Televisions

Types

These are how TVs are often categorised. You will see combinations of the following types of TV, for example Pure Flat Widescreen, Freeview Pure Flat, and so on.

• Large screen / Non Widescreen : Uses standard 4:3 aspect ratio. You will see the 'letterboxing' effect, or black bars at the top and bottom of the screen when watching content in the 16:9 format. Usual sizes are 21", 25", 28". Can be Flat Screen.
• Widescreen : Offers 16:9 standard movie format and usually a variety of other formats, eg Zoom, Cinema, so you can choose the optimum screen size for the programme you are watching. The best choice if you want to watch widescreen DVDs and have HDTV (High-Definition TV) signals in your area.
• Pure Flat / Flatscreen : no distortion and reduced on-screen reflection.
• Plasma / Flat Panel : large screen sizes, wide viewing angles and razor sharp picture definition along with a slim screen panel are the chief characteristics of a Plasma TV.
• LCD (liquid crystal display) / Flat Panel : lighter and slimmer than Plasmas, LCDs deliver enhanced colour, brightness and detail. LCD technology was originally developed for computers. The greatest advantage is the thinness of the screen, light weight and brightness. They also have a long life and low power consumption.
• Rear Projection TVs / Flat Panel : the largest screens available for your home viewing - the closest thing you'll get to the big screen experience in your living room. Excellent picture and sound quality. Usually up to 43-in or 42-in widescreen.
• Freeview : Built in receiver gives you free access to 30 extra channels. It continues to provide the normal terrestial channels. Most of the UK can receive Freeview digital through a Freeview box, which connects to your normal TV aerial. To see if you can get it call 0800 093 5444 or go to http://www.freeview.co.uk. For more information visit the website or call 08708 80 99 80.
• Portable : Smaller, usually 14-15-inch screen. Useful for smaller areas and as additional TVs. Not available in widescreen but can be flat screen.
• Handheld : Usually powered by battery and mains adaptor. Some have dual AC/In car adaptors. Check the adaptor is included. AV and earphone sockets are fairly standard. Some come with stands and/or travel bags. Usually have anti-glare screens.
• TV/DVD Combos : One integral unit. Usually the smaller size TVs.

There is a degree of confusion about HDTV. When you buy a flat panel screen - LCD, plasma, rear projection TV - sold as 'HD', check that they are actually able to display HD. See this BBC news article 'Confusion over high-definition TV' from March 2005 for more information.

Features

• Active 3D Surround Sound
• Auto programme store
• Auto tuning / Auto search tuning
• Front / side AV - AV sockets at the front or side of the TV are useful for connecting to games
• Brightness
• Contrast ratio
• Different screen settings / aspect ratio. The 4:3 aspect ratio was officially adopted by the Society of Motion Picture Engineers as the first film industry aspect ratio standard. This was also used by the television industry when it started broadcasting in the 1930s. Standard non-widescreen TVs use 4:3. The standard format used for widescreen is 16:9, which was established in the 1980s as a compromise of all the different common movie aspect ratios. This is the format used for HDTV broadcasts too. Widescreen TVs offer a variety of screen settings in addition to these standards.
• Dolby digital/DTS output, Dolby Pro Logic, Virtual Dolby
• Flat screen - reduces reflection and distortion with a much wider viewing angle
• Headphone socket
• Nicam - Stereo format which produces near CD quality sound
• PC input
• Pixel Plus : increases the number of lines and pixels for a razor sharp picture with enhanced detail and depth
• Programme memory
• Resolution
• RMS output
• Scart socket
• Size
• Teletext / Fastext : Access news, weather, travel and entertainment information on screen
• Visible screen size
• XGA