Search our Comprehensive HDTV Database
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 | What is the best way to clean a Plasma or LCD HDTV?
Review your owner’s manual.
Use a high quality micro-fiber cloth, Scotch-Brite High Performance Cloth or one made out of 100% cotton. Make sure to use a clean cloth.
For dust, the cloth may do the trick. Do not put a lot of pressure on the screen.
The next step is to dampen the cloth.
Make sure all traces of water are removed from the screen.
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 | What is HDTV?
HDTV stands for High Definition Television. HDTV’s have an aspect ratio of 16:9, meaning it is the same as a movie theater with the screen being wider than it is high. The picture sharpness is much higher than with that of a SDTV (Standard Definition Television) or EDTV (Enhanced Definition Television).
HDTV’s can have one of three resolutions, 720p, 1080i and 1080p. The resolution for a 720p HDTV 1280 x 720, the resolution of 1080i and 1080p is 1920 x 1080. The “p” stands for progressive meaning every line is painted on the screen as opposed to “i” which stands for interlaced, in which every other line is painted on the screen.
With a 720p HDTV, there are 720 lines on the set, while a 1080i/1080p HDTV has 1080 lines on it.
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 | What does the “i” in 1080i stand for?
The “i” stands for interlaced. With interlaced scanning, TV’s paint the odd number lines first, then go back and paint the even numbered lines on the screen.
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 | What does the “p” in 720p and 1080p stand for?
The “p” stands for progressive scan. With a progressive scan HDTV, both even and odd lines are painted on the screen sixty times a second
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 | Does it matter how many lines an HDTV has?
Yes and no. A 720p HDTV provides a higher quality picture than 1080i. A 1080p HDTV has the best picture quality provided it is being fed from a 1080p source, such as Blu-ray or HD DVD.
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 | What is LCD?
LCD Stands for Liquid Crystal Display. LCD’s are a flat panel display. With an LCD, a projector is used to shine a light through liquid crystal panels which travels through mirrors and the lens to the screen. Each pixel in an LCD HDTV has three sub-pixels; one for red, one for green and one for blue.
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 | What are the benefits of LCD?
- Very slim – can be four inches deep or less
- Good quality picture
- Can be wall mounted or placed on a stand
- Use less energy than plasma HDTV’s
- Weigh less than plasma HDTV’s
- Do not generate as much heat as plasma HDTV’s
- Do not have screen burn-in
- Have - good to very good viewing angle
- Have - good to very good black levels
- Very good for brightly lit rooms
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 | What are the disadvantages of LCD?
- With lower quality LCD HDTV’s might be able to see the pixels (small dots which make up the picture)
- Not as good a contrast ratio as plasma HDTV’s
- Motion blur on some LCD HDTV’s
- Pixels can go bad, in which case you would see a small blank area. The only way to fix a bad pixel is to have the LCD HDTV replaced.
- Off-angle viewing not as good as plasma HDTV’s
- Black level not as good as plasma HDTV’s
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 | What is plasma?
Plasma is a gas. The gas is created by cells which are sandwiched between two layers of glass. A plasma HDTV is self-lighting. Sandwiched between two glass panels is a thin layer of pixels. Each pixel has three gas-filled sub-pixels; one for red, one for green and one for blue. The plasma is created by tiny electrodes applying an electric current causing neon and xenon in the cells to ionize. The plasma emits a high-frequency Ultra-Violet rays; causing the cell’s to glow in the proper color.
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 | What are the advantages of plasma?
- Images are extremely accurate
- The light output is high
- Excellent off-angle viewing
- Excellent black level
- Pixels do not go bad
- Very slim
- Can be wall mounted or placed on a stand
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 | What are the disadvantages of plasma?
- Can have screen burn-in
- Heavier than LCD HDTV’s
- Generate more heat than LCD HDTV’s
- Use more energy than LCD HDTV’s
- Not good in brightly lit rooms
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 | How do I know what size HDTV to purchase?
Many people like to get the largest their budget will allow. With that being stated here are some following guidelines.
