Circuit City Electrical Store: At Circuit City Electrical Store Your Money Buys Much More!

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Basics Home Delivery Glossary Home Theater Installation Untitled Document If you're like most people, the first time you looked at a flat panel TV you walked around the back and thought Where's the rest of it? It's perfectly understandable, since bulky traditional cathode ray tube (CRT) televisions have been the standard for more than 50 years. So how is it possible to produce a working television that's thinner than most photo albums? We're glad you asked. Flat panel TVs can use one of two technologies - Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) or Plasma Display . While the technology is different for the two displays, both eliminate the need for heavy glass and a large electron gun by controlling picture elements (pixels) individually. Pixels are the tiny colored dots that make up the pictures we see on a television screen. You can think of each pixel in a color image as being made up of a red, green, and blue component, or "subpixel" that work together to create images. (For more information on how a CRT television works, see the Learn About section under Tube TVs). Liquid Crystal Displays LCDs first became popular in the early 1970s. Today, they can be found in a variety of digital devices, including calculators, watches, microwave ovens, computers, and front projection TVs. As the name implies, they use a gas-like substance known as Liquid Crystals to create a display. What are Liquid Crystals? Liquid crystal is a substance that shares characteristics of both a liquid and a solid. This unique composition makes it possible to use an electric current to manipulate them to allow light to pass through or be blocked out, much like the shutter of a camera. In a rear-projection TV, this light source is located in the back of the television, behind the layer of liquid crystals. In a front-projection TV, a panel of mirrors is positioned in back of the crystals to reflect the light projected from the front of the TV. Images are formed by applying voltage, which changes the properties of each Liquid Crystal Cell (LCC) in the display and, in turn, alters the pixel's light absorption properties. What Makes Up an LCD? A Liquid Crystal Display consists of a layer of liquid crystals sandwiched between two plates of polarized glass. A color filter (composed of transparent pixel electrodes), and a system for controlling the voltage passed to this filter, are positioned on one of the glass plates. LCDs do not produce their own light, so a light source behind the display is also necessary; this is accomplished by using several florescent light bulbs and a "diffuser plate" to help distribute the light evenly. This back light must be powerful, as polarized glass and liquid crystal materials absorb more than half of the light that passes through their layers. Active versus Passive Matrix Display As we mentioned earlier, a system is needed to control the pixel electrodes. There are two basic color-producing techniques for LCDs: Passive Matrix and Active Matrix. The design of a Passive Matrix is simple and cost-efficient, but a slow response time and imprecise voltage control results in "ghosting" effects and fuzzy images with poor contrast. A layer of Thin Film Transistors (TFTs) makes up an Active Matrix; a transistor positioned at each pixel intersection regulates which pixels receive a charge. A beam of light passes through this matrix, which determines whether the pixel should be "on" (LCC activated) or "off" (no light passes through). Light waves that make it through the matrix are then passed through the color filter, which allows only the desired color to be displayed. By controlling the voltage to each pixel, each color can display more than 256 shades to create a palette of nearly 16.8 million colors! This wide selection allows the display to match colors accurately and create a more realistic picture. Advantages and Limitations TFTs can produce a wide array of colors, but it takes an enormous number of transistors to make up a display, and a problem with any one of them creates a defective pixel on the screen. Typically this shows up as a bright spot on a dark background, caused by a damaged TFT failing to turn off a pixel. Even a tiny spec of dust can destroy a TFT, and most Active Matrix displays contain a few bad pixels. Keep in mind that we're talking about a display with a minimum of several thousand pixels, so a few bad pixels are not going to have much of an impact on the overall picture. Quality control is so strict that only about 60% of the manufactured displays can be sold due to the high occurrence of bad pixels, which is one of the reasons LCDs are more expensive than CRTs. Other reasons include costly materials and a relatively low demand that prohibits mass production. Because there are still quality control issues to work out, LCDs are not available in large screen sizes yet. The larger the display, the greater the number of pixels and transistors required. Not only is this expensive, but it also increases the chances of including a defective transistor, which causes higher failure rates and increased production costs. The properties of liquid crystal material can create problems with viewing angle effects, causing the image to darken, disappear, or reverse the dark and light tones when the viewer is not directly in front of the display (kind of like looking at the negative of a photo). The light bulbs make LCDs heavier than the Plasma design (though they are still lightweights compared to CRT televisions), and one criticism has been dimness of picture. As technology progresses, LCDs are becoming brighter with wider viewing angles. LCDs do not deteriorate over time and their fluids always return to a normal state when a voltage is not applied. Extreme temperature can affect the performance of an LCD, and although flat panel TVs can be displayed just about anywhere, we highly recommend you don't store them in the oven or freezer. Plasma Displays The technology of a Plasma