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Selecting a High Definition Display

Feb 1, 2004

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Our focus here is High Definition displays that meet these  requirements: High Definition-ready that will display programs in 720p, 1080i and 480i/p 16:9 wide aspect ratio 1280x720 or higher native resolution very desirable digital video inputs – DVI or HDMI with HDCP very desirable.

Related Guides – More Coming Soon DLP RPTV Update - CES 2004 Samsung HLN Sets: DLP 2003 DVI, HDMI and HDCP – a Practical Guide Testing PQ on Digital Displays

You need to know the Size, Budget and Usage to select a display.  Your display has to fit in your room and your budget.  Most likely each room of your house will need a different size and have a different budget.  With HDTV, picture looks good at any size, so you may want to get the largest size TV they you can fit and afford to replicate the theater experience at home.  If you are not sure what size you should get, measure the distance from your ideal viewing seat to the front of where the TV will be placed.  Divide this distance in inches by half, and you have the ballpark diagonal size of your 16x9 HDTV.

Your High Definition display can be very versatile, it may be used for – High Definition TV, Standard Definition TV, gaming, computing, internet, e-mail, music jukebox, photo slide shows, videophone and more.  You should decide which of these features you will have in your home and how your use will evolve over the life of the display.

 

Now use the Price/Size chart on the right and pick the technologies that fit your size and budget. Small 15”-35”: The choice is between LCD and CRT.  LCD is better at smaller sizes, CRT has a price advantage at larger sizes. Mid 35”-45”: All technologies compete in the middle sizes. Many plasmas in these sizes may be ED (Extended Definition), i.e. 480p native resolution. Large 50” or higher: Digital RPTV’s (DLP, LCD) are preferred, but CRT RPTV’s have a price advantage.  If your budget is large enough, also consider plasma. Very Large 80” or higher: You need a front-projector -- DLP, LCD or LCoS variety. To select from the technologies available in your size, first go through the technology decision path below and then the detailed comparison table.  The remainder of this document doesn’t go into front projectors. Analog (CRT) vs. Digital TV: Analog CRT’s use an electronic beam to scan an image on the phosphor,  Digital TV’s are made up of pixels.  The market is slowly moving away from CRT Direct view sets to LCD panels, and from CRT RPTV’s to Digital RPTV’s and Plasmas.  CRT and CRT RPTV’s are bulky and heavy, but they are very attractively priced and have the best black levels.  So they will remain good value for some time.  But most HDTV’s are likely to be digital, they are light and slim and display digital content well. Flat Panel (LCD, Plasma) vs. Digital RPTV (DLP, LCD, LCoS): Flat panels have their display pixels on the surface.  Digital RPTV pixels are on a chip inside and are projected on the screen using an optical system.  Flat Panels are cool, take up less space and can be hung on the wall.  But their price increases exponentially with size, so they become very expensive at large sizes.  LCD panels will dominate at small sizes, digital RPTV’s will dominate at large sizes, and they all duke it out in the middle sizes.  LCD vs. Plasma: LCD pixels are liquid crystal semiconductors that transmit a backlight. Plasma uses inert gas pixels between glass sheets that illuminate phosphor. LCD’s go down to 15” sizes and become very price competitive with CRT at those sizes. Plasmas go up to about 70” but are exorbitant at those sizes.  In the middle 35” to 45” range, both LCD’s and Plasmas are competitive.  LCD’s have a higher resolution and are burn-proof, but plasmas have overall a better picture quality. Plasmas have a wider variety in price and quality than other technologies. DLP vs. Liquid Crystal (LCD and LCoS): For digital projection TV’s, rear and front, the battle is between the DLP micro-mirror chips vs. LCD or LCoS Liquid crystals.  DLP is brighter, has higher contrast, better blacks and more saturated colors, but some see rainbows.   But LCD is less expensive and is the least price digital TV at large sizes.  In HD front-projectors, LCD is much lower priced than DLP. In rear projection, the price difference is much smaller.  In LCD projection, the light passes through the LCD panel.  In LCoS, the light is reflected by the LCoS panel, which gives it an advantage.  LCoS promises to bridge the performance gap with DLP, while retaining the price advantage of semiconductors.  But LCoS is still early in its maturity cycle.

Notes: ® in the rating means that there are recent improvements in technology, both old and new are rated. 

Potential disqualifiers are identified in red.

