The actual LCD technology is based on polarized light. Polarized panels sandwich a liquid-crystal "gel" that has been already divided into individual fixed pixels. A grid of wires then allows each Pixel to be activated individually and when each pixel darkens it then polarizes at 90 degrees to the polarizing screens. The pixels darken with the amount of voltage that is applied to it. If the display needs to be bright, low voltage is given. Darker areas will receive more voltage.
LCD normally uses thin film transistor technology to produce better depth reduction as well as lower energy consumption in comparison to plasma displays.
TVs of the LCD variety have become very popular over the last few years, and have overtaken CRT and Plasma sales for some time now.
The main manufacturers of LCD TVs are Samsung, Sony, LG.Philips LCD, and Sharp.
HDTVs, being Fixed Pixel Displays, obviously include LCD, as well as plasma and DLP TVs. Unlike a CRT which can display a number of resolutions natively (without upsampling or downsampling), Fixed Pixel Displays are Limited to displaying a certain Resolution. Although they may be compatible with signals in other resolutions, these signals must be upsampled or downsampled (resized) to the display's Native Resolution.
All incoming signals must be upsampled or downsampled into the display's Native Resolution, so a 1920x1080 (1080p or 1080i) video Frame would have to be downsampled for display on a 720p (1280x720 Native Resolution) fixed pixel HDTV. Likewise 720p or Standard Definition video will have to be upsampled to the Native Resolution of 1920x1080 for viewing on a 1080i or 1080p fixed pixel HDTV.
LCD TVs in the News
JVC set to launch 'thinnest' 1080p HDTV (25 June 2008)-JVC has announced that it will be introducing the "industry's thinnest" 1080p LCDs with built-in TV tuners next month.
Sharp begins selling its 108-inch LCD TV (13 June 2008)-After announcing the TV late last year, Sharp has finally begun selling the largest single panel HDTV on the planet, the LB-1085's which stands at 108 inches diagonally. The company says the display is designed for public, outdoor use, and has a rich picture that at 1080p results in 76 million colors. In comparison, most commercial LCDs reach almost 17 million.
Samsung and Sony invest in 8G LCD facility (26 April 2008)-Samsung and Sony will reportedly spend 1.8 trillion South Korean won (about $1.9 billion USD) to buy a new facility to upgrade their S-LCD Corporation joint venture.
LCD TVs outsell plasmas 8 to 1 globally (23 May 2008)-According to data compiled by research firm DisplaySearch,, global LCD TV sales outsold plasma TV sales by a huge 8-to-1 margin for the Q1 2008 and that gap doesn't seem to be getting any smaller anytime soon.
LCD sales surpass CRT during last part of 2007 (21 February 2008)-Sales of LCD televisions have hit a milestone, becoming the number one television technology. In the fourth quarter of 2007, for the first time ever, more LCD TVs were sold than CRT models according to market analysts at DisplaySearch. Compared to CRT televisions, which managed a 46% market share in the 3 months of the year, LCD TVs accounted for a 47% share.
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| All LCD TVs in our Hardware Section |