Display is similar to the idea behind a fluorescent light bulb. In a fluorescent light bulb, an electric current excites gas contained in a glass tube causing the release of ultraviolet photons. These photons hit the phosphor coating inside of a fluorescent tube, and this phosphor creates visible light. However, since this is not an article about light bulbs, let's talk Plasma TV. What is Plasma? Plasma is a highly ionized gas-like substance that is an excellent conductor of electricity. A Plasma Display consists of thousands (and sometimes millions) of tiny, glass, plasma-filled chambers, which are layered between two wired glass panels. On one panel the wires are arranged in rows. In the other the wires are arranged in columns, creating a grid. Directing a charge to the desired wire intersection activates individual pixels. Behind each of the glass chambers are three phosphors that emit red, green, or blue light, and combine to create the images on the screen. An image is displayed when a digitally controlled electric current excites the plasma, causing it to give off invisible ultraviolet light. This ultraviolet light strikes the phosphors on the back of the display and makes them display the appropriate color. Plasma Displays eliminate the need for a back light source because they produce their own light. Advantages and Limitations The result of plasma technology is an evenly focused, realistic picture with a wide viewing angle. Plasma displays perform well regardless of lighting conditions and are not affected by magnetic fields. That means you can set one next to your home speaker system without affecting the picture. Most models accept both video and computer inputs, allowing you to watch your favorite movies or display images from the DVD-ROM drive of your computer. One past criticism of plasma technology has been a problem with poor contrast - blacks had a slightly whitish hue and appeared to be more of a dark gray than a true black. However, the quality of contrast has improved significantly since the original plasma displays were introduced, and the images produced by plasma technology today are noticeably cleaner and more defined. Just like LCDs, Plasmas are capable of displaying a palate of almost 16.8 million colors, giving images a more lifelike quality. Like a CRT television, the phosphors and gases deteriorate over time, causing brightness to fade. The life span of a TV with regard to brightness is measured in terms of a half-life. To put it simply, this is the amount of time it takes for the display to lose half of its original brightness. If you happen to have an older CRT television sitting around your house, you can see how the picture has slowly become darker over time. The life span of a plasma display averages 30,000 hours (compared to 20,000 hours for a CRT). If you were to watch 6 hours of television per day, the half-life of your plasma TV would average 13.7 years. This doesn't mean the TV stops working smack dab in the middle of your favorite rerun of Cop Rock, only that the picture loses some of its brightness over a period of several years. Plasmas weigh much less than LCDs, and are currently the only flat panel televisions offered in screen sizes larger than twenty inches. These high tech displays don't come cheap and, as with LCDs, a rather limited market stops the manufacturers from producing them in large numbers. It's a catch 22 -- a larger demand for these displays will help to lower the cost, but the cost is limiting the demand. 20% to 50% of the glass plates are currently recycled due to flaws, and these high production costs are passed on to you. Flat Panels In a (very thin) Nutshell Of course, the most obvious advantage to owning a flat panel television is an ultra-thin display that weighs considerably less than a traditional TV. In addition to looking like something out of the space age, flat panels might also be categorized as being part of the "space saving" age - they fit almost anywhere! Flat panels are versatile and can be placed on a stand or mounted on just about any flat surface, but before you envision one of them on the ceiling of every room in your home, be aware there are installation issues to consider. This often involves running cables and wires behind walls -- something that should be done by professionals. Also, be sure to check the model specifications carefully, as many do not come with speakers or built in tuners (though this is changing). Buying one without these components means more than simply purchasing the items separately. It also means you must be cable savvy enough (or know someone who is) to figure out setting up what can be a rather complex system of connections. Bottom line: research carefully before you buy so there are no surprises. The technology behind individual pixel control produces a realistic picture with rich colors, and it all fits together in a slim, cool looking package. The picture still doesn't match the clarity of a high definition image on a CRT television, particularly with regard to black and white contrast, but flat panel technology is rapidly developing and improvements are continually being integrated into the displays. High production costs and a relatively small demand are the primary reasons for the high price tag on flat panel TVs. As technology improves and demand increases, expect to see a significant drop in the price of both LCD and Plasma television, as well as an increase in reasons to own one. . Online shopping at Circuit City is affordable, easy and 100% secure. › www.Circuit City.com › www.Circuit City › Circuit City Electronics @ Circuit City-Online › Circuit City Electrical Stores

