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Q: I
just purchased a DVD player. What should I look for in a TV to maximize
DVD viewing?
A: Nearly all current DVD players and most mid- and
high-quality TVs include three types of direct video connections:
composite video is good, S-video is better and component video is the
best. Another thing to consider is that while most movies on
videocassette have been re-formatted for viewing on a TV screen with
the 'squarish' 4:3 aspect ratio, DVD movies are much more likely to be
in widescreen format 16:9 aspect ratio.
Q:
I'm
interested in a flat-panel TV. How do LCD and Plasma TVs work, and how
do I determine which type is right for me?
A: Neither LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) nor Plasma TVs
require the scanning electron gun found in conventional tube TVs, which
results in their slimmer look.
An LCD TV has a
backlight and thousands of red, green and blue pixels that open or shut
to let light through and create the colorful images. Sometimes the
images may dim as you angle away from the center of the screen. But,
because of the way an LCD panel forms an image, you never have to worry
about image burn-in which is great news for video game fans.
A Plasma TV is
actually self-lighting with thousands of red, green and blue pixels
that work somewhat like fluorescent lights, resulting in noticeably
bright images. Plasma TV's
also provide very wide horizontal and vertical viewing angles,
providing a picture quality that looks sharp and bright from virtually
anywhere in the room. Because Plasma TV screens do have a phosphor
coating, the potential for image burn-in exists, so its important to
follow the manufacturer's recommendations on day-to-day use.
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