One day, My wife and I was looking stuffs for our baby when we passed by an electrical store. I was stunned to see a TV as thin as my diary!!. Yes, it was a Sony if I’m not mistaken, and it was extremely slim that I can hardly spot the edges.

Yes, that’s the miracle of technology. Things getting smarter, smaller (but not for TV, it’s slimmer!) and more importantly, cheaper. Besides getting slimmer, today’s TV sets has become wider (with over 30-inches of screen size) and have better clarity.

LCD or Liquid Crystal Display TV provide sharper and clearer picture compared to Cathode Ray Tube (CRT). LCD TV has a flat screen and way lighter compared to CRT TV. But you may find some difficulties in watching from certain angle, especially when there is a bright light source. The best way to watch LCD TV is by turning off your living room’s light or at least, keep the lights dimmed.

The Plasma technology has given us an improved watching experience compared to its predecessors. It generates a much more accurate colors compared to LCD with wider viewing angles and do not degrades when watched from elevated angles. On avarage, a Plasma TV has a 50,000 to 70,000 hours of viewing (around 20 years for a 6 hours a day watching hours).

HDTV refers to TV that supports the digital television broadcasting signal which offers a higher resolution compared to analog broadcasting. HDTV don’t have standard TV issues like low quality sharpness, double images (ghost) or audio imperfections.

LED (Light Emitting Diode) technology has gives a new breath to television. The LED TV is LCD that uses LEDs for back lighting instead of flourescent lights. Presently, LED TV costs more than a normal LCD or Plasma TV as it is relatively new compared to the other two. But its power consumption is good and consumes only around 40% less power compared to LCD or Plasma TV.

The latest technology in television is OLED or Organic Light Emitting Diode). OLED TVs depends on light emitting polymer technology and able to support full spectrum of visible light which means it has higher contrast and has high-speed refresh rates. It has wider viewing angle without distortion. However, OLED TV has a limited lifespan. The blue light element degrades quickly with a lifespan around 5 years when watched for 8 hours per day.

Make sure you know the difference between each technology and purchase the one that suits your ‘pocket’.