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Slim sets with big screens challenge the plasma TV market

LCD (liquid-crystal display) TVs are by far the best-selling type of TV, and that's little wonder. LCD TVs are slim and light, and they come in a wide range of sizes including big-screen models. Picture quality is on the rise, and prices are on the decline.

Many new LCD sets have screens measuring 40 inches and up, and sets with 50-plus inch screens becoming more common. No matter how large the screen, LCD sets are only a few inches deep and light enough to be wall-mounted, about 75 pounds or so for a 46-inch sets.

As LCD screens have grown larger, they've become strong competition to plasma sets, and there are many more companies selling LCD than plasma TVs. LCD televisions still cost more than most comparably sized plasma sets, but the gap is narrowing, particularly in the 40- to 42-inch category. Many big-screen LCD sets have 1920x1080, or 1080p, resolution, the highest currently available, giving them the potential to display all the detail in a high-definition signal.

Technology has improved in a number of ways over recent years, resulting in better performance. High-def LCD TVs have millions of pixels (the tiny elements that make up an image) that open to let light through or close to block it, somewhat like tiny shutters. Light tends to leak through even when the "shutters" are closed, one reason LCDs have had trouble displaying deep black levels. However, some new models have minimized this problem, enabling them to produce deeper blacks.

The use of LED backlighting instead of fluorescent lights in some new sets has addressed other issues. LED backlighting potentially enables an LCD TV to display a wider range of colors and more evenly distribute light across the back of the panel for more consistent brightness on all parts of the screen. In addition, the use of 120Hz technology on some new TVs has improved their ability to display fast-moving scenes without blurring. LEDs also use less energy than conventional lamps.

There's also been progress in widening the viewing angle, a traditional weakness of LCD displays. With many sets, the picture looks its best only from a fairly narrow sweet spot right in front of the screen. When viewed from off-center, the color, contrast, or brightness changes, affecting the picture quality. Some new LCD TVs have a wider viewing angle, making that less of an issue.

There's mounting evidence that LCD TVs have been highly reliable products requiring few repairs during the first three years of use.

WHAT'S AVAILABLE

Top-selling brands include LG, Philips, Samsung, Sharp, Sony, Vizio, and Westinghouse. You'll also find low-priced brands, including store brands from major retailers such as Best Buy, Target, and Wal-Mart, among others.

LCD TVs come in the widest range of sizes of any TV type, from 15 inches or so up to 57 inches and even larger. Small sets with 15- to 19-inch screens, including a mix of standard-definition and high-definition models, are most suitable for use in a kitchen or office. Those with 26- to 37-inch screens might serve in a bedroom or small living room. Most LCD TVs with screens larger than 26 inches or so are high-definition (HD) models. A TV measuring 40 inches or larger is a good choice for use as a primary set in most homes. Many LCD sets with 40-inch-plus screens have 1080p resolution; others have 720p resolution.

Major-brand LCD HDTVs typically cost $700 to $1,000 for a 32-inch set, about $1,000 for a 37-inch set, and $1,200 to $3,000 for a 40- to 46-inch set. 1080p sets typically cost a few hundred dollars more than a comparable 720p model. Prices in larger sizes continue to drop. In all size categories, you'll see less-established brands selling for hundreds less.

Since March 2007, all new TVs sold in the U.S. must include a digital tuner. This enables them to receive free digital TV, including high-def programming, via an over-the-air antenna.

HOW TO CHOOSE

An LCD is a better choice than a plasma in certain situations. You have a wider choice of screen sizes and a bigger selection of 1080p models. LCDs are generally brighter than plasma TVs, and their screens are less reflective. That makes them better for daytime viewing in rooms with lots of windows or for nighttime use in rooms with bright lighting.

With an LCD, there's no chance that static images from video games and computer programs-as well as station logos, news tickers, even the bars alongside standard-def pictures-will burn in. With a plasma TV, burn-in is a concern, though many new models have features to minimize that risk.

LCDs tend to use less power than comparably sized plasma TVs. It doesn't appear that the differences would affect your electric bills by more than a few dollars a month in many cases, so that might not be a major factor in your decision. But there is obviously an environmental advantage to using a less power-hungry TV.

Here are points to consider if you've decided an LCD TV is right for you:

Decide on screen size. The size of your room and your budget are key factors in choosing a screen size. Generally, a 40- to 47-inch LCD TV is a reasonable choice for a main TV that you'll watch often in a midsized room. For a large room or a home theater, consider a 50-inch or larger TV. A 32- to 37-inch set might be a good choice for a bedroom or small den. Smaller screens are generally best-suited for casual viewing in a kitchen or office.

