Welcome to The Flat TV Company Technical Advisor.

Here we stride to clear up all the myths and worries associated with Flat Televisions.

We hope it helps make your life easier when you are choosing your next TV from The Flat TV Company.

1. High Definition TV

High definition TV, or HDTV, is set to be the next generation in television broadcasts, allowing signals to be broadcast with a much higher resolution than with traditional formats.

The new requirements were set by the European Industry Association for Information Systems, Communication Technologies and Consumer Electronics, known as EICTA. Other members include Panasonic, Dell, Bang & Olufsen, Hitachi, Thomson, Samsung, Siemens, JVC, Fujitsu, Kenwood and Sanyo.

The requirements and the logo are designed to set out a clear market specification of what constitutes a compliant receiver.

The specification applies to free-to-air and PayTV HDTV receivers, and covers fully integrated HD digital TVs, HDTV receivers without a display that can be connected to “HD ready” display devices and HDTV receivers with recording capability.

The initiative builds upon minimum requirements EICTA announced last year for devices, such as televisions, that will display the broadcasts. Again, those requirements were backed up by a logo – “HD ready”.

Both logo programmes are the result of collaboration between the European digital technology industry, the European public and private broadcasters and infrastructure and service providers, and both will be based on a self-certification regime.

Speaking at the IFA trade show in Berlin, Rudy Provoost, President of EICTA and CEO of Philips Consumer Electronics, said:

“HDTV is going to be the biggest thing to hit the consumer electronics industry since the advent of colour TV more than 30 years ago. We believe HDTV is going to acquire critical mass in 2006, which is why it is so important that EICTA has created these specifications and the logo program now.”

An HD ready display device won't display HD broadcasts unless it also has an HDTV receiver device – whether that is integrated in the TV or separately in the set-top box. So consumers need to look for both logos.

Television is about to change
We have seen black & white pictures turn to colour, analogue signals becoming digital and now the ultimate in picture quality in the form of High Definition TV.
It will bring clarity, colour and definition never seen before on a TV.

How does it work ?
High Definition technology relies mainly on the number of lines that the TV has to ‘draw’ the picture. When we talk about picture quality we refer to resolution. This is made up of many lines of pixels. The more of these lines of pixels there are on screen the better the resolution and,therefore, the picture quality.

Conventional TVs use 625 lines but HDTV will use 720 or 1080 lines to create the picture. This increase in lines will result in vastly improved picture quality,clarity and colour definition.

So what makes a TV HD ready ?
An HD ready TV must have HDMI or DVI connectivity in order to accept a digital signal from the HD receiving equipment. It must also be able to handle the 720 or 1080 line formats.

Why do I need a HD Ready TV ?
In order to enjoy all the future high definition programmes,you must have a HD Ready TV.

Take the step into the future with Sky HD broadcast, lots of great programmes will be seen and heard as never before.

Many programme makers – including the BBC – are already filming in High Definition. And HD will be available through Sky during 2006.

You will be able to enjoy a host of your favourite programmes in unbelievable quality. Feel like you are on set with your favourite soap characters or trackside with top sports personalities.

Naturally all HD Ready screens will also work excellently with standard broadcasts until the HD broadcasts arrive.

Purchasing an HD Ready TV is a way of ‘future proofing’ yourself and enhancing the picture quality and enjoyment you get from theTV.

For the definition of HDTV, read the HD Ready section of EICTA.

www.eicta.org

For an indepentant view on HDTV, visit the High Def Forum.

2. Widescreen Television

Screen Aspect Ratio Defined. Screen Aspect Ratio is basically a measure of the horizontal length of a television (or film) screen, in relation to its vertical height. In other words, a traditional television has a Screen Aspect Ratio of 4x3. This means that a traditional television has a screen that is four units long for every three units in height. Converting these units into inches would result in measurements of 4-inches by 3-inches or 8-inches by 6-inches, and on-and-on. By the same token, on widescreen television (such as today's HDTVs), the Screen Aspect Ratio is 16 units long for every 9 units in height, or 16-inches by 9-inches, 32-inches by 18-inches, etc... A 16x9 screen aspect ratio thus results in a wider image display that a 4x3 aspect ratio. This wider image display allows both movies originally filmed in widescreen and new, widescreen television programming, to be displayed more accurately.

The Increasing Need For 16x9 Televisions. As the impact of DVD, DTV, and HDTV becoming more of a factor in TV purchases, the consumer now needs to decide between purchasing a television with a traditional 4x3 aspect ratio, or the new DTV widescreen televisions with a 16x9 screen aspect ratio. Televisions with a 16x9 screen aspect ratio is more suited to the increasing amount of 16x9 and other widescreen programming available on DVD and HDTV broadcasts. However, consumers are used to the traditional 4x3-shaped screen. For an illustration of the difference in shape of a traditional 4x3 aspect ratio TV screen and a 16x9 TV screen, check out this example.

With more and more programming available in widescreen formats, owners of 4x3 TVs are watching a growing number of TV programs and DVD movies with black bars on the top and bottom of their screens (commonly known as letterboxing). Many viewers, not accustomed to this, think that they are being cheated by not having the entire TV screen filled with an image. This is not the case. Most films made after 1953 were (and continue to be) filmed in various widescreen formats, such as Cinemascope, Panavision, Vista-Vision, Technirama, Cinerama, or other widescreen film format.

