Flat Screen TV, LCD and Plasma Displays - Background Information

People are quite often of the opinion that Plasma Displays are very much the latest in a series of technologies in use within the Flat Screen TV industry of today whereas in fact it is one of the oldest of the technologies available

To bring it down to its most simplistic form plasma display works effectively by housing many thousands of tiny cells located between two panels of glass which are held in a mixture of inert gasses usually Neon or Xenon.

Again to be simplistic about it effectively what happens is that the gas in the cells is electronically turned into plasma which then triggers off a reaction with the gas and causes phosphors to emit light therefore depending on the temperature of the gasses and the electrical current depends which colours the phosphors turn into.

Now this is admittedly a gross over simplification of how Plasma Technology works and may cause the palpitations and increased heart rate if possibly every “techno geek” known to man but in its very essence this is what it does.

With regards to the actual technology itself Plasma technology is probably one of the older forms of technology used for televisions and flat screen TVs in particular since it's been around since 1964 when it was first “conceived” for want of a better description at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champagne.

Plasma Display screen sizes can of course vary like most technologies but it is interesting to note that from an initial start where the sizes were little more than 21 inches Plasma technology displays have now grown rapidly to become the largest and widest of all screens by and large available at the present time.

LCD TV’s have certainly closed the technological gap that had hitherto existed between the two technologies and all of the previously strong areas that Plasma had dominated over the years are no longer really applicable at the present stage in time.

Nowadays you'll find that the low electrical power consumption of LCD TV’s the lower actual weight and falling prices have actually made LCD TV’s much more competitive with regards to Plasma Screens.

From 2006 onwards industry analysts noted that effectively LCD TV’s were overtaking plasma displays particularly in the large a 40inch plus market where basically plasma previously enjoyed a massive dominance since the inception of technology. One of the other areas of consolidation within the Industry has seen the Plasma manufacturing base very much consolidate with now over 50 brands being manufactured by only 5 companies – this of course has led to economies of scale hitherto imagined where the technology of more and more screens can be shared and further help cut the overall cost base.

{Historically the superior brightness of Plasma Flat Screen TV Technology made it a favourite amongst TV designers for the faith rendition it gave the picture quality however this is now starting to be matched with the latest and better quality LCD TV’s appearing into the marketplace.|Over the years it has been felt that some of the technological aspects of Plasma technology leant it self more to the higher end of screen performances such as greater brightness control, screen resolution etc) however this is now changing. Whereas LCD was very much seen as a cross between the poorer relation and junior technology of the two, now things have changed and LCD is seen as being very much the technology of the future.

Tags to follow: Flat Screen TV, LCD Flat Screen TV, Flat Screen TV's, Flat Screen LCD TV

Choose a quality TV from either of these two offerings from Humax and Toshiba

Flat Screen TV’s are the latest must have fashion accessory for the home. Taking price and money out of the equation which type of Flat Screen TV do you purchase?

Of the many choices it really boils down to two really, Plasma or Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) for your Flat Screen TV?

How would you define Digital TV and at the same time a Flat Screen TV? Quite often confusion reigns here as to what exactly we are talking about and the use of terms can be misleading such as TFT, LCD and Plasma etc, all used and are similar but not the same.

The two main types of Flat Screen TV or screens available today are either Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) or Plasma. The main difference between the two (apart from base technologies) are that with LCD TV’s the main technology used is TFT (Thin Film Transistor) which means that by and large you can make the screens smaller and more energy efficient.

So lets get down to basics and start looking at individual TV’s.

The first LCD TV that we recommend that you take a look at here is the Toshiba 37WLT66

The 37WLT66 is a 32in LCD TV and these TV's at present can be found in the region of 1200 pounds sterling or 2400 US dollars. The screen resolution is 1366 X 768 and with regards to being HD ready the answer is yes. The Toshiba has 2 (1 RGB) scarts and and the type and number of multimedia interfaces the the Toshiba 37WLT66 uses are HDMI and 2. The type of tuner for this TV is Analogue and Digital and the 37WLT66 is available from a wide variety of outlets.

So given this information, what would be our view of the 37WLT66?

Well it is a TV after all and as such the logical place to start would be the picture and our score here would be 10 out of 10 as the other half of the "Sound and Vision" double act our opinion of the sound quality would be 8 out of 10 With regards to the availability and number of relevant connections, our score would be 8 out of 10 If we take a look at the overall "featureability" our score would be 10 out of 10 and for ease of use and overall value for money we would give the 8 and 10 out of 10 respectively.

