Beginners Flat Screen TV, What To Look For, LCD or Plasma?

Flat Screen TV�s are the latest must have fashion accessory for the home. What sort of Flat Screen TV do you purchase? Of the many choices it really boils down to two really, Plasma or Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) for your Flat Screen TV?

Viewing television nowadays is certainly different from the humble experience it was in the early years under John Logie Baird to the vast array of images now viewable on the amazing Liquid Crystal Display /Flat Screen TV sets of today. Television has now entered into the very fabric of most people lives that they can't live without it.

So how many people now actually understand in some detail exactly how televisions work and what they actually have to achieve to deliver this magic image that we see on the screen? The word television is derived from a mixed usage of Greek and Latin roots meaning in literary terms �far sight� and being derived from the Greek term �tele� meaning �far� and the Latin �vision� meaning �sight� or �to view in the first person�.

Like most forays into a technical arena nowadays it is very easy to get confused by the wide range of technical phrases and terminology in use within the industry today.

Perhaps it would be best now to move on to the latest developments within the industry and concentrate our coverage upon digital television, what it actually means; formats, bandwidth and an explanation of the technical jargon and terminology used.

So then the question is what is Digital TV?

Here quite often we see the terms TFT, LCD and Plasma being bandied around as if they are the same yet though they may be similar technologies LCD and Plasma Screens are very different in practicality.

In a nutshell Flat Screen TV�s can either be Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) sets or can be Plasma screen but the two are different.The main difference between the two (apart from base technologies) are that with LCD TV�s the main technology used is TFT (Thin Film Transistor) which means that by and large you can make the screens smaller and more energy efficient.

Digital television is much more flexible and efficient than conventional analogue television and digital signals provide a much clearer picture, much better sound quality and a far greater choice and availability of programming.

So what is it exactly that we have to look out for with a Digital TV? Let us use one of the newer LCD TV�s available to help us as we detail what exactly this all means.

The LCD TV that we shall use for our illustrative purposes here is the B&O Beovision 7-32?

It is essential that we are familiar with the following key items of information.

The Screen resolution of the TV is possibly the most obvious place to start. Here we refer to the exact number of pixels that can be displayed in each dimension.

Whether the TV is Hi-Definition Ready would be the next thing to look at. Hi Definition TV essentially makes a TV picture in a quality format that is at least four times better than conventionally available at present.

We would need to look next at what types of connectors are used to connect the various peripherals that go to make the entire Digital Package work.

We are referring here to the exact nature and number of the Scarts Sockets and Plugs in use. Here the definition of SCART refers to �Syndicat francais des Constructeurs d�Appareils Radio et Television (SCART).

Lastly on the technical side we would need to look at what types and what numbers of High-Definition Multimedia Interfaces (HDMI) are being used. Here High Definition Multimedia Interfaces (HDMI) refers to the audio/video connector interface that transmits the uncompressed digital streams of information between two or more digital components such as a HD DVD Disc player, a Blu-ray Disc player, a Personal Computer or Video Console.

The Beovision 7-32 is a 32in LCD TV and the prices for these are around 6000 pounds sterling or 12000 US dollars. The screen resolution is 1366 X 768 and with regards to being HD Ready the answer is no. The Beovision has 3 (3 RGB) scarts and the type and number of Multimedia interfaces the Beovision 7-32 uses is DVI and 1. The type of Tuner for this TV is Analogue and the Beovision is available from specialised outlets only.

All these points being taken into consideration, how would we view the B&O Beovision 7-32?

Well to start with our score for the picture quality is 8, next we would look at the sound quality and our view of this would be 10. Taking a look at the number of relevant connections and their availability, our score would be 8. As far as overall features are concerned we would give it 6 and for ease of use and overall value for money we would give it, 8 and 6 respectively.

Finally our overall opinion would be this has all the hallmarks of being possibly the best of B&O's current offerings but this has to be balanced with the fact that the price tag which we feel is way over the mark for the performance of the TV makes this sadly one where we feel that is not ideal value for money.

Remember that all the prices we use in these reviews are very much designed for illustration purposes only and in some cases you may well find the actual price cheaper but also in some cases, more expensive.

About The Author Stephen Morgan writes quite regularly on the Internet about TV and Home Entertainment issues and more on the above can be found at flat screen tv lift and also at http://bestflatscreentv.biz