With any set, make sure you sit at the appropriate distance. Run-of-the-mill non-HD programming tends to look better and more natural if you sit at least 5 feet from a 40- to 47-inch set and 6 feet from a 50-inch or larger TV. If you're closer, you're likely to see the screen elements making up the picture along with any flaws in the images, such as graininess or video noise. With a good TV displaying top HD content-say, from a high-definition DVD player-the finer detail and superior quality allow you to sit closer so you can more fully enjoy the impact of a larger image.

While those screen sizes might sound enormous, keep in mind that big-screen LCD sets are just a few inches deep, so they aren't as imposing as you might fear. Be sensible, though. Measure your available space so you don't overdo it.

Consider a 1080p TV first, but don't rule out 720p sets. Another major decision point involves a TV's native screen resolution, which indicates the number of pixels, or picture elements, on the screen. The more pixels, the finer the detail a screen can display. You can appreciate that level of detail most on a 50-inch or larger TV, but you might see subtle improvements on 40- to 47-inch screens, especially when viewed up close.

No TV programs are broadcast in the 1080p signal format now, but a 1920x1080 set will convert current HD signal formats (720p and 1080i) to match its native screen resolution. If the TV does the job well, the picture quality can be outstanding. In addition, Blu-ray and HD DVD players provide true 1080p content from high-definition movies.

If price is not an issue, we'd recommend a high-scoring 1080p set over a comparable 720p set. But don't assume all 1080p sets are superior to 720p models; resolution alone doesn't determine picture quality. Some of the top-rated TVs in our Ratings are 720p sets. Also, with typical HD programming, the picture quality of a good 720p set can be almost indistinguishable from a 1080p set's, especially if it's smaller than 50 inches.

We'd recommend a small standard-definition LCD TV only for casual viewing-in the kitchen, for example-where you wouldn't want the cable or satellite box you generally need to receive HD signals.

Check the viewing angle. Some new LCD TVs display a better image from off-center than older sets did, an important consideration if the TV will be watched by several people at once. Before buying, see how the picture looks if you step off to the side or move up and down. With some, you'll see a somewhat washed-out image as your viewing position angles away from front and center.

Don't get hung up on specs. Ads touting high contrast ratios and brightness (in cd/m2, or candelas per square meter) might sway you to one set over another. Manufacturers arrive at specs differently, so they might not be comparable. Try adjusting sets in the store yourself to compare contrast and brightness, as TVs are often optimized for bright retail environments, not home viewing.

Consider reliability. Our user surveys have found few repair problems during the first three years of use for LCD sets from JVC, Panasonic, Philips, Samsung, Sharp, Sony, and Toshiba. Dell and Hitachi LCDs have been more repair-prone. Olevia and Sanyo look promising, but we don't have sufficient data to include these brands in our charts.

Look for easy-to-use inputs. On many LCD televisions, the connections are on the side or rear of the panel and might be difficult to reach. A few larger models might have a separate control unit to which you connect all your external audio/video devices, such as a DVD player or cable box. You then have only one cable going from the control box to the panel itself. That's a plus for wall mounting.

Consider a set that doubles as a computer display. If you need a computer display as well as a TV, check connectivity options. An HD set with high native resolution, preferably 1080p, is best for computer use. A standard VGA connection works with all computers.

Be aware of the logistics. You might want to consider having the biggest-screen LCD sets delivered. The cartons are too large to fit in many vehicles, and they can be awkward to carry. Though you might be able to handle a basic hookup of a cable box and a DVD player on your own, connecting more devices-a DVR, DVD recorder, VCR, and digital receiver and sound system-gets trickier, so you might consider professional installation. Installation may also cover programming a learning remote so that all your gear can be controlled by a single remote control.

Though ads for LCD TVs often show no cables or wires, they are a factor in installation. You can tuck wires behind the TV if you place it on a stand. With wall mounting, you can run the wires behind the wall or through conduits, a task that might be best handled by a professional (wires that run in walls and ceilings require a different UL rating).

Ask the retailer to recommend an installer or contact the Custom Electronic Design & Installation Association (800-669-5329 or www.cedia.net) to find one in your area. Plan on paying from $300 to $1,000 for labor, plus $100 to $250 for mounting brackets.

