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 Televisions Buying Guide: Glossary  
A - K
4:3 Aspect Ratio | 16:9 Aspect Ratio | 720i | 720p | 1080i | Antenna | Artifact | Burn-In | Chrominance | Coaxial Cable | Component Video | Composite Video | Contrast | CRT | Direct-View | DLP | DMD | DTV | DVI | EDTV | Fiber Optic | Flat-Panel | HDCP | HDMI | HD-Ready | HDTV | HDTV Monitor | HDTV-Ready | HDTV Tuner | High-Definition | Home Theater | HTiB | Interlaced Scan
L - Z
LCD | LCoS | Luminance | Monster Cable | NTSC | PiP | Pixel | Plasma | Progressive Scan | Rainbow Effect | Rear-Projection TV | Resolution | SDTV | S-Video | Tuner | Widescreen
 
 4:3 Aspect Ratio
Screen width to height ratio for some CRT televisions.
 
 16:9 Aspect Ratio
Screen width to height ratio for widescreen CRT, LCD, plasma, and rear-projection televisions.
 
 480p
Near high definition progressive scan 852x480 resolution signal used by progressive-scan DVD players and EDTV.
 
 720i
HDTV 1280x720 resolution interlaced scan signal.
 
 720p
HDTV 1280x720 resolution progressive scan signal. HDTV television programs are usually 720p or 1080i.
 
 1080i
HDTV 1920x1080 resolution interlaced scan signal. HDTV television programs are usually 720p or 1080i.
 
 Antenna
Rod or wire used to receive television signals broadcast over the air.
 
 Artifact
Defects in a television picture such as seemingly misplaced dots or blocks that resemble a pixilated digital image.
 
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 Burn-In
Television screen damage that occurs when a static image remains in one place too long, leaving an impression. Plasma and rear-projection CRTs are most vulnerable.
 
 Chrominance
Color aspects of a picture.
 
 Coaxial Cable
Type of cable used in home cable television. It has an insulated copper wire surrounded by a grounding wire and plastic coating.
 
 Component Video
Cable splitting video into three signals: one brightness and two color. It offers better quality than composite video and S-video. Wide bandwidth component video cables carry high-definition video signals.
 
 Composite Video
Single video signal containing brightness (luminance) and color (chrominance) information.
 
 Contrast
Difference between black and light in a picture.
 
 CRT
Cathode Ray Tube: Vacuum tube that creates pictures by scanning an electron beam back and forth across a phosphor-coated screen. Direct-view TVs use one tube while rear-projection CRTs have three separate tubes for red, blue, and green.
 
 Direct-View
Type of CRT television that has one picture tube and comes in screen sizes up to 36".
 
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 DLP
Digital Light Processing: Type of projection TV technology based on DMD. DLP TVs can use a single chip that works with a color wheel to create a picture or use a three-chip setup to create the red, green, and blue components of an image.
 
 DMD
Digital Micromirror Device: Type of microchip developed by Texas Instruments that uses thousands of swiveling mirrors to create a picture.
 
 DTV
Digital Television: Digital broadcast television standard for HDTV and SDTV.
 
 DVI
Digital Visual Interface: Connection used to carry encrypted high-resolution video signals from a HDTV-capable satellite or cable set-top box to an HDTV monitor with a DVI connector. It can also be used with some DVD players.
 
 EDTV
Enhanced Definition Television: TVs offering near high definition progressive scan 852x480 (480p) resolution.
 
 Fiber Optic
Cable made up of glass filament that transmits data using light.
 
 Flat-Panel
Thin television that uses LCD or plasma technology.
 
 HDCP
Type of encryption used with DVI and HDMI connections to prevent the unauthorized reproduction of copyrighted materials.
 
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 HDMI
High-Definition Multimedia Interface: Connection that transfers encrypted uncompressed digital video and multichannel audio.
 
 HD-Ready
Televisions that need a separate receiver/ decoder to display high-definition television signals.
 
 HDTV
High Definition Television: Highest-resolution digital television programs, usually 720p or 1080i. Televisions marketed as "HDTV" have a built-in HDTV decoder or are HDTV ready.
 
 HDTV Monitor
Televisions that need a separate tuner to display high-definition television signals. Also called HDTV-ready.
 
 HDTV-Ready
Televisions that need a separate tuner to display high-definition television signals. Also called an HDTV monitor.
 
 HDTV Tuner
Device used to receive and decode an HDTV television signal. HDTV tuners are built-in to special cable and satellite television receivers.
 
 High-Definition
Highest-resolution digital television programs, usually 720p or 1080i.
 
 Home Theater
Home entertainment setup that includes a television, audio amplifier, DVD player, and surround sound stereo speakers.
 
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 HTiB
Home Theater in a Box: Set of home theater surround sound speakers and a decoder/amplifier. It can come with or without a DVD player.
 
 Interlaced Scan
Process of creating a television picture by sequentially drawing odd and even lines on a screen. The process is used by NTSC and several digital television signals.
 
 LCD
Liquid Crystal Display: Type of technology used by some flat-panel and rear-projection televisions that works by shining light through pixel cells. Each cell contains a red, green, and blue component. An LCD TV cannot turn off specific pixels.
 
 LCoS
Liquid Crystal on Silicon: Projection display technology that combines aspects of LCD and DLP technology. As light shines through liquid crystals, it is reflected or blocked by a mirror. LCoS rear-projectors usually use three separate LCoS chips for red, green, and blue.
 
 Luminance
Picture brightness.
 
 Monster Cable
Manufacturer of audio and video cables. Also refers to cables from the company.
 
 NTSC
National Television System Committee: Organization that established the 525-line interlaced scan analog television standard in North America. We are only able to see 480 lines (480i).
 
 PiP
Picture-in-Picture: Television feature that allows a viewer to watch overlaid or split-screen video from two different sources.
 
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 Pixel
Picture Element: A single point in an image. You see a complete image when multiple pixels are put together.
 
 Plasma
Television technology that creates an image by applying an electric charge to gas-filled cells which react with a burst of ultraviolet light. Plasma televisions can be HDTV, HDTV-ready, or EDTV.
 
 Progressive Scan
Process of creating a 720p or 480p image on an HDTV monitor by displaying horizontal and vertical picture information on a screen simultaneously.
 
 Rainbow Effect
Artifact created on some single-chip DLP televisions where people can see a flash of color separate from the overall television picture.
 
 Rear-Projection TV
Type of television that creates a picture by using a series of lenses and mirrors to magnify an image and project it onto the back of a translucent screen.
 
 Resolution
Screen image quality and clarity measured in pixels. Higher resolution offers a clearer picture.
 
 SDTV
Standard Definition Television: Digital television system that supports 480i and 480p signals.
 
 S-Video
Four-pin connector that transmits the luminance and chrominance portions of a video signal separately.
 
 Tuner
Device that converts broadcast signals into audio and video signals your television can use.
 
 Widescreen
Television screen with a 16:9 aspect ratio.
 
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Top 10 TVs
20" Sharp AQUOS LCDs
17" Dell LCDs
42" Sony WEGA Plasma HDTVs
26" Sharp AQUOS LCD HDTVs
50" Samsung DLP HDTVs
37" Sharp AQUOS LCDs
42" Panasonic Plasmas
17" Philips LCD HDTVs
42" Akai Plasmas
DVD/VCR Flat Screens








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