Articles and whitepapers

Flat Screen Technology (4/5/2005)

By Simeon Joseph, NEC

Flat screen technologies such as plasma and LCD are highly attractive to consumers. They exude luxury, make a stylish lifestyle statement and offer an enriched entertainment experience.

Practically speaking, flat screens take up a much smaller space than the traditional CRT television, while also displaying a vivid, engaging picture. The CRT has been outperformed and is being relegated to bedrooms and kitchens, while the flat screen is taking centre stage.

Flat screen plasma in living room

Flat screens are equipped with a range of connectivity options and can be used to show the latest high-definition DVDs and TV programmes in style, as well as offering the ultimate display for super-size Playstation or PC gaming. Watching sport on a 61" inch plasma screen in the comfort of your own home beats the crush in the pub. We all know the frustrations of watching football from a sharp side angle, but new displays, such as the NEC range of PlasmaSync HD-ready plasmas, provide a full picture from 160°.

Concerns

Although the benefits of flat screens are evident, consumers do still have some concerns about investing in this technology. Many believe that the life span of the plasma or LCD can be limited. However, with top-quality screens, this is simply not true. For example, NEC's latest plasma range offers a life expectancy of 20 years at an average of 8 hours' use per day.

Both plasma and LCD technology offer a slim-line screen and vastly-improved images from a CRT. Once an understanding of the technology has been developed, it is easy to make an informed decision on whether a plasma or LCD is best for your home.

Plasma

The first plasma screens emerged back in 1997, at which time plasma was an expensive luxury. Plasma provides the only viable technology for screens over 37" - currently plasmas are available up to a 61" screen for home cinema use.

The 50" NEC 50XR3 plasma

Plasma pictures are made up of individual pixels sitting at the front of a chamber made from gas. At the front of each chamber are phosphors. At the rear is an electrical source. The electrical source ionises the gas chamber into creating ultraviolet light which excites the phosphors to glow in the way demanded by the picture.

Plasma can provide a more extensive colour palette than either CRT or LCD because for each plasma dot in the display there are three sub pixels in red, green and blue. In addition, plasma delivers the fastest response time for video display without any blurring, reproducing the dynamic visual changes that are produced in original video content for a realistic image, unlike the 'flat' look of an LCD display.

LCD (Liquid Crystal Display)

LCD technology has been around longer than plasma, although in the beginning it was used solely for PC-based monitors.

LCD is made from a liquid containing individually-controllable crystals suspended between two panels. The crystals are activated by electric currents, aligning themselves to allow a certain level and polarity of light to either pass through the panel or block it off to create the image on screen.

LCD technology can deliver very bright images although this brightness is sometimes used to disguise a lack of contrast. A positive for LCD is that it generally use less power than plasmas as it does not need to power hundreds of electrodes to stimulate phosphors. However, as there is often stray light in the mechanics of the LCD screen, this can lead to a greying of the colours meaning that it can provide less vibrant colour than plasma technology.

HDTV

The advent of DVD and especially high-definition TV (HDTV) will speed consumer adoption of flat screen technology. HDTV will revolutionise the viewing experience in much the same way as DVD revolutionised movie-watching, and consumers will want big, high-resolution screens to fully enjoy it.

HDTV offers up to 1,080 active lines, with each line made up of 1,920 pixels, whereas traditional British TV pictures are made up of 625 lines and about 700 pixels. The result is a picture which can be up to six times as sharp as standard TV. HDTV is widely tipped to be available across the UK in time for the World Cup in 2006 and it is vital if investing in a plasma or LCD that it is 'HD Ready'. This is the standard awarded by EITCA (European Industry Association for Information Systems, Communications Technologies and Consumer Electronics - http://www.eicta.org).

The flat screen future

Summary

Flat screens are still a sizable financial investment, but prices are consistently coming down as the technology becomes more mainstream, and with the flat screen consumer market trebling year on year, this technology is only going to become more popular. The improved user experience, and stylish design means that the CRT is officially on the way out and flat is the new widescreen.

Simeon Joseph is the Product Marketing Manager of NEC's plasma and projectors division.

www.nec.co.uk