LCD TVs and LED TVs ? Jargon Buster
When investing in something exciting like a new television, the last thing you want to happen is for technical jargon to take the edge off and put a dampener on things, so here is a jargon buster specifically for LCD, Plasma, High Definition and LED TVs:
LCD – Liquid Crystal Display. The technology used to create some flat screen televisions which allows for clear and crisp images whether watching television or playing games through your TV.
LED – Light Emitting Diode. Light Emitting Diodes are used in conjunction with LCD technology to give a bright, backlit image which is clear and visible no matter what the surrounding light conditions are like.
HD – High Definition. HD produces significantly better picture quality than SD (Standard Definition) which all televisions used to fall under. This is because it has one to two million pixels per frame, approximately five times that of SD, meaning the picture quality is sharper, clearer and more lifelike.
HD Ready – This means that the television, computer monitor or laptop you’re buying supports High Definition technology and you will be able to enjoy those programmes and games which are filmed in HD and offer a more realistic viewing experience.
Plasma – Technology which has allowed television screens to become bigger and bigger without losing picture quality in the process.
Plasma TVs are still the preferred choice for those opting to buy a TV which is larger than 42 inches in diameter.
Wi-Fi ready – Wireless Fidelity. The name given to a device which can connect wirelessly to the internet, most commonly associated with laptops and mobile devices, but can now be applied to any device which can be used to connect to the internet, including televisions that are Wi-Fi ready.
Resolution – This refers to the number of pixels per frame; the more pixels there are per frame, the higher the resolution and the better the picture quality.
3D DNR – 3D Digital Noise Reduction. This is a feature which is built into many televisions to reduce picture grain and emit as clear a picture as possible.
50Hz / 100Hz – The frequency at which the electrical current is transmitted to the user from the power source; the faster the frequency, the clearer and more flicker-free image the television will relay to you.
IPS – In Plane Switching. This was developed in the late 1990s as a way to overcome the limited viewing angle of flat screens on televisions, laptops and so on, as well as to improve poor colour reproduction. Due to the expense of this technology, it was initially reserved for monitors used by people such as graphic designers but as the price dropped, the technology has been adopted in mainstream products, for example Panasonic LCD TVs incorporate this technology, allowing them to produce a high quality image without the excessive energy consumption that the original IPS technology used.
DLNA certified – Digital Living Network Alliance. Having this certification means that the manufacturer has signed up to an alliance which means they are offering consumers standardised ways to operate technology and means their items are as compatible as possible with other devices.
HDMI – High Definition Multimedia Interface. A compact interface for transmitting uncompressed audio or video data; this is a way of connecting everything from Blu-Ray and DVD players, to games consoles and set top boxes, to your digital television or computer monitor. Digital TVs will often have up to four HDMI connections.
Check the product specifications online for all the information you need before you decide whether LCD TVs or Plasma TVs are right for you.