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Frequently Asked Questions  What is a LCD television? An LCD tv is a flat panel television that utilizes the same basic Liquid Crystal Display technology that has been in use in cell phones, camcorder viewfinders, and computer monitors What is a Plasma television? Plasma television technology is similar to the technology used in a fluorescent lightbulb. The display itself consists of cells. Within each cell two glass panels are separated by a narrow gap in which neon-xenon gas is injected and sealed in plasma form during the manufacturing process. The gas is electrically charged at specific intervals when the Plasma set is in use. The charged gas then strikes red, green, and blue phosphors, thus creating a television image. Each group of red, green, and blue phosphors is called a pixel LCD televisions or Plasma televisions? Both types of flat panel televisions have advantages and disadvantages but the final decision is yours. Plasma television advantages: For Plasma televisions, the advantages over LCD, are: Better contrast ratio, better ability to render deep blacks, more color depth, better motion tracking (response time), and more availability in very large screen sizes. Plasma television disadvantages: Plasma televisions are more susceptible to burn-in (although this is not as much of a factor now, due to technology improvements in the past couple of years), more heat generation, they do not perform as well at higher altitudes, heavier weight, and they have a shorter display life span (although this too is changing due to technology improvements). LCD television advantages: LCD television advantages include no burn-in susceptibility, cooler running, less screen glare, more functional at high altitudes, longer display life (although improvements are being made in Plasma screen life), looks better in brightly lit rooms LCD television disadvantages: LCD televisions have lower contrast ratio, not as good rendering deep blacks, not as good at tracking motion (although this is improving), and are more expensive than an equivalent-sized Plasma television, although the price gap is closing. What is 1080p? 1080p refers to the 1920x1080 "progressive scan" HDTV format. Also called "true HDTV" and "ultra HD," 1080p provides the highest resolution in the HDTV standard. On TV sets with screens smaller than 40", it may be difficult to distinguish the difference between 1080p and 720p, the lower of the HDTV resolutions. What is 720p? 720p refers to the 1280x720 "progressive scan" HDTV format. Although the lowest HDTV standard, on TVs up to 40", 720p delivers excellent quality. At 40", and beyond, the higher 1080p resolution offers optimum viewing, especially for HD DVD and Blu-ray high-definition formats.
When will all cable channels be converted from analog to digital, and what impact will the change have? Digital technology will provide improved picture quality and sound quality like that experienced at the movies. Congress set the deadline of February 17, 2009 for the transition. This means that on that date all U.S. television stations will stop broadcasting in analog format as they do now, and will transmit only in digital instead. No basic cable! |
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