The LCD Television and Its 3 Faces....

There are some misconceptions about high definition televisions or HDTVs as they apply to the rapid emergence of LCD technology. LCD's acronym for a Liquid Crystal Display. You may run across a person who'll define it Liquid Crystal Diode which is not correct. They're certainly confusing LCDs with LED which means Light Emitting Diode. It is may be known as red lights that you see on clocks of radios for years. A diode is a kind of a check valve that's electronic, it stops current to go in undesirable directions. It does not have anything to do with projection or transmittance of light in televisions.

Another interesting thing regarding LCD technology that gives confusion is its three types, each is distinct from the other types. The first type is a flat panel LCD, it competes with the plasma TVs. Second is the rear projection LCD that competes with DLPs or digital light projection TVs. Lastly, front projection LCDs which project to a screen and could be as huge as 200". The thinnest and lightest are the flat panel LCD televisions, rear projectors are thicker. Rear projection sets compete with micro display DLP, they are 15 to 19 inches thick and weigh around 100 lbs. Front projecting LCDs are lightweight, small and portable, it weighs 4 lbs.

Terms "Crystal" and "Liquid" in the acronym LCD refer to a medium that current is applied. Very tiny magnetic molecules bend and twist depending on the amount of electrical current sent through. Bending and twisting is based on degree, modify in shape enables less or more light to pass, it allows up to 1024 gray shades to display. Common wall clocks or digital watches are other examples of LCDs that we use daily.

What's more interesting is that Mathematicians use "LCD" as Lowest Common Denominator. Atkins Diet used LCD as Low Carbohydrate Diet. Back to LCD as Liquid Crystal Display, rear projection HDTVs usually are LCD, DLP or LCoS which means Liquid Crystal on Silicon, they are slowly becoming rivals of plasma. They have excellent quality of picture, they are obtainable in many large sizes, but do not expect too much black in blacks. These are bulkier compared to plasmas.

Tags: LCD, Plasma, Flat Panel, HDTVs