Are You TV Smart ?

From the early days to the present, TV has undergone a massive amount of change. What should we look for now to find a TV that fits our needs? We once marveled at our ancient black and white work of art, and now, it ‘s a distant memory. Just like the record player or eight track tape, strange indeed to today’s generation,

Today, we have three main choices in technology, LCD, LED, and PLASMA. The differences between them are not as great as they once were. Plasma took a lead in the early days with their large flat screens, while LCD had the market for smaller displays. LED TVs are newer to the industry but, not necessarily a better buy.

Other TVs in the market include the next generation organic light emitting diode, click here (OLED) to read about this awesome TV, laser, digital light projection (DLP), and around the corner, Holographic. We will give you a brief description on this page, of the three main TVs, as these are more prevailing in the market.

We will also provide you here with information about 3D, and Smart Tvs but remember, it’s all about what you are looking for. For further analysis, and comparison between these three main types, please refer to their respectful page.

Plasma

Plasma at work

TVs use three colored fluorescent lights for each pixel, red, blue, and green, to produce a picture. Through the use of ions and gas, the pixels will light up to the appropriate color(s), and intensity, to achieve it’s goal, giving the viewer a wider spectrum of color.

Plasma TVs can replicate dark areas by turning off each individual pixel, and as a result of this, have a good contrast ratio. We could go on to speak of electrons, negative, positive, and neutral charges but, I would run the risk of boring you.

The bottom line is, Plasma TVs are better suited for larger screens, at least in the upper 40″ TVs and above. Today, they make a great TV contrary to what most people think but, other variables come into play, such as energy efficiency, connections, Hertz, etc…, and you can find these on this page under, “Tips For Buying”.

 LCD

Crystal structure in a liquid

Liquid crystal display (LCD), is a remarkable technology that is very intriguing. It is fascinating that you can get crystal like molecular structure in a liquid.

This has been around for a long time and it is the basic unit that replaced those old, very large, cathode ray tube (CRT) model TVs. They use cold cathode fluorescent light (CCFL) as a backlight.

If you picture in your mind a thin strips of neon lights in a row, behind the scenes doing the work. Up front, we have LCD shutters opening and closing, allowing the necessary amount of light through. Each shutter also has filters to allow the needed color only to reach you the viewer.

Some of the problems with LCD is, heat generated, not too efficient with a small amount of the light being produced reaching you the viewer, and because you can’t turn off the backlights (CCFL), it’s much harder to get good contrast or better said, dark pixels.

Today, they have achieve great strides, and due to energy ratings, and improved performance, have climb the charts to produce a quality TV. LCD comes in all sizes and are the number one selling TV due to low cost of manufacturing. Again I will say, it all depends on what you are looking for in a TV, and what are your personal factors.

LED

Green Led "Light Emitting Diode"

Light emitting diode (LED) is one of the latest designs, and please listen close, there is no such thing as LED only TV. It is really a LCD TV with a different backlight system. Instead of the backlight being produced by CCFL, as in a normal LCD, it is produced by light emitting diodes.

We have all heard of LED light bulbs that are very energy efficient. This same technology is being used in LED TVs and have other advantages. Though they are efficient, they can also turn off individual pixels of light to produce better contrast, and they don’t generate as much heat.

There is a second type that has no backlight. It has three LED colors for each pixel and still has a LCD front. These are distributed along the edge and disperse the light across the TV. Unlike the above LED that is sometimes referred to as “Full LED”, edge LED can not dim individual lights thus, can only dim all or none. This type is hard to get those dark pixels to produce excellent contrast.

All of the above TVs have advantages, and disadvantages but, all produce an excellent picture for the cost associated with each. Most people can’t tell much difference between them, and that’s because the technology today is a far cry from where we use to be.

The old saying, “you get what you pay for”, still holds true in today’s society. An example would be, the latest phone with all the latest technology. It doesn’t necessarily make your phone any better, it is simply a new version or method.

Tips For Buying

All three of the above types, Plasma, LCD, and LED, have 3D, and Smart TV models. It is for you to decide which is best for you. 3D sets are just what the name implies but, can require 3D glasses that are passive or active. There are also models with no 3D glasses that are available.

With passive glasses, these are just like you would find in a 3D cinema, and not too expensive. Active glasses use a shutter to give you the 3D experience and cost considerably more. On an average, they cost about $100.00, and 3D TVs with active glasses, only come with about one or two pair. If you have a large audience, you will need to consider the cost of the extra sets you will need.

You will need to consider the fact that your 3D TV is not as large as a cinema screen and can greatly reduce the viewing experience. Everyone in the room will not have the same viewing angle, and this will also limit the experience. The newer models have a viewing adjustment to offset this to a certain degree. You will still have your peripheral vision to contend with, unlike a cinema theater, where most of your vision is taken by a large screen.

Also with 3D, you will need to keep in mind that an estimated 5% of people can be adversely affected, especially after long exposure to 3D content. On the other hand, this is a technology here to stay for awhile, and can be very enjoyable. More content is coming out all the time, and 3D TVs will be at the very least, in a third of all homes in the U.S. very soon.

Smart TV is a set that can hook up directly to the internet, and with an onscreen interface, will offer you streaming content such as, Netflix, Pandora, various news, info, and games. There are hundreds, if not thousands of streams to choose from, some of which require a subscription to be purchased.There are models that allow you to surf the web, as you would on your personal computer, and another source of streaming content, is that of Google TV.

You can get stand alone units such as Roku, and Apple also has it’s own version, all of the stand alone units only require a standard TV and not a Smart TV. Both Smart TV and stand alone units, require a fast internet connection to reduce buffering, and make streaming more enjoyable.

There are also subscriptions such as Amazon Instant Video, and Netflix, providing movies and the like, feeding content through an internet connection. With Amazon you can even download the content to view at your leisure.

Nearly all of the newer TVs come with 1080p HD, as this is standard resolution. All three TV models discussed on this page, Plasma, LCD, and LED, are fairly comparable in the energy efficient category. New standards in 2012 will have TVs at an energy rating of 5, that is 65% better than an energy rating of 3.

It is for you to decide how to utilize your TV, and that is obviously, your first step in purchasing a new TV. Consider the size of the TV, where it will be placed, maybe in the kitchen, den, or a guest bedroom, allow this to determine the quality of TV in need.Maybe you’re concerned about the price. If so, go with a cheaper model as these will still be a good investment, keeping in mind all that you have learned.

If you need a large TV in the range of 50″ or greater, try to get one with 120Hz, or even 240Hz refresh rate, as this will enhance fast motion scenes, and will help to refresh pixels at a faster rate. The standard is 60Hz in the United States, and increasing refresh rate will up the price.Make sure you want and need, 3D and/or Smart TV. If you don’t, then this will reduce the price greatly in most cases.


I hope we have helped you to make an informed decision about your next TV purchase. We try to keep the technical data out, and give you an easy to understand review good for the masses. If we have helped you, then please help us with Google through your favorite social media link below, and/or recommend this site to all.

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