Many people feel comfortable sitting between three and six times the width of the screen from their HDTV. Below is a chart which can provide you with a rough estimate. Remember this is for HDTV’s, regular TV’s have a different set of best viewing rules.
| HDTV Screen Size | Minimum Viewing Distance | Maximum Viewing Distance |
| 30” | 3.8’ | 7.6’ |
| 42” | 5.3’ | 10.5’ |
| 47” | 5.9’ | 11.8’ |
| 50” | 6.3’ | 12.5’ |
| 55” | 6.9’ | 12.8’ |
| 60” | 7.5’ | 15’ |
You'll notice that we said regular televisions. Wide-screen televisions showing high-resolution DVD and HDTV look better than regular sets, allowing you to sit closer and experience a more immersive, theater like picture.
With wide-screen sets showing DVD or HDTV, you can sit as close as 1.5 times the screen's diagonal measurement and not notice any loss in quality, while sitting farther away than three times the screen size means you're likely to miss out on the immersive feel. Here's a rundown of minimum and maximum recommended viewing distances for wide-screen sets.
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 | Audio Inputs
Analog Audio via RCA or XLR Connector
Digital coaxial cable or optical fiber
HDMI
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 | What is a DVR?
DVR stands for Digital Video Recorder. A DVR is similar in concept to a VCR but there are no tapes to change as a hard drive is used for storage. With a DVR you can automatically record multiple shows on even a daily or weekly basis and may be able to record more than one show at a time. Additionally, using a DVR allows you to pause, rewind and fast-forward any TV program.
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 | Does using a DVR allow other people to know what I am watch?
That depends on what you are watching. In general, it is illegal for companies to sell your personal information to others. They can however sell information about viewing habits in your area. For example, a large portion of the 12065 zip code watches Fox News as their primary news source. An exception is if you buy on-demand movies, videos or pay-per-view events. Since you are specifically requesting this service, you are giving your consent that this information can be used.
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 | What is HDMI?
HDMI stands for High-Definition Multimedia Interface. HDMI is an audio and video connector that interfaces with home theater equipment. HDMI provides uncompressed, encrypted digital streams of audio and video.
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 | What is DVI?
DVI stands for Digital Visual Interface and it is a video connector that interfaces with HDTV’s and computer monitors.
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 | What is Dolby 5.1?
Dolby 5.1 is a configuration of Dolby Digital, a lossy audio compression technology. The 5.1 refers to 5-channel surround and the ‘1’ refers to an LFE (low-frequency effect) channel which is normally sent to the subwoofer (Left, Center, Right, Left Side, Right Side and Subwoofer).
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 | What is Dolby 7.1?
Dolby 7.1 is configuration of Dolby Digital Plus, a lossy audio compression technology. This configuration takes the 5.1 setup and adds an additional 2 channels to the rear of the surround sound setup (Left, Center, Right, Left Side, Left Back, Right Side, Right Back and Subwoofer).
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 | What is Blu-Ray?
Blu-ray, also known as Blu-Ray disc, is a high-density optical disc format that can store digital information as well as high-definition video. The name for Blu-ray comes from the blue-violet laser that is used to read and write this type of disc. Blu-ray discs have a maximum storage of 25 gigabytes (GB) on a single layer and up to 50 GB on a dual layer.
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 | What is HD DVD?
HD DVD, or High Definition DVD, is a high-density optical disc format that can store data as well as high-definition video. HD DVDs have a maximum storage of 15 gigabytes (GB) on a single layer and up to 30 GB on a dual layer.
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 | What is contrast ratio?
The contrast ratio is the proportion of the brightest color (white) to that of the darkest color (black) that the system is capable of producing. For example: 2000:1, 1000:1, 800:1, and 500:1.
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 | What does an up-converting DVD player do?
An Upconverting/Upscaling DVD player adjusts the video resulting in better picture detail and colors.
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 | What is a pixel?
A pixel is a dot on an image that is usually the smallest part of that image.
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 | What is LCoS?
LCoS stands for Liquid Crystal on Silicon. With LCoS, the liquid crystals are directly applied onto the aluminized surface of a silicon chip. Some companies have used their own names for the LCoS technology.
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 | What is pixelization?
Pixelization is a video which is blurred. This can be created as in the case when a section of the image needs to remain unreadable or unwatchable such as in a license plate.
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