Home video
Welcome to the G&G home video page, my name is Crystal and I am a home video specialist here at G&G. This page serves to help answer some of the most frequent questions I get regarding home video technologies.
If there is a question you need answered, or if you would like to get advice from me, please don't hesitate to stop in and ask for me.
One of the most common questions I get from consumers purchasing a new high-definition television is what is the difference between plasma and LCD?
These two types of TV’s use two different ways of displaying the image on the screen.
Let’s start with plasma, plasma uses a reaction of gases, and is available in larger sizes than LCD types (up to 106” sizes) as well as has a faster response time for fast moving images. Plasma is better in darker rooms since the panel is made of glass and is more reflective.
Now for LCD, LCD is now the most popular type of panel television to display the image it uses a series of low emissions florescent tubes. LCD is more energy efficient than plasma, is a brighter image and has a non-glare screen ideal for bright rooms, and tends to have a slightly longer life span. LCD is slower in processing fast motion images, but this can be corrected by purchasing a model which includes the feature 120Htz which processes at double the regular speed.
Another question that I often hear is what’s the difference between 1080p and 720p or between 720p and 1080i?
The numbers 720p or 1080p represent the amount of lines or pixels making up the picture, basically the higher the number the higher the resolution means a sharper picture.
1080p represents 1080 horizontal lines creating the picture or 1920x1080 pixels. 720p represents 720 horizontal lines creating the picture or 1080x720 pixels.
Now what is 1080i? 1080i is equivalent to 720p, 720p represents 720 lines being shown all at one time (progressive) and 1080i represents 1080 lines with half being shown on the screen at one time and the other half switching every 1/60th of a second undetectable to the human eye (interlaced).
Any TV will show both interlaced and progressive images depending on the source being input.
720p(1080i) is the highest resolution shown from HD cable or satellite. The 1080p (1920i) quality is shown from such sources as Blu-Ray Disc (a new format taking over DVD) or the Sony Playstation 3 gaming system.
What is the deal with image retention or burn-in, should this be a major concern while shopping for a new TV?
Image retention or “burn-in” happens on TV’s using phosphor gas, if an image is still on the screen (ex. network logo, life bar on a gaming system) for a few hours the image could be “burned in” permanently leaving a ghosted image on the screen.
This problem was much more common on rear projection CRT TV’s and 1st and 2nd generation plasma TV’s. The CRT projection TV’s are no longer made and the new 10th generation Panasonic plasma’s sold at G&G have safe-guard features against “burn-in” they do warranty against it as well as it would take approximately 1 week of viewing a still image for this reaction to be possible. In short I wouldn’t worry about this happening on new generation plasma that is of a quality brand.
