Samsung News Geek

HDTV (high definition television) is a television display technology that provides picture quality similar to 35 mm movies with sound quality similar to that of today's compact disc. HDTV generally uses digital rather than analog signal transmission.

HDTV and standard definition television (SDTV) are the two categories of display formats for digital television (DTV) transmissions, which are becoming the standard. There are two kinds of HDTV display, one is 1080p, and the other one is 1080i. The p stands for progressive scanning, which means that each scan includes every line for a complete picture. The i stands for interlaced scanning, which means that each scan includes alternate lines for half a picture, which is not very good for your eyes. These rates translate into a frame rate of up to 60 frames per second, twice that of conventional television.

One of HDTV's most prominent features is its wider aspect ratio (the width to height ratio of the screen) of 16:9, a development based on research showing that the viewer's experience is enhanced by screens that are wider. HDTV pixel numbers range from one to two million, compared to SDTV's range of 300,000 to one million. New television sets will be either HDTV-capable or SDTV-capable, with receivers that can convert the signal to their native display format.

1080p resolution equates to 1920x1080 pixels. That means, there is 1920 vertical and 1080 horizontal lines running across the screen. It is the latest HD Holy Grail. That's because 1080p monitors are theoretically capable of displaying every pixel of the highest-resolution HD broadcasts. On paper, they should offer more than twice the resolution of today's 1280x720, or 720p, HDTVs, such as Samsung's HL-P5085W. Some companies, such as LG, refer to these super-high-res of sets as ultra-HD, while others prefer to substitute true or full for ultra. In conclusion, 1080p is theoretically better than 1080i because the screen refreshed in a line motion, also known as progressive scan, which is better for your eyes. Progressive scan HDTV will eventually become the standard television. For better picture quality and to avoid regretting later on, I recommend you to get a 1080p HDTV.

The contrast ratio is a measure of a display system, defined as the ratio of the luminance of the brightest white color to that of the darkest black color that the system is capable of producing. All else being equal, the higher the contrast ratio is, the better the quality is. I recommend you to get a HDTV with a higher contrast ratio for best movie and gaming experience.

LED (light-emitting diode) TVs are technically a member of the LCD TV family. The display screen on a LED is a liquid crystal display the same as it is on any other LCD TV. The main difference between the two lies with different backlighting techniques which may change the picture quality characteristics dramatically.

LCD TVs had a simple constant CCFL backlight to illuminate the image on the screen, the problem with this was that the light from the lamp was too bright to display decent black images. A CCFL lamp varies the brightness of the lamp to improve black levels and contrast ratios.

LED backlighting goes a step further, and has several advantages over standard CCFL lamps. Firstly, the LED backlight is made up from a grid system of individual LEDs, this provides control of the light over different sections of the screen, allowing the brightness or to be dimmed or turned off completely behind a dark section of an image. This allows for even higher contrast ratios and better black levels compared to the regular LCDs, which is the most important ingredient in HDTV picture quality. The superior black levels that LED lighting provides give the viewer a sense of greater depth in the video image along with more vibrant color. Secondly, the LEDs use a lot less power, making LED backlit LCDs even more energy efficient than the regular LCDs. The viewing angle of LED and LCD TV are about the same so no one wins. The LED TVs are being adopted by all manufacturers and soon we can expect them to be nearly same priced as those traditional LCD TVs or just a little more priced than them.

Traditional LCD televisions always have their backlight on when the TV is on. To create black or dark areas, the screen must block the light by twisting the crystals to a closed position, often resulting in a lower contrast ratio and less detail in dark areas of the picture. This is a shortcoming in LCD technology that LED TVs with local dimming are attempting to correct. Local dimming LED TV technology has a clear advantage in contrast and black levels compared to LCD.

In conclusion, if you want the best picture quality available on the LCDs, then the LED LCDs is your best choice. The LED LCD have better viewing experience when compared with the regular LCD by using the local dimming technology. Additional benefits from LED backlighting are longer bulb life when compared to the LCD panels. The LED LCDs lifespan is around 100,000 hours. At 8 hours a day, a LED LCD HDTV user can expect about 34 years of good picture quality before fading to half brightness. The LED backlighting will deliver the best picture to date on an LCD HDTV. LED LCDs uses less power compared to the regular LCDs or plasma. I strongly recommend the LED LCD HDTV if you are looking to get a new HDTV.

Plasma are a matrix of tiny gas plasma cells charged with precise electrical voltage to create a picture. On the other hand, LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) HDTV's are, simply put, "sandwiches" made up of of liquid crystal pushed between the space of 2 glass plates. Images are created by varying the amount of electrical charge applied to the crystals. Each type of HDTV has it's own strengths and weaknesses, and they will be outlined below.

Plasma will rule the night time, for it displays its color best during the night times. However, most of plasma HDTV will have screen glare when the sunlight hits the screen. On the other hand, LCD rule the day time because it is generally used in bright room environment. The plasma have higher contrast ratio and displays the dark scenes better than the LCDs. The Plasma have a large viewing angle, so no matter where you sit you won't lose the image quality. Even though this gives the advantage to Plasma, LCD still provides decent viewing angles at 170-180 degrees. The LCDs are also constantly improving on their contrast ratios to display better dark scenes.

