How to choose the best Flat screen TV

Choosing the right technology

Plasma and lcd tvs look the same, but they are not. Some features or options don't differ a lot, but these are the major differences:

Size

If you arfe looking for an extra large TV, go for a plasma. Plasma TVs are the current size champions, particularly when comparing TVs that consumers can easily purchase. LCDs are catching up in size with their developing technology, however, and may surpass Plasmas in the near future. This may be due to difficulties in producing glass large enough for larger plasmas.

Burn-ins

With the latest plasma technology, this is less of an issue than ever before. The Pixel Orbitor, for example, is a method of reducing burn-in used by plasma manufacturers. It requires no additional programing from the end user as some older burn-in prevention techniques did.
Note: If you plan to use a plasma for gaming, some games with permanent 'dashboards' may still cause some burn-in. If you will be using the television for display use only, go for an LCD. Plasmas are more likely to get burned-in pixels.

Miscellaneous

- lcd tvs are far less fragile than plasmas. This is also an advantage when the tv set has to be shipped or moved to a different location.

- LCD TVs are also much easier to install than plasma TVs.

- LCD TVs have a better performance at high altitudes.

- LCD TVs are often cheaper than plasma TVs. The difference in pricing is getting smaller, however.

Ofcourse, all this information is available all over the web. For a detailed comparison sheet, I recommend using Wikipedia's comparison sheet.

Flat Screen TV comparison, don't get it wrong

If you have made a choice between plasma and LCD (I'll name it Flat screen TV from now on), you can pick a TV of your choice. Flat screen TV comparison will able you to find out exactly what you want and what'll fit the budget.

Brands

The following brands are being considered as the best manufacturers of Flat screen TVs:

- Hitachi

- Panasonic

- Philips

- Pioneer

- Samsung

If you are looking for a product with outstanding quality, we recommend choosing one of these brands.

Features

Different Flat screen TVs have different features. Most of these features look the same, but there are a couple of unique features as well:

- Ambilight

- HD ready or not?

- Picture in Picture

There are lots of comparison website available, but you will have to know how to use them. Filter the models by brand, price and features and the choice will be a lot easier.

How To Repair Dell E173fpb LCD Monitor Easily

Troubleshooting DELL E173FPB LCD Monitor with power blink symptom is quite easy if you know the right procedure to test it. There are two sections in the monitor that can cause power to blink. It is either primary or secondary section or even sometimes both sections can be faulty. So to isolate as which section is giving problem. I used an automobile 12 volt light bulb (brake light) and connect it between the 12 volt supply line and cold ground with the fuse removed. If the bulb still blink chances is very high the power primary section have problem.

Do not overlook the other voltages line as well such as the 3.3 and 5 volts. If any components shorted that gets the supply from the 5 and 3.3 volts, the power also may blink. If the 12 volts bulb lights up we can assume that the power supply is working fine and something shorted further down the line that makes the power supply to blink. If the bulb lights and you continue to check the power section, it will be going to waste your time. You should now concentrate on the secondary section circuit such as the four transistors C5707 that drive the high voltage transformer in the inverter board.

Just think these transistors like horizontal output transistor (HOT) in the CRT monitor that drive the flyback transformer where it worked so hard and chances for it to breakdown is very high. Checking the four transistors off board found one of them have a shorted reading with an ohmmeter.. This transistor can get faulty by itself or it could be some others components that caused it to develop a short circuit such as a defective high voltage transformer but all of the four high voltage transformers checked to be okay with ringer and ohmmeter test.

Now, here is the secret that I'm going to reveal. If you just replace the defective transistor only, chances is very high the transistor or another C5707 transistor will breakdown again. Usually what a technician does is to test the other transistors with either an analog or digital meter. If you use both meters to test the transistors then you have missed out on the faulty transistor because both meters won't reveal to you the hfe reading of the transistors. Only some digital meters have the hfe checking feature. In other words, you have to use test the hfe reading of a transistor. Although you can replace the other three transistors directly, why not we do some detective work to find the cause of the problem?