Taking verything into consideration our overall view of the package would be the picture quality of this TV is extremely high (as you would expect being the sister TV to the 37WL66) and the Digital Tuner provides really clear pictures for those who don't believe in any form of Cable or Satellite subscriptions. It has to be said that overall this is an extremely good TV.

The next LCD TV that we recommend that you take a look at here is the Humax LP32-TDR1

The LP32-TDR1 is a 32in LCD TV and the prices for these are around 800 pounds sterling or 1600 US dollars. The screen resolution is 1366 X 768 and with regards to being HD ready the answer is yes. The Humax has 2 (2 RGB) scarts and and the type and number of multimedia interfaces the the Humax LP32-TDR1 uses are HDMI and1. The type of tuner for this TV is Analogue and Digital and the LP32-TDR1 is available from a wide variety of outlets.

So what would we think is a fair assessment of the LP32-TDR1?

The most obvious place to start with as far as TV's are concerned would be the picture quality and our score here would be 8 out of 10 as the other half of the "Sound and Vision" double act our opinion of the sound quality would be 6 out of 10 Taking a look at the number of relevant connections and their availability, our score would be 8 out of 10 If we take a look at the overall "featureability" our score would be 10 out of 10 and the final individual verdicts would relate to the ease of use and overall value for money and our scores here would be 8 and 10 out of 10 respectively.

Having taken all things into consideration our overall opinion would be as follows the idea behind the concept of combining a TV and a HDD player is absolutely brilliant and one that more should follow. Definitely one to recommend to your friends.

It is essential to remember that the prices we use in these reviews are guides and are taken as an average across the industry and it is entirely conceivable and possible to find an occasion when you could be met with prices that are cheaper but also on occasions more expensive.

How Green is Your TV? Environmental Credentials of Flat Screen TV’s

We all know (or so we are told) that we live in more and more environmentally friendly times yet our standards of living continue to rise and we seem to be able to spend more and more each day on disposable items or electrical goods.

During 2006 apparently Britons were buying a Flat Screen TV virtually very 15 seconds and so given the fact that one of the latest “hot” items to own nowadays would appear to be the Flat Screen TV, just how environmentally friendly are we becoming, truly?

Well the story isn’t necessarily as bad as one would immediately think because you have to remember that we are thinking about the big picture here (if you will pardon the pun) and that as well as the actual potential damage to the environment that the disposal of conventional TV brings about we have to consider as part of the global equation, the actual cost of manufacture to the environment. These huge items have to be manufactured somewhere and those factories by and large will have an impact upon wherever they are located and at what cost?

There will be a following series of articles discussing the cost and impact of the factories themselves (you will be pleasantly surprised at this, I know I was) and also an attempt to look at the so called “green” credentials of all of the major manufacturers.

OK you have made the decision that you are actually going to go and buy the TV of your dreams and what do you do next?

Unlike other guides here we believe in giving good old plain common sense and want you to think about the money aspect first.

Now this might sound like heresy and no doubt all advisors will be counselling that you consider Picture sizes, LCD or Plasma, Aspect Ratios, Screen Resolution etc and these are all vital but none of it matters if you haven't got the dough and you get suckered into spending more than you had planned to.

Stop and just consider this for a moment.

You are about to spend more money in one go on what is arguably an unsecured asset than you would spend on anything else in your life (after the House / Flat and Car that is) so make sure you know what you are doing.

Budget and get your financial calculations right and sorted well in advance and don't allow yourself to get "ambushed" without a Plan B.

As they say make the wrong decision too soon and it could be along time for you to correct your mistakes.

The thing is that without proper planning you could be left regretting the fact that you could have scored big-time with a "sales bargain" for just a few hundred more at this stage in the proceedings or you allowed yourself into being talked into spending way more that you had budgeted for and now you can't afford the electricity bills to power it!

The single most important part of the proceedings is plan and get it right now or live to regret at leisure!

So let's get started with looking around at what is on offer at the moment and let's start with the Goodmans GTV27W3LCD

The GTV27W3LCD is a 27in LCD TV and currently these TV's can be found for 350 pounds sterling or 700 US dollars. The resolution of the screen is 1260 X 720 and with regards to being HD Ready the answer is no. The Goodmans has 2 (2 RGB) scarts and the type and number of Multimedia interfaces the GTV27W3LCD uses is HDMI and no connections are available. The type of Tuner for this TV is Analogue and the Goodmans is available from limited outlets only.

So how would we rate the Goodmans GTV27W3LCD?

Well to start with our score for the picture quality is 6, and for the sound quality we would rate it at 6. Taking a look at the number of relevant connections and their availability, our score would be 4. If we take a look at the overall "feature ability" our score would be 4 if we then take a look at the ease of use and overall value for money then our scores would be, 8 and 8 respectively.

