Types of HDTV Sets

When looking at HDTV sets, there are three main details to consider: the technology that powers the television, the screen type (regular, 4:3 or widescreen, 16:9), and whether the set includes a HDTV tuner or requires a separate unit. First, let's take a look at the technologies currently available, and your options for each.

The most common type of HDTVs today are still direct view (standard cathode ray tube (CRT)- just like most 'regular' TVs), and traditional rear-projection (traditionally what we have called 'big screen'). Both have advantages and disadvantages, but in all likelihood their days are numbered as we moved towards newer technologies that pack additional features, potential cost savings, and brighter, clearer picture quality. Direct view TVs suffer in their costs to manufacture and limitations on size (the largest direct view HDTVs are 36 inches). Traditional Rear projection suffers from convergence issues, screen burn in, and difficulty of viewing in a bright lit room or from an angle.

Newer technologies include Plasma TVs, LCD (liquid crystal displays - like most laptop computer screens), and LCoS (Liquid Crystal on Silicon) and DLP (Digital Light Processor) rear-projection units. Again, each has it's advantages and disadvantages, but in all cases, these newer technologies generally produce picture quality at least equal to the older technologies, and in many cases considerably better. In the case of Plasma TVs and LCD TVs, these technologies also provide the advantage of a compact form, and in many cases are only a few inches thick, with weights that are a fraction of the older technologies, and the new rear-projection technologies. Be sure to take a look at the advantages and disadvantages of Plasma TVs compared to other HDTV types.

The next main consideration when buying a HDTV is whether you want a widescreen TV or a standard size. Widescreen HDTVs offer a 16:9 ratio display, whereas standard HDTVs are 4:3 (basically square). Widescreen is similar to the formats used in movie theaters, DVDs and is also the standard HDTV signal format. This is the recommended format, and the direction TVs are heading (many manufacturers are already planning to drop the old standard, 4:3 format TVs, and only produce widescreen TVs). Note that LCD and Plasma TVs are sold exclusively in widescreen formats.

A final consideration is whether the set includes an integrated HDTV tuner (also called a receiver), or if it requires a standalone unit to perform this function. Most HDTVs are sold without a built in tuner, and there are several advantages to this. First, it helps manufacturers keep prices down, as they obviously do not need to build in the components of the HDTV tuner, and it allows them to keep their HDTV sets more compact. Second, since tuner technology will surely change over the years (as improvements in digital signal processing occur), this protects your HDTV set investment since you can always upgrade the tuner separately as needed. A third, very important reason, is that most cable and satellite providers that offer HDTV programming provide this tuner as part of their subscription package -in many cases eliminating this cost for you.

Armed with this basic knowledge you are now ready to learn the basics of Plasma TVs and how they work.

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