LCD HDTVs typically have all the features you expect on a higher-priced television. Most LCD sets with screens 26 inches and above have 16:9 wide screens. Because some TV content is still formatted for the more squarish 4:3 screen, wide-screen sets have stretch and zoom modes that expand or compress an image to fill the screen better. This helps to reduce the dark bands that can appear on the sides or top and bottom of images if you watch content that isn't formatted for a wide screen. (The picture might be distorted or cut off a bit in the process of stretching or zooming.)

A film-mode feature improves the appearance of movies converted from film to video, including the majority of cinematic movies on DVD and some movies broadcast on cable, on satellite, or over the air. This feature is also called 3:2 pull-down, motion compensation, or brand-specific names such as CineMotion and Film Mode. It helps compensate for the difference in frame rates between film (24 frames per second) and video (30 frames per second) so moving images look less jerky and jagged around the edges. Progressive-scan DVD players have this feature as well. When watching DVDs, try enabling the feature first on the DVD player and then on the TV, and use whichever makes the images look smoother.

All TVs have menus with settings that enable you to adjust the video, audio, and more. With more sources for video available all the time, it's handy to have a feature that allows you to customize settings for each input, such as the one you routinely use for your cable box or the DVD player. For example, you might want sharpness set to its lowest level when watching high-quality DVDs routed through the HDMI input, but a higher sharpness setting to improve the appearance of standard-definition programs coming in through the component-video input.

CableCard slots let you use a card, provided by the cable company for a small rental fee, instead of a cable box. There aren't many LCD TVs that are CableCard-ready currently on the market. When the card is inserted, the TV can receive scrambled digital-cable content, including high-definition programming. This eliminates the need for an extra piece of equipment and cables, but there is a downside: Current CableCards are one-way, so they don't provide an interactive program guide or video-on-demand, and pay-per-view ordering via the remote control. But some TVs have a built-in program guide, such as TV Guide On Screen, that displays eight days of programming in a searchable, interactive format.

Picture-in-picture (PIP) lets you watch two channels at once, one in a small box, the other as a full-screen image. It's useful if you want to browse the onscreen guide while keeping an eye on the program you're watching, or keep track of a sports event while another program is playing.

A single-tuner TV requires another device with a tuner, such as a VCR or cable box, to display two programs at once; dual-tuner models are able to display two programs simultaneously on their own.

One of the most important points to consider with any TV is the number and type of inputs it has. There are several types that can handle high-definition signals: HDMI, DVI, component-video, and RF (antenna/cable). HDMI and DVI inputs provide a digital connection to devices such as DVD players, digital-cable boxes, and satellite receivers. HDMI carries audio and video on one cable. DVI carries only video and must be used with separate audio cables; they are much less common than HDMI and show up mostly on smaller sets that can double as a computer display. The digital-to-digital connection might enhance picture quality, though that hasn't always been the case in our tests so far.

Component-video inputs are analog; they use red, green, and blue RCA jacks to carry the video and must be used with separate audio cables. Most new TVs have two component-video and two HDMI inputs; some have three or four HDMI connections. The RF input can be used to get digital signals, including HD, from an off-air antenna. Other analog inputs on new TVs include composite-video and S-video, used mostly for equipment such as VCRs. Inputs on the front or side of a set are more accessible than those in the rear, but also more visible.

Some LCD sets have a memory-card slot. This enables you to view still photos or videos from a digital camera. You can connect a camera or camcorder directly to the TV if it has a PictBridge, USB, or IEEE 1394/Firewire input.

A VGA input lets a TV accept signals from virtually any computer; DVI inputs are compatible mostly with newer midrange computers.

A headphone jack is handy if you want to listen to a TV show or a DVD without disturbing others.

An illuminated remote- either backlit or with glow-in-the-dark keys-is handy in a dim setting. Backlighting is preferred since glow-in-the-dark keys fade quickly.

In addition to such universal features, others are more specific to this type of set. The location of the speakers is one example. On some LCD models, the speakers are on both sides of the screen; on others, they're below it. That affects the width of the set and could determine whether it will fit into a niche in an entertainment center, for example. On some LCD TVs, speakers are detachable. That can be a plus if you want to fit the TV into a particular space or position the speakers away from the screen.

A panel's ability to tilt and swivel also varies, so see whether a given model can be adjusted as much as you'd like.

Copyright © 2003-2008 Consumers Union of U.S., Inc.
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