When it comes to choosing a new television, consumers have never had more options than they have today. There are a wide range of technologies available, and it is important to know some of the specific sorts of decisions that you will have to make when choosing a HD television. The choices that consumers have for High Definition television will be impacted by many different factors. Obviously budget and personal preferences play the largest rolls when determining which sort of HD television is most pleasing to their particular taste.
The first thing to be aware of when it comes to High Definition television choices is the different methods that the television uses to place the image on the screen. First of all, there are CRT televisions. CRT stands for Cathode Ray Tube. This is the type of TV that we have been using since the early days of televisions. These televisions typically will not be any larger than around 40 inches. After CRT televisions, there are rear projection televisions. Rear projection televisions have, in the past, been based on CRT technology. In recent years they have started to use other technologies such as LCD. Rear projection televisions are usually in the 40 to 70 inch range. There are also front projector televisions, but these tend to be rather expensive, and require a specific sort of screen to use. They are most often found in office uses.
Flat panel televisions are the newest sort of High Definition televisions. There are two basic types of flat panel televisions: plasma and LCD. Plasma HD televisions work in a similar way to the fluorescent light bulb. A plasma television uses gas, sealed in plasma, inside of the cells on the screen. The gas is charged by the picture signal, causing the gas to change to red, green, or blue. All of these tiny cells, changing in concert, form the picture. LCD televisions use liquid crystals, rather than gas sealed in plasma. These crystals either pass or block certain colors of light, which then creates images on the HD television screen.
There are some differences between plasma and LCD HD televisions that you need to think about when considering your High Definition television choices. Plasma televisions are available in larger screen sizes, and they have better motion tracking and color accuracy. On the other hand, plasma televisions generate more heat than other HD televisions. High Definition LCD televisions run cooler than plasma. They also run brighter than Plasma televisions. LCD televisions tend to have a longer life, as well.
Over the last few years, the price on all high definition televisions have been reducing in price. The increase in technology brings in more competition. This competition is not only helping more families obtain a better quality in their entertainment, it is driving the broadcasting providers to focus on their HD options. The leaders of the pack, DIRECTV, is offering its customers the most channels available in HD at the moment with many more on the way. Dish Network, although struggling to keep up, is still outperforming the cable providers.
Whitney Alen is a Direct TV expert and has over 10 years experience in the satellite TV industry.
Enjoy a true cinema-like experience in your own home with the 42-inch Panasonic TH-42PD50U EDTV plasma television, the update to the well reviewed Panasonic TH-42PD25U/P. It features an integrated ATSC tuner for receiving over-the-air HDTV programming as well as a standard NTSC tuner, 16-watt speaker system, and an included detachable table-top stand. This 4.5-inch thin plasma TV can also be wall-mounting with an optional kit. Panasonic's Real Black Drive System technology operates on the fly, reducing the number and intensity of light pulses in dark areas of the picture to achieve the highest contrast ratio available on a plasma TV (4000:1). Such a wide range from black to white means great depth and dimensionality with vibrant colorsÑand this plasma can display an incredible 8.58 billion colors for a superior picture. Deep blacks provide excellent shadow detail during dark scenes, while brilliant whites render bright scenes with vivid realism.
The TH-42PD50U features a widescreen picture aspect ratio (16:9; standard TVs have a 4:3 aspect ratio), which is the ideal screen format for viewing widescreen video from DVD players. Designated as an EDTV, the TH-42PD50U displays signals in 480-line progressive (480p) mode, and can also accept 480p signals from video sources such as progressive-scan DVD players. While an EDTV doesn't have enough pixels for a true high-definition resolution, the difference is surprisingly small. Other features include a Progressive Scan Doubler, which upconverts analog signals to 480p, onscreen program guide for digital TV stations, 853 x 480 native resolution, and 160-degree viewing angle.
It has two built-in stereo speakers for 16 watts of total power (8 watts per speaker) that can produce virtual surround sound. It features the following video and audio connections:
- Composite video/audio In: 2
- Component video In (Y, Pb, Pr): 2
- S-Video In: 2
- HDMI In: 1
- RF: 1
What's in the Box
Panasonic TH-42PD50U, stand, remote control, two batteries, printed operating instructions
Customer Review: Great TV - Great Price
ok I have to be honest. I didn't do any research before I bought my TV. I'm an engineer too.. you would think I would do my homework. But I didn't. My thought process was I would go out and buy whatever TV looked the best to me - forget the 'stats'. I thought what really matters is how do I like the picture. So, I went around looked at a bunch of TV's and this picture + the price was just an winner. So I bought it thoroughly convinced it was a HDTV. And guess what.. IT ISN'T. BUT you can't tell! Besides the much higher end models - this picture is as good, if not better than all the HDTV'S in a similar price range. Anyway, it is a year and a half later, I still love it. The only thing is I wish it had an input for my computer and better sound. Generally, to hear anything I have to have the volume almost all the way up.
Customer Review: Nice
I've had my Panasonic for about 9 months and I have to say the picture is awesome. The sound is so-so. The video realism of this set is impressive. Visitors often rave about the quality -- little do they know it's only EDTV! Resolution isn't everything. Most everything I watch is via satellite (Dish) using S-video, and the quality is good. DVDs appear to be slightly better than satellite. I get one HDTV channel (via powered rabbit ears) in 720p but the aspect ratio is 4:3 (or at least it appears that way); the picture quality is outstanding on this source. The only negative on this set is a slight buzzing/whine which some people don't even hear -- unfortunately I do, but manage to ignore it in favor of the high quality visuals.
Panasonic Plasma TV 46 inch
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