Using the Peak electronic atlas component analyzer, I could clearly see the different between a good and a bad transistor. A good C5707 transistor has hfe reading from 320 to about 390 but the bad one reads 467! The other two C5707 transistors have reading about 350. In the above case only two C5707 transistors were replaced and you save the other two. I had burn in test this LCD monitor for many days and it worked perfectly fine.

Conclusion- Whether you repair the DELL E173FPB LCD Monitor or any other model such as the E172FPB or E171FPB, basically the testing method is the same. You could also use this testing procedure on other brand of LCD Monitor too.

LCD TV - A Very Simple Buyers Guide

People tend to get caught up with the numbers game when shopping for electronic gadgets and appliances such as the television. Manufacturers use a lot of techno mumbo jumbo in presenting their products to the consumers. They ramp up the megapixels, the contrast ratio and any other product specification they can come up with because they know that the higher the numbers, the more people get interested. The funny thing, however, is that majority of shoppers probably do not even understand what those numbers mean and what they actually do for the product they are buying. The same techno mumbo jumbo usually gets lost in the translation and shoppers fall into the pit of analysis paralysis. Or worse, people end up spending more for a product that has been made to appear more advanced because it had more pixels on it.

Buying a flat screen television such as an LCD television should be one of the easiest thing to buy. This is especially true today as the lcd tv technology has advanced far enough that further enhancements in the features that count will not be as significant and perceivable as when the technology was still in its infancy.

There are only 4 things you should watch out for in buying a flat screen TV and they should not involve too much of the numbers.

PICTURE QUALITY. When buying an lcd tv, follow your eyes. Here is where most shoppers get too hung up on. They look at the specification sheet more than the LCD screen. But all you have to do to check on how good the specs are is look at the screen! Much of the numbers being thrown around by the manufacturers and dealers definitely would play into this but it should all boil down to how they look on your eyes. Megapixel count, contrast ratio and motion response should not matter if the picture already looks great.

POWER CONSUMPTION. Join the green movement and get the most energy efficient LCD TV that fits your wallet. This can be simply assessed by looking at the wattage requirement of the television. Go get the one with the lowest wattage. Again, many new models today are incorporating the environment-friendly principles into their features so finding units that are energy efficient should no longer be hard.

WARRANTY. This is pretty self explanatory. You should get one with the longest possible warranty coverage. I will advise against paying for an extended warranty but this is entirely up to you.

PRICE. With the speed the LCD TV technology is developing, and with so many players competing in the fray, you are likely to find units being sold at very good prices out there. Bargains are a usual sight in appliance stores and this benefits shoppers. Go take advantage!

The above list is probably the simplest LCD TV buying checklist you will see out there. Do not get too caught up with the technical aspect that manufacturers and dealers are trying to use to get you into buying that brand new flat screen. Buying a TV is simple--- follow your eyes, your wallet and your common sense and enjoy your new TV!

How Do I Pick the Right LCD TV?

The price and the size are the two most important factors among others in choosing the right lcd tv for you. Buying an LCD television can sometimes be complicated but as you shop, the different brands and size ranges will be easy to remember. In choosing a screen size, the space available in your home must be considered before hand.

Firstly, measure the area and location where you would like to place the TV. Determining the figure will help you decide on what lcd tv fits your home. It is also advised to take a look on the seating and furniture set up so that viewers will have an easy time watching. In case that you don't want to rearrange the furniture, you may want to get a screen size that fits your current configuration. But if you want to make some modifications, you better do it before purchasing the TV.

Secondly, calculate the distance from where you want to put the LCD television to the viewing and seating are. A standard of 10 feet away a 35 inch LCD TV will give a better view. For example, 15-20 feet distance from the television is needed. Just always keep in mind that the larger the television the longer viewing distances it needs.

Another factor to consider is the viewing angles. There are some models that produce better viewing angles. Simply put, the angle of viewing suggests an angle wherein the LCD television can be viewed from the side sooner than the value of the picture starts to degrade.

