OLED HDTV

Will OLED TV's take over the market in the future? OLED's are composed of thin films of organic molecules creating light with the application of electricity. OLED's can provide brighter and sharper images than LCD or LED's currently being used.

An OLED consists of the following parts:

* Substrate
* Anode
* Organic layers (both conducting layer and emissive layer)
* Cathode

OLED's are approx. 1/4" thick and can give us the larger image HDTV's with excellent quality. Look for OLED HDTV's in the future.

LG has unveiled it's 15" OLED HDTV and is showing it off at the IFA trade show.   LG is also planning on showing off a 40" OLED HDTV in the very near future.

 

Sony XBR8

Sony appears to be in the lead with their LCD HDTV XBR8 series HDTV's. As I talked about earlier although this is an LCD HDTV it is what many refer to as an LED HDTV due to the backlighting being LED's.
The XBR8 series is pricey, however, if you want the best in HDTV then it will cost you a little more.
The Sony XBR8s use an LED backlight and local dimming to produce black levels that are the deepest of any LCD TV on the market. These come with a 120Hz refresh rate to reduce motion blur and anti-judder circuitry for smooth playback.
A first rate HDTV if you are looking for top notch name brand backed by a quality LCD HDTV. You won't go wrong with purchasing this TV.
If any of you out there own one of these HDTV's we are waiting to here your opinions of the XBR8 series or any others you may want to discuss.

Drive like James Bond with ESCORT Radar Passport 9500ci

LED

What is LED?  LED TV's in homes are for the most part actually LCD TV's using LED as the backlight.  Here is a great video to watch to explain this technology a lot easier than most have.  Click on the video for great explanation.  This is demonstrating Sony, but is the technology in general.

Plasma

What are Plasma TV's and how do they work?  Plasma TV's have been around now for some time.  With CRT TV's going out of the market Plasma and LCD TV's have become the most popular.  HDTV has also had consumers going out to update their CRT TV to an LCD or Plasma.  I will try to simplify the explanation of Plasma HDTV technology without giving you a long drawn out scientific explanation of how it works.

Plasma TV technology is made possible by many tiny cells that are between two panels of glass holding a mixture of gasses. The gas in the cells are then electrically turned into a plasma.  The plasma then excites phosphors to emit light. The idea is to illuminate tiny colored fluorescent light to produce an image.  Plasma is the central element in a fluorescent light, a gas made up of free-flowing ions  and electrons.  The plasma TV varies the intensity of the different lights to produce a full range of color.

Generally the lifespan of a plasma is 30,000 hours, however, many manufacturers clain 60,000 hours under optimal conditions.  Plasma technology for HDTV has been improved over the years leading to the longer lifespan claim by the manufacturers.

LCD

LCD HDTV can be defined or explained in a complex way.  I will try to explain LCD in a simplified manner.

LCD stands for liquid crystal display.  LCD displays use sheets of polarizing material. One layer is coated with a special polymer that holds the individual liquid crystals.  An electric current is passed through the individual crystals, which each crystal then acts like a shutter either allowing light to pass through or blocking the light to create images.  Individual LCD shutters open and close which allow a metered amount of the white light through. Each shutter is paired with a colored filter to remove all but the red, green, or blue  portion of the light.
LCD does not produce it's own light.  An external light source is needed to become visible to the viewer.  The light is usually a series of cold cathode fluorescent lamps although some use white or colored LED's.  LCD's are thin and don't require a lot of power to operate.  LCD TV pixels are turned off or on at a specific refresh rate.  This is where you get the 60hz, 120hz, or 240hz ratings from.  It is the rate in which the image is refreshed.
The lifespan of an LCD TV is debatable.  For the most post LCD TV's have a lifespan of 60,000 hours in a controlled environment.  Many manufacturers have claimed a lifespan up to 80,000 hours or more.  This is, of course, in a controlled environment and used continuously.  It is to note that LCD will have signs of "wear".  This is due to the light source which will dim over time causing the picture you see to dim also.  Therefore, the most important factor to the lifespan of an LCD is the lifespan of the light source.
Some manufacturers have started to product LCD TV's whose light source (lamps) can be changed thus giving you a "like new" picture after it has been changed.

HDTV

As HDTV service grows in popularity so does the stress of understanding not only what HDTV is, but also choosing from the different products and services that come with HDTV. With so much advertising on this subject many people find themselves confused with all the choices that are out there. I am going to try to explain and simplify the many subjects surrounding HDTV.  This blog will also discuss LCD, Plasma, DLP, LED, and other HDTV products and services.

HDTV stands for High Definition Television. First, let's explain what makes a TV high definition.
The picture of HDTV's is derived from combination's of smaller pixels, wider aspect ratio, and higher resolution.

• Pixels — Pixels are small elements on a TV. Pixels are three closely spaced dots consisting of red, blue and green. HDTV pixels are smaller and spaced closer together than non high definition TV's. This gives you more visual detail creating much crisper pictures.
  
  
• Aspect Ratio — Aspect ratio is the relationship of the width to its height. HDTV has a 16:9 ratio while standard definition TV has a 4:3 ratio. This gives a wider view of the picture or image being produced.

• Resolution — The pixels are arranged in horizontal lines on a TV. The more lines you have the better the picture quality. Standard TV's produce 480 lines per frame, while HDTV produce up to 1080 lines per frame. Lines are drawn on the TV screen in a process called scanning. There are two kinds of scanning:
  

1. Interlaced scanning — In interlaced scanning every other line of pixels is redrawn at the refresh rate capability of the HDTV. This is often associated with 1080i. The "i" being interlaced.
   
2. Progressive scanning — In progressive scanning every line of pixels is redrawn at the refresh rate capability of the HDTV. In 1080p the "p" is standing for progressive scan.
   

The #1 misconception of HDTV, I have noticed, is that if you buy an HDTV you now have a high definition quality picture. This is simply not true.

In order to have a high definition quality picture you must have two major components:

• Own or purchase a HDTV
  
• Receive High Definition Service either through a cable, satellite, or over the air provider through subscription or free high definition service.
  

One without the other will not produce the high definition picture we all are looking for when investing in a HDTV.

I hope this blog will be informative to you during your search for different HD products out there on the market. Updates will be posted to be informative on these products and services. I would love to have any of your input on the subject or HD products you may have knowledge of.

Has this better helped your understanding of HDTV?