The plasma handles fast moving objects on the screen better than the LCDs. However, the newer models of LCDs have improved so much that the differences between LCDs and plasma in handling fast motion is almost negligible. The new LCDs have also improved their handling of fast moving objects with the 120Hz image interpolation technology to provide even smoother motion. The plasma HDTV tends to use more electricity, and is heavier, making wall mounting more difficult. A plasma screen is made out of glass so it softer and more easily scratched. During shipping you don't have to worry about plasma being scratched, since it already wrapped up by the manufacturers before shipping.

The LCD's tend to have higher resolution. In other words, higher definition. If you are watching Blu-ray movies at 1080p resolution, and you want that reproduced, pixel by pixel, then LCD is the way to go. When Plasma TV's were first produced, their life expectancy at full brightness, was somewhere in the neighborhood of 20,000 hours. The LCD screens have always been guaranteed for about 60,000 hours. With the newer 2006 models, plasma screens however, their "full brightness" life span is more in line with the 60,000 hours seen in LCD's. At 8 hours a day, a Plasma or LCD HDTV user can expect about 20 years of good picture quality before the panel fades to half brightness.

The one issue not adequately resolved with regard to plasma HDTV's is "Burn in" problems. If you are planning on using the Plasma screen for something that has the same image displayed over and over again or the same image is held on the screen for a long period of time. For example, like the fixed dashboard of a gaming screen, then you might run into a problem with "burn in" on some plasma screens. This can happen with LCD's as well, but most experts agree it is less likely with LCD's than it is with plasma screens. If you are using your Plasma HDTV for general purposes, then it should not be a problem. Plasma is good at producing good contrast ratio in a movie so it suitable to get it if you like to watch movies in a dark room. LCD is good in either bright room or dark room and with the LED coming out the contrast ratio improved even more.

In the early days of HDTVs, plasma, with its inky blacks and top-notch picture quality, was the prevalent flat-panel technology, especially among video enthusiasts. But in the past couple of years, with the advent of increasingly sophisticated LED backlighting, we finally have a true winner. With its unmatched energy efficiency, LED-based LCD is the best flat-panel HDTV technology. Unfortunately, it's also generally the most expensive, though by less of a margin than there was a few years ago. Plasma is generally cheaper than LED but consumes more energy. If it's in your budget, the choice is clear, simply pay the premium and get an LED HDTV.

The three technologies are vastly different, particularly with respect to how each screen is lit. In plasma HDTVs, the phosphors that create the image on the screen light up themselves, and don't require backlighting. For LCD HDTVs, however, the liquid crystal screen does not illuminate, requiring a separate light source. That's where the difference between "regular" LCD screens (also known as CCFL-backlit LCD) and LED-backlit LCD screens (also known as LED-LCD, or just LED screens) come in. Traditional LCD HDTVs use cold cathode fluorescent lights (CCFLs) to illuminate the screen. CCFLs are similar to the fluorescent lights you might see in some lamps and overhead light fixtures. They use a charged gas to produce light. LED screens, like their name implies, use light emitting diodes (LEDs) to illuminate the display. LED backlighting has become much more common in the last few years, and CCFLs are now generally only seen on budget HDTVs.

LED-backlit HDTVs typically cost more than CCFL-backlit HDTVs of the same size. However, LED HDTVs have become standard for both midrange and high-end models, as CCFL screens have been relegated to the budget category. Generally, plasma HDTVs tend to be less expensive than LEDs but slightly more than CCFL-backlit HDTVs. The plasma HDTV screen will be thicker and more power-hungry, though, even if it does tend to offer as good a picture as an LED-backlit HDTV.

Screen thickness isn't the most important aspect of an HDTV, but initially, it's the most noticeable. A super-thin HDTV is not only visually striking, but it's more easily mounted on a wall, and can be more readily arranged, displayed, or concealed as part of your home theater. On this point, LED screens win hands-down, with plasma close behind. The CCFLs that backlight low-end LCD screens are much thicker than LEDs. LEDs can be very thin yet extremely bright, meaning an array of LEDs along the edge of an LCD can light it up while completely removing the backlight from the equation, this is known as edge lighting.

Energy efficiency is an important factor when choosing an HDTV, and between the three technologies LED-backlit HDTVs win again. LED HDTVs measuring 55 inches or less consistently consume around 80 watts or less, while plasma HDTVs can eat up two or three times as much.

If you can afford them, LED-backlit HDTVs are the way to go. They're thin, energy efficient, and can produce a great picture, but getting all three of those features costs a premium. If you're on a budget, look for a good plasma screen. They're heavy power hogs, but you can get a gorgeous cinematic experience for not nearly as much money. If your budget is limited and you can't find a plasma, CCFL is likely your only other choice, but CCFL-backlit LCDs typically can't match plasmas or LEDs on screen size or features.