When you are in the store looking for an LCD television, concentrate and scrutinize the picture quality of the unit. It must satisfy your desire of wanting non-pixelated and clear pictures on your screen. The size must be what you are looking for. The LCD screen size can be easily determined if you stop looking and comparing it from other model units in the store. Just remember to focus on the unit you want to purchase.

Anti-glare coating of LCD must be considered when buying a television. This will help solve your problem on the outside light reflection. However, no matter what model you pick, the amount of light can still pass through that will produce glaring. Remember this when arranging the area where you want to put the television.

In choosing an LCD, the issue on HDTV (High Definition Television) may rise. If you enjoy High Definition Television watching, it is therefore a must that you look for a unit that has HDTV features. You should know the unit price is dependent on the brand and the size so you have to give these factors a thought before purchasing.

The two competing companies in LCD TVs are Sharp and Samsung. The brand is not really an issue so long as you get to purchase a television that caters to your needs and that it works well. Cheap LCD televisions are available in the market but availing these gadgets also requires hard thinking. Remember that you have to get quality for your money. In that light, it is best that you patiently look for discount promos or refurbished units on sale.

Best LED TV 2010-2011

LED TVs have rapidly become incredibly popular, and are clearly emerging as the new standard in televisions. Technically an advanced type of lcd tv, LED TVs have conquered the market enough to fall into a category of their own, and are poised to give older lcd tvs a serious run for the money. The technology allows for a greatly improved picture quality compared to plasma, LCD and DLP TVs. As the price gap narrows between LED TVs and the rest, be sure to check out all the features to choose the best LED TV for you.

Everyone is buying LED TVs, and the smart ones are making sure those TVs are wi-fi compatible. After all, everything is going wireless these days, so why not your TV? Out of all the manufacturers of LED TVs, the brands that stand out by offering wireless capability are LG and Samsung. Out of these two, Samsung is the brand that is generally considered the leader of this particular market.

On the other hand, LG's plus points include the fact that their TVs tend to be less expensive while also getting excellent customer reviews. While you're going wireless, be sure to check that your new audio and video devices fit the bill, too - for starts, you can check out Sony's great new wireless Blu-ray player which comes at an attractive price tag.

Thanks to LED technology, added to which is the new line of semiconductors, video images are sharper than ever - you will enjoy deepest blacks, crisp whites and all-round color vibrancy in an overall viewing experience that is nothing short of spectacular. Higher contrast ratios of 500,000:1 and faster refresh rates at 250 Hz and above mean that you get picture quality that is beyond compare. Lifelike images and crisply displayed motion, even for high-speed content, takes TV viewing into the future.

Not only is the picture quality great on the best LED TVs, but they are designed to use significantly less power. On average, these televisions use 40-50% less power than comparable lcd tvs, making them easy on power resources as well as on your wallet - you'll find yourself paying less each month in utility bills. What's more is that no mercury is used in making these TVs. Mercury is toxic to the environment, and is generally used in LCD TVs so it's great that this TVs are made without this harmful substance.

As a general trend, the best LED TVs in today's market have consistently been coming from Samsung, clearly at the forefront of this technology. Not far behind are brands such as Sony and Toshiba. As the competition gets more fierce, prices of these TVs will consistently be lowered, and quality improved as kinks and bugs are fixed in the performance. Generally speaking it is recommended to go not for the top of the line models but the ones right below, for the best price-and-performance balance to get the best value for your money.

In these cases the performance of the TV is almost always comparable to the top-end model, and features offered tend also to be quite similar, but the difference in price is usually quite significant. In the past months alone, prices on these TVs have been dropping significantly so clearly now is the right time to jump in and buy.

LCD Vs Plasma HDTV

LCD vs plasma HDTV - which is best? If you're looking for a flat-screen, slim and sexy display, to watch HDTV, you have a choice of two technologies, LCD and gas plasma.

Each has benefits and disadvantages and so each is more appropriate in specific
circumstances.

Historically, the LCD vs plasma HDTV choice has been fairly simple. If you wanted a
flat-screen that was about 40in or bigger, you had to choose plasma, otherwise you
should choose LCD. However, as LCD technology improves, LCD HDTVs are getting
bigger and most of the major manufacturers expect the number of LCDs they
produce to grow steadily over the next few years while the number of plasmas will
decrease. However, if you're looking for a flatscreen TV today, plasma still has a lot
to offer.

