What Type of HDTV Should I Buy?

It used to be that, if you were in the market for a new television, you had a choice between analog, tube-based televisions and…well…analog, tube-based televisions. Now, with so many different types of high definition televisions (HDTVs) to choose from, picking which one is right for you can be a little more confusing.

For instance, if you’re interested in a flat-panel HDTV, do you go with an LCD or plasma display? What’s the difference between rear-projection televisions that use SXRD® or DLP technology? When does it make sense to go with a front projector? These are all valid questions, and knowing the differences between these different types of HDTVs will help you make the best decision for your viewing interests.

Flat-Panel HDTVs: LCD and Plasma

Even though LCD and plasma flat-panel displays have been available for many years, questions persist over how the two technologies differ.

From a technical perspective, LCD displays generate a picture by blocking or letting light pass through transparent liquid crystals sandwiched between glass or plastic plates. Different electrical currents applied across the LCD display either block or allow light to pass through the display panel. Once the image is created, color is added by passing the image through three separate color filters — one for each red, blue, and green filter. By comparison, plasma displays use tiny gas-filled cells that are controlled to illuminate red, green, and blue phosphor sub-pixels. Electrical currents increase the brightness of each sub-pixel, resulting in an image on the plasma screen.

Although plasma has often been viewed as the more high-tech display option, that doesn’t necessarily equate to better image performance compared to LCD. In fact, Sony BRAVIA LCD HDTVs have many performance features, including:

* Avoids Reflection: LCD displays don’t use a high-glare screen.
* No Double Image: LCD TVs do not suffer from double images as may be seen on some plasma TVs displaying nighttime or other scenes with strong light/dark contrasts.
* Brightness: Full field contrast in a scene is excellent with LCD TVs.
* Color Gamut: Overall color is natural and realistic.
* Gradation: LCD displays can express more levels of gradation without resorting to dither.
* Contrast: LCD TVs have superb contrast under bright viewing conditions.
* Viewing Angle: BRAVIA LCD TVs offer 178° wide viewing angles to accommodate wide viewing areas.
* Continuous Picture: Continuous picture (also known as fill factor) is great with LCD TVs.

Additionally, LCD displays are available in a much larger range of sizes than plasmas, especially if you’re looking for a screen smaller than 32 inches diagonal.

When Is A Flat-Panel HDTV A Good Option?

Flat-panel HDTVs continue to get bigger and better, and they’re getting less expensive, too. With bright, crisp images from screens measuring only inches deep, they also can become part of your room’s décor in ways a tube-based television never could. If you want a space-saving design that can be hung on the wall1 or set atop a stand, flat-panel HDTVs give you the ability to place your television almost anywhere. If you plan to wall mount your HDTV, LCD offers another benefit over plasma: LCDs are much lighter than plasmas of the same size.

Microdisplay HDTVs: Rear-Projection Enters the Digital Age

If you’re familiar with traditional CRT-based rear-projection televisions, you probably remember not only their big screen sizes, but also their weight and bulk. However, big-screen rear-projection televisions have entered a new era, with lighter and slimmer designs that produce better color and contrast than ever.

Instead of the glass tube-based technology found in older CRT rear-projection televisions, the latest rear-projection HDTVs use one of three types of microdisplay technology: LCD, DLP™ (Digital Light Processing), or SXRD® (Silicon X-tal Reflective Display).

Choosing Between LCD and DLP

Similar to their flat-panel cousins, LCD-based microdisplay HDTVs usually contain three separate LCD panels, one each for the red, green, and blue components of the image signal being processed. To create a video image, the light source in an LCD microdisplay TV is first split into three separate beams — one for each color panel. As the light passes through the LCD panels, millions of individual pixels either transmit or block the light. The separate light beams are then recombined using a prism, and the complete video image is then projected through the lens and onto the television’s screen.

Instead of liquid crystals, DLP microdisplays employ millions of micro-mirrors, each representing a pixel, that tilt to reflect light to produce a video image. Unlike LCD microdisplays, the majority of DLP microdisplays use a single chip to produce the image. To define color, some DLP TVs use a color wheel with red, green, and blue filters that spin between the TV’s light source and its DLP chip.

