As a result, some 2nd tier manufactured brands of plasma TVs have an audible buzz or whining sound when displaying white or very light images.
LCD (liquid crystal diode) displays, by contrast, utilize electric charges to twist and untwist liquid crystals, which causes them to block light and, hence, emit blacks. The higher the voltage passing through the liquid crystals in a given pixel, the more fully those crystals untwist and effectively block light - all of which makes these pixels darker. As opposed to plasma, LCD TVs use the most power when displaying a very dark or black image. This is a difficult process, and despite recent improvements in LCD black levels, only the best LCD televisions (like those produced by Sharp and Sony) have managed to topple the 1000:1 contrast ratio barrier. Recent improvements have brought LCD displays up to the level of plasma. The one continual drawback here for LCD is off axis viewing, when black levels consistently drop.
Plasma: This new technology utilizes a unique display panel that alleviates the need for a cathode ray type picture tube. At the present time this type of TV is somewhat expensive. A major benefit of the plasma display is that it has been sized to accommodate new HDTV 16:9 aspect ratio's and is similar in pixel resolution to a personal computer monitor, thus allowing drastically improved picture clarity.
LCD: Liquid crystal display television is, as indicated by its name, a television using LCD technology (generally TFT), as opposed to cathode ray or plasma for its visual output.
HDTV: Regular NTSC signals have 525 lines of resolution. HDTV has 1125 lines of resolution having over five times the video information than that of a conventional NTSC-type TV set. In spite of its obvious advantages, transmission requires extraordinary bandwidth of five times the capacity of a conventional TV signal. TV receivers are estimated to be 30% more expensive than today's most costly sets.
Plasma technology has certainly achieved quite high contrast ratios, a measure of the blackest black compared to the whitest white. Many plasma display manufacturers boast a contrast ratio of 3000:1 these days though our tests have not proven these numbers out. Panasonic has long been the leader in plasma black levels and we measure contrast of a 42" HD Panasonic plasma at about ANSI 1450:1 - still impressive. Plasma displays achieve such impressive black levels by using internal algorithms to block the power to particular pixels in order to render a pixel "dark" or black. While this can limit a plasma television's gray scaling, it does produce exceptionally black blacks - depending on the manufactured plasma display element (i.e. glass). A plasma TV uses the most power when it is producing full white. As a result, some 2nd tier manufactured brands of plasma TVs have an audible buzz or whining sound when displaying white or very light images.
LCD (liquid crystal diode) displays, by contrast, utilize electric charges to twist and untwist liquid crystals, which causes them to block light and, hence, emit blacks. The higher the voltage passing through the liquid crystals in a given pixel, the more fully those crystals untwist and effectively block light - all of which makes these pixels darker. As opposed to plasma, LCD TVs use the most power when displaying a very dark or black image. This is a difficult process, and despite recent improvements in LCD black levels, only the best LCD televisions (like those produced by Sharp and Sony) have managed to topple the 1000:1 contrast ratio barrier. Recent improvements have brought LCD displays up to the level of plasma. The one continual drawback here for LCD is off axis viewing, when black levels consistently drop.
Powered by Yahoo! Answers