 

	LCD Panel	CRT	Plasma	DLP RPTV	LCD RPTV	CRT RPTV	LCoS RPTV
Resolution/sharpness	Excellent Up to 1080p	Very Good	Fair to Very Good 480p to 720p+	Very Good 720p	Very Good 720p+	Good	Coming soon
Brightness	Very Good	Very Good	Excellent	Excellent	Very Good	Good
Contrast	Good 500:1 to 700:1	Excellent	Very Good to Excellent 1000:1 to 3000:1	Very Good ® Excellent 1000:1 ® 3000:1	Good 500:1 to 700:1	Excellent
Black level	Good	Excellent	Good to Very Good	Good ® Very Good	Good	Excellent
Shadow Details	Good	Excellent	Very Good	Good ® Very Good	Fair	Excellent
Color Saturation	Good	Very Good	Excellent	Excellent	Good	Very Good
Moving images	Poor 25 ms+® Good 15ms-	Excellent	Excellent	Excellent	Very Good	Excellent
Horiz. View Angle	Good	Excellent	Excellent	Very Good	Very Good	Fair
Vert. View Angle	Good	Very Good	Very Good	Fair - 30°	Fair - 30°	Fair
Screen door effect	-	-	Fair for ED	-	Fair	-
Overall Picture Quality	Very Good	Very Good	Very Good to Excellent	Very Good ® Excellent	Good to Very Good	Good to Very Good1
Burn-in Concern	-	-	Concern	-	-	Concern
Computer Use	Excellent	Very Good	Poor: burn-in, low-res	Excellent	Very Good	Fair
Longevity	Very Good 50-75,000 hrs /MTTF	Very Good 60,000 hours /MTHB	Good ® Very Good 30,000®60,000 hrs / MTHB	Excellent 100,000 hours /MTTF	Very Good	Very Good 60,000 hrs / MTHB
Form factor	Wall or stand	Tabletop	Wall or stand	Tabletop, ® Wall	Tabletop	Cabinet
Depth, Weight	Thin, light	Heavy and Deep	Thin but not light	17” ® 12”, 7”, Light	17”, Light	Very heavy & Deep
Maintenance $:	-	-	-	Bulb $250 every 8000 hrs	Bulb $250 every 8000 hrs	Recalibrate $300 every ~3000 hours
Noise Level	None	None	Faint: fan, hum at high altitude	Faint: Color wheel, fan	Faint: Fan	None
Other Issues	Bad Pixel potential	-	Not >~6500’ altitude Non-standard res.	Some see rainbows with 1 chip	Bad Pixel potential Non-standard res.	Convergence Issue
Price	Excellent up to 25” Expensive over 25”	Excellent up to 35”	Competitive at 35”-42” Expensive at 50” & over	Very good at 43” & over	Excellent digital at 43” and over	Excellent at 50” & over
	LCD Panel	CRT	Plasma	DLP RPTV	LCD RPTV	CRT RPTV	LCoS RPTV
Buying Advice	Best up to 25”	Lowest $ up to 35”	Consider for 35”-50”	Best 43” & Over	Consider over 43”	Lowest $ over 50”	Promising in future

 

1– CRT RPTV overall picture quality is “Very Good” when it is in calibration.

 

Resolution/Sharpness: The native pixel resolution of digital displays or the sharpness of CRT displays.  A digital display should preferably be a standard resolution 1280x720 (very common now) or 1920x1080 (future).  The higher the resolution, the sharper the picture.

Brightness: The amount of light or luminance of the picture. Plasma and DLP are the brightest.  Note: brightness control on your TV actually changes its black level.

Contrast: Luminance ratio between the brightest and darkest part of the picture.  It effectively measures the black level, i.e. how much light your TV lets through when it is supposed to be showing black.  CRT’s have the best contrast, Plasma and DLP are close seconds, and LCD’s are the worst.  Note: Contrast control on your TV actually changes the brightness level. 

Black level: How deep a black can your TV display.  It is related to its contrast level, see above.  A TV has the best black level when it shows a black part of the picture as true black.  Direct view CRT televisions have the best black levels, Plasma and DLP are close seconds, and LCD's bring up the rear.

Shadow Details: How well does the TV show details in a dark scene or dark area of a picture.  Note that a TV may have a very good black level but poor shadow detail.  CRT’s have the best shadow details.  Plasmas are the second best.  New 2004 DLP’s have improved the shadow detail.  LCD’s generally don’t have good shadow detail.

Color Saturation: In Plasmas and DLP TV’s, the colors pop-out. CRT’s are close second. LCD RPTV’s have a more muted color rendering.

