The phenomenal explosion of liquid crystal display, or LCD, televisions over the past few years is a testament to the device’s popularity among the buying consumer public. In the search for higher-quality pictures and sound, flat screen TVs in general have taken the market by storm, relegating old cathode ray tube televisions to the dust bin. This is a good thing; LCD TVs, plasma TVs, and the more recent LED TVs all have advantages over old school CRT televisions. For one thing, they use much less energy. For another, they offer higher quality picture and audio resolution. Finally, they are easy to repair and easy to replace.
LCD TVs are by far the most popular version of flat screen televisions to use. For this reason, choosing the brand name, size, and model of LCD TV has become the subject of numerous guides and comparisons of various features. Every brand of LCD TV comes with a specific set of perks meant to attract a certain market of customers. Choosing an LCD TV becomes easy once the customer understands how they work.
How It Works
An LCD TV displays pictures by means of liquid crystal display, or LCD, technology. LCD technology works by controlling the amount of light passing through an LCD screen. The liquid crystals themselves are between two plates of polarized glass, making it easy to adjust the light passing through the screen. The crystals are manipulated by means of an electric current that runs through the entire LCD set. Depending on how strong the current is, the screen is either lighter or darker. Color is generated by means of this mechanism; the LCD screen acts as one giant prism, enabling the full spectrum of color to be generated at will by the television’s computer system.
The Advantages
LCD TV is much easier to watch, for two reasons: the displayed picture can be seen easily in all levels of light, whether bright or ambient, and the viewing angle is much wider, over one hundred and sixty degrees. This means the screen can be viewed from any point eighty degrees in both directions from the center of the display. The display is also very smooth, with little to no blemishes, hitches or interruptions in the broadcast.
How to Choose A TV
Choosing an LCD TV involves following some simple steps and knowing what the customer wants.
1) The first step is to measure the space where the TV is intended to go. This will yield the maximum size of the television that can fit into its planned space.
2) Since LCD televisions come with a number of features, investigate them all before even looking at televisions. If high-definition television is desired, make sure that the LCD TV is capable of displaying HDTV. Most LCD TVs are capable of doing so, so this should not be a large concern. Another feature to look for is plenty of HDMI cable outlets. These are the physical receptors for quality digital programming, and they carry both digital video and audio. In this same vein, make sure the television has enough outlets for the various devices it will hook into, like cable boxes, video game consoles, etc.
3) Since most LCD TVs do not come with their own speaker set, look around for the best one. There are plenty of speaker systems to choose from, the most popular being surround sound systems.
4) Check the sizes of various models and read reviews online of the different brands. It might be best to go to a physical store and speak with a sales representative about the television, since they will probably know exactly how to address any concerns.
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