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What Display Device Is Best for Me?
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Should you get a plasma, LCD flat panel, direct view CRT, front projector, or rear screen
television? Well, that depends on your viewing environment and your expectations. We
will do an overview of each technology, the environments, and circumstances they work best in.
CRT (Direct View Monitor/Television)
- The least expensive of all the technologies;
- Very bright, can be used in just about any lighting environment;
- Older standard definition sets are dirt cheap;
- High definition televisions/monitors are coming down in price;
- Very heavy and bulky; can only be used where space is not at a premium;
- HDTV models only go up to approximately 34" diagonal image, so usage within a true home theater application is very limited;
- Very reliable, proven technology with the best image quality possible.
LCD Flat Panel Monitor/Television
- Wonderful for places that don't have a ton of space;
- Very thin so it easily mounts on a wall;
- True HDTV models are expensive per-square-inch of viewing area;
- Good color; black levels not as strong as those on a CRT;
- Models go up to 60" diagonal, but tend to be cost prohibitive over 40";
- Models with NTSC tuners and speakers raise costs substantially;
- Very bright, so lighting conditions in your room are not a consideration;
- Good reliability; the technology has been available for years.
Plasma Monitor/Television
- Also great for places that don't have a ton of available space;
- Very thin so in most cases, they easily mount to walls;
- Good color; black levels not as strong as those on a CRT;
- True HDTV models are much costlier than those at lower resolutions;
- Plasma sizes start at 42" diagonal, so not a small screen-size solution;
- Expensive, but not stratospheric up to 62" diagonal;
- New models go up to 70" diagonal, but not price-practical beyond 60";
- After 42" diagonal, the units are very heavy and require structural enhancements to mount;
- Very bright, so lighting conditions in your room are not a consideration;
- Fragile, does not ship easily and in most cases, if the unit breaks, the entire unit has to be replaced.
Rear Projection Television (Non CRT)
- New micro display technology allows the units to be less than 15" deep for a 50" models;
- New DLP™ powered rear screen televisions from InFocus and RCA are less then 7" deep for a 61" diagonal image, allowing units to be wall mounted;
- Much less costly per square inch of viewing area than Plasma or LCD flat panels;
- Micro display powered rear screens are also very bright, allowing installation without consideration for ambient light;
- Lighter than Plasma's of the same screen sizes;
- Screen sizes can be up to 80" diagonal; they can be ideal for smaller home theater rooms;
- Most all micro display powered rear screen televisions - meaning DLP™, LCD, or LCoS powered televisions - are native HDTV resolution;
- Some units have limited viewing angles so placements of the units are important.
Front Projection
- Can be inexpensive per square inch of screen area to moderately expensive, depending on type of projector purchased and the screen size desired;
- Ambient light is a major factor in determining whether they are right for you;
- Not the correct solution for small screen sizes;
- Best solution for a true home theater environment;
- Space is required; for very large screen sizes, projector must be placed back from the screen at a distance of minimally 1.5 times the screen's width;
- Reliability is good;
- HDTV, DVD, digital cable and digital satellite will look great; lower resolution analog images will not display as well.
Our best advice to you is to carefully read through the above material to determine which technology best suits your needs.
Now that we have covered the basics of video, let's move on to more in depth subjects.
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