Comparatively, LCD microdisplays are known for delivering excellent color accuracy. This is because LCD controls color right down to each individual pixel, rather than sequencing colors as in DLP. The result is LCD’s very wide color gamut and rich, natural color reproduction. LCD microdisplays also deliver a slightly sharper image than DLP at any given resolution, and they usually produce brighter images than DLP. Finally, some single-chip DLP microdisplays can fall victim to the “rainbow effect,” where you’re able to see the color separation in a projected image. Not everyone notices the rainbow effect, but it can be a distraction.

SXRD: The Latest Microdisplay Technology

Another choice of display technology is LCoS (Liquid Crystal on Silicon), which Sony markets under the name SXRD®. Instead of individual mirrors, SXRD panels use vertically-aligned liquid crystals applied to a reflective mirror substrate. As the liquid crystals open and close, the light is either reflected from the mirror below, or blocked. The vertical alignment enables SXRD chips to leak much less light than LCD chips, so they can produce deeper blacks. Similar to LCD rear-projection HDTVs, SXRD microdisplay models use three panels, one each for the red, green, and blue image components.

With their impressive combination of technology, SXRD displays are virtually free from the grainy “mesh” effect sometimes noticeable on conventional projection displays, so the resulting picture is extremely smooth and detailed. Because they use three panels to continuously project red, green, and blue colors onto the screen, colors appear natural and extremely rich — with no chance of noticing the dreaded rainbow effect. SXRD-based rear-projection HDTVs also deliver images with a true sense of depth and dimension; details are evident even in shadows and fast-moving images are stunningly crisp and smooth.

Why Should You Select a Microdisplay?

Considering their outstanding picture quality, especially in LCD and SXRD models, it’s not surprising that microdisplay rear-projection HDTVs remain a popular choice. Microdisplay HDTVs are an especially good option if you want a larger screen size for a comparatively lower price than a similar-size flat panel display. The design of microdisplay HDTVs can also have its advantages. If you plan to place your HDTV in a built-in home theater unit or cabinet, a microdisplay will sit flush with the edge of the cabinet (unlike a similarly sized flat panel display). As a result, there’s no risk of a shadow-box effect or of the cabinet interfering with your TV viewing angles.

Front Projectors: The Ultimate Cinema Experience

Beyond flat-panel and microdisplay HDTVs, HD-capable home theater front projectors are making greater inroads into the consumer market. Like projectors at a movie theater, home theater front projectors produce the image you view by using a video projector located in front of the screen. This is the key difference between front projectors and other types of HDTVs, including flat-panels and rear-projection HDTVs, which project an image from behind a screen. The separation between projector and screen gives front projectors one of their most appealing qualities — diagonal image sizes that reach into the triple digits.

To produce their high-quality images, front projectors often rely on the same display technologies — LCD, DLP, and SXRD — as in microdisplay rear-projection HDTVs. Likewise, the characteristics of these display technologies are similar.

Note that LCD and DLP technologies are also used in business-class projectors used for presentations. Although they look similar, don’t confuse home theater front projectors with business projectors, which emphasize brightness so they can be used in fully lighted rooms. By comparison, home theater projectors are designed to emphasize more of a balance between contrast and brightness, which gives them a more cinema-like image quality. Home theater front projectors should be used where you can control the light, or with a product like Sony’s DynaClear Screen™, so you can fully enjoy the combination of high resolution, superb contrast ratio, and rich color reproduction.

Is a Front Projector for You?

If you want to have a truly big screen for the latest DVD releases, sporting events, or even everyday television, a front projector is an excellent choice. Home theater front projectors can not only deliver the largest HD images available, but they’re also less expensive than other display types if you figure the cost per inch of screen. Note, though, that home theater front projectors don’t include an internal tuner, so you’ll need an external tuner such as a digital cable or satellite set-top box. But if you want to feel like you’re stepping into your own personal movie theater every time you turn on the television, no other type of display can match the immersive visual experience of a quality high definition front projector.

The Bottom Line

In the end, there may not be a single correct answer to the question of what type of HDTV is best for you. Perhaps you’re among the majority of consumers who desire a flat-panel television, or maybe a microdisplay better suits your budget or viewing environment. Whatever the case, keeping in mind the points above can help you confidently make a decision you’ll be happy with for the life of your HDTV.

You can check if some of Sony Flat Panel LCD TVs at Amazon.com suites your needs.