HD What?
If you’re like me, you might be a little overwhelmed by all the new technology out there. I’m particularly interested in all the new display technology. Especially around this post-CES timeframe, it’s staggering how many acronyms there are. CRT, LCD,
LCoS, DLP, SED, OLED, FED-CNT, HDTV, EDTV, HTPC, DVI, HDCP, HDMI, DMCA, LMNOP… Here’s a quick breakdown.
- CRT - Cathode Ray Tube (old-fashion TVs & PC monitors use this technology)
- LCD - Liquid Crystal Display
- LCoS - Liquid Crystal on Silicon
- DLP - Digital Light Processor
- SED - Surface-conduction Electron-emitter Display
- OLED - Organic Light Emitting Diode
- FED-CNT - Field Emission Display - Carbon Nanotube
- HDTV - High Definition Television
- EDTV - Enhanced Definition Television
- HTPC - Home Theater Personal Computer
- DVI - Digital Video Interface
- HDCP - High-bandwidth Digital Copyright Protection
- HDMI - High Definition Multimedia Interface
- DMCA - Digital Millennium Copy write Act
- LMNOP - You know… ABCDEFG, HIJK "LMNOP".. the alphabet song.
A coworker recently asked me what I would recommend for a TV. "If you’re looking for a new high-def display, you should do some research", I told him. If you’re building a home theater PC (HTPC), you’ll want to go with 1080p. This means the display will have one thousand and eighty vertical lines of resolution. The "p" stands for progressive scan. This means that with each pass, every single row is changed. On old TV’s, the signal was interlaced, meaning that every other row was updated with each pass. This is why the lines on the football field appeared to be jaggy. Anything at or above 720p is considered high definition, or HD. 1080p is sometimes called "ultra HD" or "true HDTV". A typical computer LCD monitor could be considered Ultra HD, for example. The one I’m using has a resolution of 1280×1024, meaning it has 1024 rows of 1280 pixels each. 1080p screens [like this one] have a resolution of 1920×1080.
At any rate, once you’ve decided the resolution you want, you need to pick a type. Rear projection, front projection, or flat panel? Flat panels are all digital, are more likely to impress your friends, but can get insanely expensive. Front projection is great for watching movies and the like. They’re not as good for watching your daily TV shows, simply because they require a darker room. The light from the projector competes with the sunlight from the window. They also require an empty wall that you can either project on, or put up a screen on. However, you’re not restricted by screen size. The last category, rear projection, is usually the cheapest. The technology in any category varies, however.
If you choose flat panel, you pretty much have LCD or Plasma to pick from. Newer technologies are just around the corner (LCoS, FED, SED, etc.). I wouldn’t recommend plasma as they tend to loose half of their brightness within 4-8 years (who knows for sure?). If you’re paying $3000 - $5000 on a new flat panel display, I think you’d want it to last more. On top of that, plasmas are vulnerable to burn in. If you leave that ESPN ticker on the screen long enough, it will leave a permanent ghost image behind. LCD is probably the way to go, but they cost a lot more than plasmas do (for the same screen size). They also suffer from other problems such as refresh rate (causes blurring with fast-moving pictures), and viewing angle. By the end of this year, you’ll be able to find larger sizes for sure, but right now, LCD’s don’t quite compare to plasmas in terms of screen size to price. Sharp’s 65" LC-TV (LCD display + HDTV Tuner = LC-TV) is expected to sell for around $20,000 second half of ‘05. For around $5000, you can pick up a 40-inch LC-TV. Compared to $3000 for a typical 42-inch plasma, you can see the difference. The good things about LCD’s: crystal clear picture (no pun intended), lower power requirements, no burn-in.
Even within the LCD world, there are a lot of advancements coming up this year, mostly in terms of size, and backlighting technology. Most LCD’s today use cold cathode fluorescent lighting (CCFL). Two newer technologies include using 3 colored LED’s to light up the screen, or to use a flat fluorescent lamp (FFL). Besides the back-light, there are even different types of displays. There’s TFT (thin film transistor) and LCoS. TFT uses many layers of transistors on a single glass pane. With LCoS, the liquid crystal material is sealed directly into the surface of a silicon chip. What does this mean to you? A clearer, brighter image at a lower cost than LCD.
For rear projection you have a much larger box. However, they tend to be much less expensive. Standard rear projection monitors are cheap (in comparison), and have the largest boxes out of the bunch. If you want to go with a digital display, DLP will give you the highest quality with the smallest footprint (they also come with the highest price-tag). LCD will fall somewhere in the middle. The biggest downside to rear projection is the size of the display’s enclosure, and potential for burn-in (although not as bad as plasma).
Front projection uses similar technology to rear projection. Either LCD or DLP. DLP will give you a much larger picture without the "screen-door" effect you get with LCD. With an LCD projection, you can actually see the individual pixels if your image is large enough. Although I haven’t seen this first-hand, all the reviews say DLP produces a sharper, brighter image in comparison to LCD. They’re also more expensive.
All of the latest digital displays will most likely have a DVI connector. The newer standard is HDMI. HDMI cables not only carry high-definition video, but also carry 8-channels of audio! They’re also smaller, and can be longer.
Anyway, for a quick rule of thumb, if price is no concern, go with a sleek big LCD or plasma display. If you want the largest display possible (movie theater experience), go with a good DLP projector (front projection). Somewhere in the middle? Go with a rear projection unit. If you can wait, there are a ton of new technologies just around the corner that promise larger, brighter, clearer screens at a lower cost. There’s one thing that’s definite. There will be even more choices when it comes to display technology.