Taking everything into consideration our overall view of the package would be that this TV is well away from the latest models in terms of bleeding edge technology and performance but the overall package including the price makes this not a bad deal.

With regards to the prices in this article we have tried in all cases to take an average across the industry from a number of well known web sites and so we ask you to bear this in mind and treat these prices as advisory only rather than absolutes.

Flat Screen TV's - Turkeys are not confined to Christmas or Thanksgiving!

Flat Screen TV's (LCD TV's, Plasmas - insert where applicable) away! So let's get started with looking around at what TV's are on offer at the moment and continuing the trend of giving you independent advice (not always what you want to hear but never mind) in this article we are going to take a look at what you should NOT spend your money on despite the best intentions of the sales guys!

We've highlighted three particular Flat Screen TV's that you should steer clear of if you are looking for a decent TV and they are as follows.

The first one we recommend you steer clear of is the Evesham V32EMRO.

The V32EMRO is a 32in LCD TV and currently these TV's can be found for 600 pounds sterling or 1200 US dollars. The resolution of the screen is 1366 X 768 and with regards to being HD Ready the answer is yes. The Evesham has 2 (no RGB) scarts and the type and number of Multimedia interfaces the V32EMRO uses is HDMI and 1. The type of Tuner for this TV is Analogue and the Evesham is available from limited outlets only.

All these points being taken into consideration, how would we view the Evesham V32EMRO?

First up, we would look at the picture quality and our score here would be 4, and for the sound quality we would rate it at 4. Another useful aspect to review is the availability and number of relevant connections and our score here would be 4. As far as overall features are concerned we would give it 4 and the final individual verdicts would relate to the ease of use and overall value for money and our scores here would be, 8 and 4 respectively.

Finally our overall opinion would be to be honest there is not a lot to be positive and enthusing about this TV even allowing for the fact that it is relatively cheap. That factor allowing, it still doesn't represent good value for money (in our opinion) so thumbs down I'm afraid. The real fact is that Evesham actually have other sets that are infinitely superior to this one and this does let the side down I'm afraid.

Next up we think that you should avoid the Funai T27004.

The T27004 is a 27in LCD TV and the prices for these are around 700 pounds sterling or 1400 US dollars. The resolution of the screen is 1280 X 720 and with regards to being HD Ready the answer is yes. The Funai has 2 (2 RGB) scarts and the type and number of Multimedia interfaces the T27004 uses is DVI and 1. The type of Tuner for this TV is Analogue and the Funai is available from limited outlets only.

All these points being taken into consideration, how would we view the Funai T27004?

First up, we would look at the picture quality and our score here would be 4, and for the sound quality we would rate it at 4. Another useful aspect to review is the availability and number of relevant connections and our score here would be 6. With regards to the overall level of features, our view would be 4 and for ease of use and overall value for money we would give it, 8 and 4 respectively.

Taking everything into consideration our overall view of the package would be for the asking price of this TV, the picture quality is very poor and therefore our verdict has got to be thumbs down for this offering so go and part with your hard earned cash elsewhere!

Lastly we think that you should give a miss to the Sanyo CE-32LD6.

The CE-32LD6 is a 32in LCD TV and these TV's at present can be found in the region of 790 pounds sterling or 1580 US dollars. The screen resolution is 1366 X 768 and with regards to being HD Ready the answer is yes. The Sanyo has 3 (2 RGB) scarts and the type and number of Multimedia interfaces the CE-32LD6 uses are HDMI and 1. The type of Tuner for this TV is Analogue and the Sanyo is available from limited outlets only.

So how would we rate the Sanyo CE-32LD6?

Well to start with our score for the picture quality is 6, and closely tied in to the picture quality is the sound quality and our score for this would be 4. Taking a look at the number of relevant connections and their availability, our score would be 8. If we take a look at the overall "featureability" our score would be 6 if we then take a look at the ease of use and overall value for money then our scores would be, 8 and 4 respectively.

Taking everything into consideration our overall view of the package would be there is not much to recommend this I'm afraid despite however hard we tried. To be honest this TV gives the impression that all Sanyo were really trying to do was find some use for excess spare parts. Very much a case of "what do we do with these electronic bits - Oh I know lets build a TV and see how much we can offload."

So as you can see life is not all a barrel of laughs as most sales people will try and sell you but if you look carefully you will find that there are lots of bargains to be had - you just need to know where to look, or of course you could keep coming back here for advice.

Tags to follow: Flat Screen HD TV, Flat Screen TV Wallmount, Install Flat Screen TV, Flat Screen Digital TV's