in Electronics Games Movies Popular Music Classical Music Home Audio & Video DVD Players and VCRs Televisions · Portable TVs - less than 6 inches · TVs - 6-19 inches · TVs - 20-29 inches · TVs - 30-40 inches · Projection TVs 40 inches and up · Flat Panel TVs · TV-VCR-DVD Combos · HDTV Receivers · Flat Panel TV Accessories · Surge Protectors and UPS · TV Stands · TV-VCR Accessories · Video Cables and Connections · Video Tapes, Discs, and Care Home Audio Portable Electronics Car Electronics Satellite TV Systems Audio and Video Accessories Audio and Video Furniture Sharper Image Camcorders and Photo Cameras and Camcorders Home Office Computers, Printers, and PDAs Peripherals and Accessories Internet and Home Networking Wireless Phones Phones and Office Electronics Office Furniture Software Music & Movies CDs and Cassettes DVD and VHS Movies Toys and Games Kids Electronics Video Games Gift Cards Services Weekly Ad Rebates Help & Services Join Affiliates Corporate Sales Investor Info Circuit City Info Careers Boys & Girls Clubs of America National Partnership Flat Panel TVs Shop For Flat Panel TVs Basics What do you want to learn about Flat Panel TVs? Basics Home Delivery Glossary Home Theater Installation Untitled Document If you're like most people, the first time you looked at a flat panel TV you walked around the back and thought Where's the rest of it? It's perfectly understandable, since bulky traditional cathode ray tube (CRT) televisions have been the standard for more than 50 years. So how is it possible to produce a working television that's thinner than most photo albums? We're glad you asked. Flat panel TVs can use one of two technologies - Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) or Plasma Display . While the technology is different for the two displays, both eliminate the need for heavy glass and a large electron gun by controlling picture elements (pixels) individually. Pixels are the tiny colored dots that make up the pictures we see on a television screen. You can think of each pixel in a color image as being made up of a red, green, and blue component, or "subpixel" that work together to create images. (For more information on how a CRT television works, see the Learn About section under Tube TVs). Liquid Crystal Displays LCDs first became popular in the early 1970s. Today, they can be found in a variety of digital devices, including calculators, watches, microwave ovens, computers, and front projection TVs. As the name implies, they use a gas-like substance known as Liquid Crystals to create a display. What are Liquid Crystals? Liquid crystal is a substance that shares characteristics of both a liquid and a solid. This unique composition makes it possible to use an electric current to manipulate them to allow light to pass through or be blocked out, much like the shutter of a camera. In a rear-projection TV, this light source is located in the back of the television, behind the layer of liquid crystals. In a front-projection TV, a panel of mirrors is positioned in back of the crystals to reflect the light projected from the front of the TV. Images are formed by applying voltage, which changes the properties of each Liquid Crystal Cell (LCC) in the display and, in turn, alters the pixel's light absorption properties. What Makes Up an LCD? A Liquid Crystal Display consists of a layer of liquid crystals sandwiched between two plates of polarized glass. A color filter (composed of transparent pixel electrodes), and a system for controlling the voltage passed to this filter, are positioned on one of the glass plates. LCDs do not produce their own light, so a light source behind the display is also necessary; this is accomplished by using several florescent light bulbs and a "diffuser plate" to help distribute the light evenly. This back light must be powerful, as polarized glass and liquid crystal materials absorb more than half of the light that passes through their layers. Active versus Passive Matrix Display As we mentioned earlier, a system is needed to control the pixel electrodes. There are two basic color-producing techniques for LCDs: Passive Matrix and Active Matrix. The design of a Passive Matrix is simple and cost-efficient, but a slow response time and imprecise voltage control results in "ghosting" effects and fuzzy images with poor contrast. A layer of Thin Film Transistors (TFTs) makes up an Active Matrix; a transistor positioned at each pixel intersection regulates which pixels receive a charge. A beam of light passes through this matrix, which determines whether the pixel should be "on" (LCC activated) or "off" (no light passes through). Light waves that make it through the matrix are then passed through the color filter, which allows only the desired color to be displayed. By controlling the voltage to each pixel, each color can display more than 256 shades to create a palette of nearly 16.8 million colors! This wide selection allows the display to match colors accurately and create a more realistic picture. Advantages and Limitations TFTs can produce a wide array of colors, but it takes an enormous number of transistors to make up a display, and a problem with any one of them creates a defective pixel on the screen. Typically this shows up as a bright spot on a dark background, caused by a damaged TFT failing to turn off a pixel. Even a tiny spec of dust can destroy a TFT, and most Active Matrix displays contain a few bad pixels. Keep in mind that we're talking about a display with a minimum of several thousand pixels, so a few bad pixels are not going to have much of an impact on the overall picture. Quality control is so strict that only about 60% of the manufactured displays can be sold due to the high occurrence of bad pixels, which is one of the reasons LCDs are more expensive than CRTs. Other reasons include costly materials and a relatively low demand that prohibits mass production. Because there are still quality control issues to work out, LCDs are not available in large screen sizes yet. The larger the display, the greater the number of pixels and transistors required. Not only is this expensive, but it also increases the chances of including a defective transistor, which causes higher failure rates and increased production costs. The properties of liquid crystal material can create problems with viewing angle effects, causing the image to darken, disappear, or reverse the dark and light tones when the viewer is not directly in front of the display (kind of like looking at the negative of a photo). The light bulbs make LCDs heavier than