To understand the LCD vs plasma HDTV question, we need to look at the way the
two technologies work.

LCD

LCD HDTVs work by shining a light behind an LCD panel made up of a fixed number
of pixels. Each pixel is either red, blue or green and is switched on or off when a
voltage is applied to it. When voltage is applied to a pixel, it is switched off,
meaning that light can't shine through it.

The main advantage of LCD vs plasma HDTV is that LCD panels don't suffer from
what's called burn-in. This is a feature of plasma TVs where they are used to watch
TV stations with logos permanently displayed on-screen or where they are used for
video gaming with games that have static images such as a cockpit on flight
simulators. The image literally 'burns-in' the screen meaning that even when the
image is not present you can still see a faint trace of it on screen. So for video
gamers in particular, LCD is a better choice than plasma.

Plasma

Plasma HDTVs have over a million chambers which house one or a combination of
gasses. When a voltage is applied to one of these chambers the gas ionizes and
emits ultra-violet light. This light strikes red, green or plue phophors coated on the
inside of the chamber and a pixel emits this color light.

Plasma HDTVs tend to have better contrast than LCDs because, even when a pixel
on an LCD panel is switched off it doesn't block all the light coming through and
therefore the pixel isn't completely black. Plasma HDTVs also tend to have a wider
viewing angle than LCDs, as on LCD HDTVs the contrast and colour of the image can
change when the screen is viewed from different angles.

LCD vs Plasma HDTV conclusion

Technology is changing rapidly, but for now (July 2004) it's still true to say that at
sizes of 40in and above, plasma offers a less-expensive and generally better
solution. For screen-sizes less than 40in LCD is better. However, as LCD technology
improves and prices fall, this will change.

720p Vs 1080i HDTV

Is 720p vs 1080i worth being concerned about? Yes and no. If you're a consumer looking for a new TV, you can happily ignore the 720p vs 1080i debate because every TV which is described as HDTV or HDTV Ready is required to support both formats.

NOTE: You should be aware though that lots of TVs which support 1080i have fewer than 1080 lines and so scale the 1080 signal down. That's not a huge issue as even scaled down 1080i is far ahead of a regular NTSC signal. It is worth bearing in mind that more expensive HDTVs tend to have better scalers than cheaper ones, and this may be an issue.

However, for broadcasters it's a live issue. Should they broadcast 1080 lines of interlaced video or 720 lines of progressive scan? They could just broadcast two signals, one in each format, but that would use up a huge chunk of bandwidth and be hugely expensive for very little gain.

To answer the question, it's important to understand the difference between 720p vs 1080i. A 720p signal is made up of 720 horizontal lines. Each frame is displayed in its entirety on-screen for 1/30th of a second. This is know as progressive scan (hence the 'p')The quality is like watching 30 photographic images a second on TV. A 1080i signal comprises 1080 horizontal lines but all the lines are not displayed on-screen simultaneously. Instead, they are interlaced (hence the 'i'), ie every other lines is displayed for 1/60th of a second and then the alternate lines are displayed for 1/60th of a second. So, the frame rate is still 30 frames per second, but each frame is split into two fields, which your brain then puts together subconsciously.

Most of the time interlacing works fine, but for fast moving images, such as sports like baseball and hockey it can cause problems which manifest themselves as a 'stepping' effect on-screen. Progressive scan signals don't have this problem and so are better suited to sports.

ESPN puts it like this: 'Progressive scan technology produces better images for the fast moving orientation of sports television. Simply put, with 104 mph fastballs in baseball and 120 mph shots on goal in hockey, the line-by-line basis of progressive scan technology better captures the inherent fast action of sports. For ESPN, progressive scan technology makes perfect sense.'

Bottom line? For us, as consumers 720p vs 1080i is not a debate worth worrying about, so you can relax and focus on all the other criteria on your list when you buy your next HDTV.