TV’s best bang for your buck

Let’s face the facts – wars aren’t going to go away any time soon. And not even the War on… Let’s face the facts – wars aren’t going to go away any time soon. And not even the War on Terror but the format wars. Blu-Ray, HD-DVD, Plasma screens, projection televisions. For God’s sake, the last time people were given this kind of selection in appliances was deciding how many slots were necessary for a toaster.

But let’s focus on what this column’s all about: Television technology keeps expanding horizons with more and more selections while shrinking its once bulky size. However, the slimming TV set is also a correlation to the average consumer’s wallet when it comes to purchasing one.

So I have taken it upon myself to find the best television set possible for the student’s meager income. With no more than $500, and even that’s pushing it, but there’s greater selection than many people think.

Now I know that you can simply search walmart.com or bestbuy.com and select your price range. Rather than focus on what televisions are the best, I want to explain the techno babble surrounding the price tag.

LCD, or Liquid Crystal Display: Most computer monitors use this technology because it’s energy efficient and lightweight. A lot of its major drawbacks such as ghosting have been corrected in recent years, making this technology increasingly popular. Televisions average computer-monitor size (15″-22″) and can be as low as $250 for the 15″ models.

Plasma: Consists of two glass panels holding cells with inert noble gas mixtures. Like human neurons, the cells become electrically stimulated which, unlike human neurons, create the picture.

Not only are plasma screens as asininely expensive as they are big, they’re also susceptible to screen burn. You know, that weird effect seen on old school ATMs when you swipe your card, switch to the PIN entry screen, and still be able to read the first screen’s text as clear as day. Skip this make unless you happen to be related to the Hiltons (in which case I pity you).

DLP: Digital Light Processing, started by Texas Instruments. This technology has that weird commercial with the elephant and the little girl saying “It’s the mirrors.” That’s basically it – it’s an arranged grid of mirrors reflecting light through the screen. They’re used predominantly in cinema but have gained steam in the HDTV market. Same problem as plasma with price range, and DLP’s are mostly used for home theater projectors. Sweet idea, but unobtainable to most.

480p/i, 720p/i, 1080p: I – I know