Differences Between LCD and HD TV

Everyone has heard of both LCD TV and HD TV but many do not know what they are and why people are raving about them. In fact, some people just know that HD TV can only be viewed on LCDs and that’s about it. They do not have basic information on the difference in technology. Below is just a brief overview of the differences between the two.

HD simply means high definition and just as it says, the images are presented in higher definition which can begin at 1280x720 pixels. This is the 720p that you may have heard or not heard about. The p indicated the progressive scanning method or the display method that can refresh the images on the screen without disrupting the images that are displayed. In standard TV there are times when there is an obvious refreshing of the images and there are times when information or scenes are missed.

The highest HD signal is 1080p which is 1920x1080 pixels. This is the ‘full HD’ experience you see on numerous TV sites and this is the highest form of HD to date.

LCD simply means Liquid Crystal Display and this is the technology used for the flat TVs. They are different from the plasma TVs, the Digital Light Processing or DLP and the Liquid Crystal on Silicon or LCoS technologies.

The LCD HD term is the liquid crystal display which can show images up to 720p but this may not mean that it could display the 1080p. At least for now, who knows they may correct this is the next few months.

Finally the 1080i can also mean full HD since this refers to the resolution of the image rather than the scanning method. The ‘i’ stands for ‘interlaced’ which can refresh the horizontal lines on the screen. The progressive scans refreshes the whole screen in one go.

Hopefully the differentiations help out. Probably now you are in a better position to understand what they mean when they say that the particular show can be viewed on HD. Remember, the HD experience is totally different once you get to experience it and when you go back to the standard plasmas then you would searching for that ‘it’ that you saw but could not see from the plasma.

Fortunately LCD TV prices are now going down since the introduction of the LED technology. Take advantage and learn the differences between LCD and LED to view those favourite movies and shows.