Flat Panel LCD TV

Liquid crystal display (LCD) TVs are among the most popular varieties of flat panel televisions. Flat panel displays are an increasingly popular means of using new technology to create televisions that not only provide high-quality images, but are also conveniently lightweight and sleek.

From the time television was invented, until very recently, nearly all TVs used the cathode ray tube system for rendering video images on the screen. The equipment necessitated by the system takes up a considerable amount of space within a television set. As a result, most televisions have traditionally been heavy and bulky in comparison to the screen size they offer. Flat panel LCD TVs create video images by projecting light through a thin layer of liquid crystals, a process requiring much less space than large television tubes. LCD sets can now be surprisingly lightweight when compared to their screen size, and more importantly, they can be offered in much thinner models than their predecessors. This allows for a widescreen, flat panel video display in a lightweight unit.

Flat Panel LCD TV Design

One of the reasons flat panel TVs are gaining popularity, apart from their high quality digital video capabilities, is the appearance of the units themselves. While cathode ray tube TVs are often bulky, and inconveniently designed in terms of integration with a home entertainment center, flat panel LCD units offer an attractive modern facade, and easy manageability. Some flat panel TVs are thin enough to be affixed to a wall, just like a picture frame. Flat panel LCD sets are also ideal for portable video devices, TV/PC monitor combos, an the increasingly popular car mounted video display monitors.

If you're planning on buying a flat panel LCD TV, you might want to review features apart from screen size and aspect ratio. For example, if you're going to use the TV as part of an entire home entertainment system, you should note the number of audio/video jacks on the unit, as well as the convenience of their locations. Many manufacturers are now placing AV, S-Video, and other jacks on the side of a flat panel unit, rather than the back, freeing you to easily connect the TV with other devices, even if its mounted on a wall. Some newer models even feature a separate unit that can be attached to incoming video sources, such as cable or a DVD player. The stand-alone unit then broadcasts the image wirelessly to the screen, allowing you to install the TV anywhere in your house, without subjecting the same area the clutter of multiple AV wires and other connections.