Tantalising TV Tips

The TV is the staple item of any household, completely controlling the way in which we spend our free time. It may seem strange then, considering we all have so much experience with TVs, to be offering tips for them. However, with recent developments in the HD and 3D fields, selecting your TV is no longer a simple case of what screen size and colour you want.

TVs currently have much more choice and selection than ever before and with phrases such as HD, HD 1080p, LCD, Plasma and LED floating around it can be hard to know what exactly it is you are talking about, never mind what you actually want.

LCD, LED and Plasma

LCD, LED and Plasma all refer to the type of display technology used by televisions. LED TVs often refer to LCD TVs that uses LED backlighting instead of the typical CCFL used in standard LCD TVs. Using LED backlighting produces a dramatic impact and has a lower power consumption and thinner panel design.

LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) televisions are the most widely produced television in the world, made popular by their improvement from the old television display technology of CRT (cathode ray tube).
Plasma televisions uses a plasma display panel (PDP) which uses small cells that contain electrically charged ionized gases to produce images. Plasma TVs are typically flat panel designs and produced clear pictures with improved colour distinction and contrast ratios.

A number of manufacturers will offer a range of televisions will all of the above types of display technology. A Panasonic television, for example, can be bought with either LCD, LED or Plasma technology meaning that the choice is dependent on the consumer and the type of set they are after.

HD, HD108P, High Resolution

All of these terms refer to the type of screen resolution used by the TVs. HD (or high definition) TVs have a resolution much greater than standard televisions while HD1080P refers to the amount of HD capability that the television has. HD1080P is equivalent to full HD.

High Resolution is equivalent to High Definition, so any TV marketed as "high resolution" will often provide some sort of HD screen resolution, although not necessarily full HD1080P resolution.

3D TV

The latest addition to the television world is the 3D television. Once again, a range of manufacturers are now offering TVs with 3D capability. An example of a 3D Panasonic TV is the Panasonic Viera TX-P50GT30B 50" Full HD Plasma 3D TV. With built in Freeview HD and a generous supply of HDMI connectors (four in total) and three USB ports. The television features two built in speaks and an audio format of stereo, v-audio surround sound.

3D TVs currently require 3D Active glasses to be worn in order to separate the images being transmitted in order to create the three dimensional image. 3D Active glasses are available for both children and adults and are available in a range of different styles and colours.

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