Moving images: LCD pixels may not respond to the input signal quickly enough.  The older LCD panels have a 25 ms or slower response time, too slow for motion video and gaming.  Newer panels have a 15ms response time or faster, which is satisfactory.

Horizontal View Angle: If the TV has a good horizontal view angle, then people can sit anywhere in the room and enjoy the TV – think a Superbowl party.  Plasma and Direct View CRT have the best, DLP is close second.  CRT RPTV’s have the worst.  LCD’s are in-between.

Vertical View Angle: If the TV has a good vertical view angle, you can mount it high up (say in a bar) and still get a good picture. Plasmas and CRT direct view have the best vertical angle.  DLP and LCD RPTV have a limited vertical view angle.

Screen door effect: Can you see the pixel structure of your digital TV?  LCD RPTV’s are the worst, although low resolution plasmas may also exhibit this symptom. Of course, the further you sit from the display, the less likely you will see this effect.

Overall Picture Quality: This is a subjective measure, combining all of the above factors.

Burn-in vs. Burn-proof: CRT or Plasma are prone to burn-in.  If a static image is left on the TV for a long time, it has the potential of being burnt-into the TV because of uneven phosphor burn.  Plasmas are very susceptible, and CRT RPTV’s are also susceptible.  These displays are not as versatile, for example you shouldn’t really use them as a PC monitor or for gaming for long periods, or for watching 4:3 programs in non-stretch modes.  They also require great care during use.  LCD, DLP and LCoS are burn-proof and more versatile as displays. 

Computer Use: LCD Panels make the best computer monitors, so do DLP’s.  Plasmas don’t make good computer monitors because of the potential burn-in problems and also because many plasmas are low resolution.

Longevity: DLP chips and LCD panels last a long time.  CRT’s last long enough.   Plasmas and LCD RPTV may not have as long a life, but long enough for average users.  For Plasma and CRT’s, the life is measured as mean-time-to-half-brightness (MTHB) of the phosphor.  LCD and DLP don’t have any phosphor to degrade, so they remain as bright as new.  Their life is measured as mean-time-to-failure (MTTF).

Form factor: Do you want your TV tabletop, in a cabinet or wall-hung? Flat panels can be either tabletop with a stand or hung on the wall.  Most digital RPTV’s are generally tabletop, although there are a few cabinet models.  This year, RCA and Infocus are introducing a 7” thin DLP RPTV that can be hung on the wall.

Depth and Weight: LCD panels are thin and lightweight.  Plasmas are also thin but a little heavier.  Digital RPTV’s are lightweight and not too deep.  CRT and CRT RPTV are deep and heavy.

Maintenance $: Digital RPTV’s require a bulb replacement every 8000 hours of usage.  CRT RPTV’s require a periodic recalibration costing $300 every ~3000 hours.

Noise Level: Projection systems have fan noise which comes on periodically and is generally very low decibel.  One Chip DLP systems also have a rotating color wheel, generally audible only from a very close distance.

Other Issues:

• LCD’s generally have a few bad pixels, not normally visible at viewing distance, but check your specific model to be sure. 
• A small percentage of people are susceptible to rainbows in 1 chip DLP and LCoS.  Check that you are not before buying.
• If a digital TV has a non-standard resolution, it will require extra scaling to display a standard resolution program. Not desirable but not a disqualifier. 
• 3 Chip LCD or 3 gun CRT projection system may have lack of convergence of the three beams. It is bigger issue in 3 gun CRT’s requiring periodic maintenance.
• Plasmas are generally not advised at very high altitudes over 6500’, unless it is specially rated for high altitude.  Check before buying.

Your HDTV must also meet these minimum requirements:

• It must be able to display these HDTV and SDTV signals: 480i/p, 720p, 1080i.
• It must have at least one DVI/HDCP or HDMI input - which should be purely digital. See DVI, HDMI and HDCP - A Practical Guide: Thread and Document .
• It should also support a good number of analog inputs.  A VGA input is also highly desirable.  
• If it is a Digital display, i.e. it has fixed pixels, then its natural resolution should preferably be standard - 1280x720 or 1920x1080. 

Built-in vs. External HD Tuners: All sets, regardless of technology will provide the option of a built-in ATSC high definition tuner and possibly even a cable tuner with CableCard.  Since it costs a few hundred dollars for this option, you should select it only if 1) you are not a satellite DBS customer and don’t intend to become one during the life of your TV 2) You don’t need / want an external tuner with a Digital Video Recorder option.  Generally, we currently recommend that high definition tuner be in a separate set-top box.