Let's face it, the world has definitely moved on from the CRT television screen.
Flat panel TV is improving by leaps and bounds as prices spiral down much like
computer prices of the 90's. In the technological race to grab market
share we are seeing all sorts of TV technologies compete. Choices range
from DLP and LCD projection TV's to flat panel LCD and Plasma TV's.
Which type is right for you will depend mostly upon your budget and screen size.
If your search is for a TV with a screen smaller than 32" you can find excellent
pictures in the LCD flat panel models. The higher resolution Panasonic
models have negligible blurring during fast motion a with bright, sharp
vivid picture. This applies to the old analog programs as well has to EDTV
and HDTV programs. Many brands have not reached this level of picture quality
and a quick visit to your local electronic super store is the best way to see if
the brand you like looks as good in person.
In order to receive HD programming many smaller TV's require a separate HDTV
tuner in the form of a HDTV cable box or other device. This is in
addition to an ATSC (analog) tuner. A built in HDTV tuner, while not
necessary, will make the TV more useful a few years down the road as HDTV takes
over.
Most of us are finding ourselves in the market for a 40" or larger screen as we
strive to bring the theatre experience into our living rooms. A 40" to
55" television will be the ideal size for most American living rooms.
For a larger set, you should really consider creating a special theatre room or
your living room should be especially large with the closest seating at least
10' away from the screen.
A simple look at the different projection methods found in medium to larger sets
can narrow our search quite a bit. DLP and LCD projection sets offer
larger screens for less money but viewing angles and sharpness tend to suffer a
bit not to mention a thicker silhouette. LCD flat panel screens still show some blurring in the image during
action scenes but probably will eventually be the dominate screen design as this
problem is solved. Today's Plasma
screens are sharp, don't blur during action scenes and have good viewing angles.
Early plasma screens had short life spans and were subject to image burn-in.
Today's plasmas are rated at around 40,000 hours (10 years or more of normal
use) and won't suffer from burn-in if you don't leave a static image on the
screen for hours on end. Loss of brightness over time has also plagued
plasma makers but we are now in the 9th generation of such screens and this problem
should be minimal. Another slight drawback to plasma is that the screen
material is very shiny. Bright windows or lights behind viewers might
be a problem.
At the time of this writing, there are a couple brands dominating the market in
the 40"-55" HDTV market. Both have excellent pictures in their plasma sets
and are very competively priced. Samsung has the most aggressive prices
and the screens are sharp and vivid. The Samsung brand still leaves a bit
of a bad taste in my mouth as they have sprung up from the level of a third rate
manufacturer to become a respectable maker of televisions and computer monitors.
If you've been around as long as I have, you'll remembers the early years of
Sony in America when the name Sony was synonymous with junk. Obviously,
the Sony name has risen from those ashes as presumably has
Samsung.
Panasonic, like Sony, has a long reputation of creating quality electronic products.
They manufacture two high end HDTV models with reasonable prices that we rate as