the Plasma design (though they are still lightweights compared to CRT televisions), and one criticism has been dimness of picture. As technology progresses, LCDs are becoming brighter with wider viewing angles. LCDs do not deteriorate over time and their fluids always return to a normal state when a voltage is not applied. Extreme temperature can affect the performance of an LCD, and although flat panel TVs can be displayed just about anywhere, we highly recommend you don't store them in the oven or freezer. Plasma Displays The technology of a Plasma Display is similar to the idea behind a fluorescent light bulb. In a fluorescent light bulb, an electric current excites gas contained in a glass tube causing the release of ultraviolet photons. These photons hit the phosphor coating inside of a fluorescent tube, and this phosphor creates visible light. However, since this is not an article about light bulbs, let's talk Plasma TV. What is Plasma? Plasma is a highly ionized gas-like substance that is an excellent conductor of electricity. A Plasma Display consists of thousands (and sometimes millions) of tiny, glass, plasma-filled chambers, which are layered between two wired glass panels. On one panel the wires are arranged in rows. In the other the wires are arranged in columns, creating a grid. Directing a charge to the desired wire intersection activates individual pixels. Behind each of the glass chambers are three phosphors that emit red, green, or blue light, and combine to create the images on the screen. An image is displayed when a digitally controlled electric current excites the plasma, causing it to give off invisible ultraviolet light. This ultraviolet light strikes the phosphors on the back of the display and makes them display the appropriate color. Plasma Displays eliminate the need for a back light source because they produce their own light. Advantages and Limitations The result of plasma technology is an evenly focused, realistic picture with a wide viewing angle. Plasma displays perform well regardless of lighting conditions and are not affected by magnetic fields. That means you can set one next to your home speaker system without affecting the picture. Most models accept both video and computer inputs, allowing you to watch your favorite movies or display images from the DVD-ROM drive of your computer. One past criticism of plasma technology has been a problem with poor contrast - blacks had a slightly whitish hue and appeared to be more of a dark gray than a true black. However, the quality of contrast has improved significantly since the original plasma displays were introduced, and the images produced by plasma technology today are noticeably cleaner and more defined. Just like LCDs, Plasmas are capable of displaying a palate of almost 16.8 million colors, giving images a more lifelike quality. Like a CRT television, the phosphors and gases deteriorate over time, causing brightness to fade. The life span of a TV with regard to brightness is measured in terms of a half-life. To put it simply, this is the amount of time it takes for the display to lose half of its original brightness. If you happen to have an older CRT television sitting around your house, you can see how the picture has slowly become darker over time. The life span of a plasma display averages 30,000 hours (compared to 20,000 hours for a CRT). If you were to watch 6 hours of television per day, the half-life of your plasma TV would average 13.7 years. This doesn't mean the TV stops working smack dab in the middle of your favorite rerun of Cop Rock, only that the picture loses some of its brightness over a period of several years. Plasmas weigh much less than LCDs, and are currently the only flat panel televisions offered in screen sizes larger than twenty inches. These high tech displays don't come cheap and, as with LCDs, a rather limited market stops the manufacturers from producing them in large numbers. It's a catch 22 -- a larger demand for these displays will help to lower the cost, but the cost is limiting the demand. 20% to 50% of the glass plates are currently recycled due to flaws, and these high production costs are passed on to you. Flat Panels In a (very thin) Nutshell Of course, the most obvious advantage to owning a flat panel television is an ultra-thin display that weighs considerably less than a traditional TV. In addition to looking like something out of the space age, flat panels might also be categorized as being part of the "space saving" age - they fit almost anywhere! Flat panels are versatile and can be placed on a stand or mounted on just about any flat surface, but before you envision one of them on the ceiling of every room in your home, be aware there are installation issues to consider. This often involves running cables and wires behind walls -- something that should be done by professionals. Also, be sure to check the model specifications carefully, as many do not come with speakers or built in tuners (though this is changing). Buying one without these components means more than simply purchasing the items separately. It also means you must be cable savvy enough (or know someone who is) to figure out setting up what can be a rather complex system of connections. Bottom line: research carefully before you buy so there are no surprises. The technology behind individual pixel control produces a realistic picture with rich colors, and it all fits together in a slim, cool looking package. The picture still doesn't match the clarity of a high definition image on a CRT television, particularly with regard to black and white contrast, but flat panel technology is rapidly developing and improvements are continually being integrated into the displays. High production costs and a relatively small demand are the primary reasons for the high price tag on flat panel TVs. As technology improves and demand increases, expect to see a significant drop in the price of both LCD and Plasma television, as well as an increase in reasons to own one. Littlewoods UK - CompUSA Online - Marshall Ward - Circuit City Website Circuit City Catalogue