How Widescreen Movies Are Shown On Standard Televisions. In order to show these widescreen films so that they fill the entire screen on a traditional 4x3 TV, they are re-edited in a Pan-and-Scan format, with an attempt to include as much as the original image as possible. To illustrate this, take an example where two characters are talking to each other, but each is standing on opposite sides of a widescreen image. If shown full screen on a traditional TV without further editing, all the viewer would see would be the empty space between the characters.

To remedy this, editors must recut the scene for video release by jumping from one character to the other as they speak and respond to each other. In this scenario, however, the intent of the film director is severely altered, because the viewer does not see the entire composition of the original scene, including any facial expressions or body language in response to the other character who is speaking.

Another problem with this Pan-and-Scan process is lost impact of action scenes. An example of this is the chariot race in the 1959 version of Ben Hur. In the original widescreen theatrical version (available on DVD), you can see the entire impact of Ben Hur and the other chariot racers as they battle each other for positioning in the famed chariot race segment. In the Pan- and-Scan version, normally broadcast on TV, all you see is the camera cutting to closeups of the horses and reins. All the other action in the frame is totally missing, as well as the body expressions of the chariot riders.

3. LCD vs Plasma Television

Introduction.

Size: Both LCD TVs and plasma TVs are thin as you could hope for. In screen size plasmas usually run larger though don’t usually come in smaller sizes, which is sometimes needed. Viewing Angle: Plasma have a wider viewing angle. Life Span: Both have good lifespan. Issues: Plasma sometimes suffer from “burn in” effect. LCD TVs are sometimes susceptible to a delay that causes the outline of figures or objects to appear jagged. Colour: LCD TVs are renowned for a sharp picture and vibrant colour. Plasma TVs are known for a wide range of colours and accurate colour reproduction. Brightness: LCD TVs are said to do slightly better in bright-light conditions. Black Levels: Plasma TVs generally produce very black blacks whereas an LCD TV will produce a very dark charcoal gray. Contrast Levels: Plasma TVs, technically, are said to have greater contrast levels. Cost: Prices for both types of TVs are decreasing rapidly.

Plasma vs. LCD TVs : Which is Best for You?
It’s shaping up to be a battle for the ages – Plasma vs. LCD, Ali vs. Frazier, Batman vs. Superman. If only the Plasma vs. LCD question were that simple. But it isn’t. You can't have both.

We will go over the different areas where the Plasma vs. LCD battle plays itself out, and hopefully, when you leave, you'll have a better idea of which TV is right for you.

Plasma vs. LCD TVs: The Technology : Tech Stuff - Simplified
Plasma TVs - At the heart of the plasma TV are chemical compounds called phosphors. In a plasma TV, each pixel is made up of three phosphors – one red, one blue, and one green. These phosphors emit light when struck by beams of electrons. The intensity of the electron beam determines the amount of light emitted. It is the phosphors themselves that create the light your see on a plasma screen.

LCD TVs - LCD TVs use millions of crystals, which are suspended in a liquid that is sandwiched between transparent panels. Behind this liquid crystal sandwich is bright florescent light. The crystals are instructed to either let the light pass or not. colour filters are used to determine colour.

Plasma vs. LCD TVs: Size and Viewing Angle
Does Size Matter?
In a TV, of course it does. In the Plasma vs. LCD TV debate, both were always thin, and so that question is something of a stalemate. You can talk about the difference between 3" and 5" if you like on certain models, but when it comes to a large screen TV, that almost seems a little silly.
When you talk about the viewing area, however, plasma TVs have always been known for their larger sizes. And in general, that’s still true. Or, at least, you will have a greater variety of plasma TVs to choose from when you’re looking at the big models. It may take a little time before the number of large-sized LCD models catch up to the number of options you have with plasma TVs. LCD TVs, however, are indeed gaining ground.

As for the size of your bank account, I’m assuming that matters too. As of this writing, for a large-screen plasma TV and a large-screen LCD TV of the same size, the plasma TV would normally be less expensive. LCD TVs are improving in price as well, however, and many predict the two will be on equal footing in the price department before long. All else being equal, in the Plasma vs. LCD TV debate, plasma tends to win on this one for the time being. But of course, all else isn't equal. The battle continues.

Viewing Angle. The viewing angle is how far off to the side you can sit and still see the picture clearly. Viewing angle is also talked about with computers, but in a computer monitor, this type of consideration isn’t usually so important. Computer users normally sit directly in front of their monitors, and typically there's only one user at a time. For TVs, however, viewing angle can be hugely important. You might have people sitting at various places all around the room.

Historically, the Plasma vs. LCD battle has been won by plasma TVs in this category. LCD TVs have made tremendous strides in this area of late. Many people will tell you, however, that the 170° field of vision claimed by some LCD manufacturers simply isn’t realistic. You may be able to see what’s happening at that angle, but it isn’t the same as sitting more directly head on. Reports from some owners of newer, top-of-the-line LCD TVs, however, say that the 170° is accurate.

5. Interactive Digital TV

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6. Installation

Click here for our range of wall hanging options for LCD & plasma TVs.

Click here for our range of av cables.

The Flat TV Company has a comprehensive network of trusted LCD & Plasma Installers that operate throughout the UK. Call us now for details of the one nearest you.