What Is an LCD Television?
An LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) television is a television with a screen of up to many tiny pixels in front of a fluorescent or LED backlight. When light hits the pixels, an electric current determines the color and the variations within the pixels and creates the picture you see. LCD televisions are the most popular type of television today, especially the high definition models.
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History
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LCD televisions grew from the LCD technology used by devices including digital watches and clock radios--using a flat, thin display where the pixels in front of the light source generate the image. Television manufacturers adapted it with much smaller multi-colored pixels, and created a grid of electrodes that stimulates and activates each pixel individually for each visual frame.
Development Issues
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Early LCD televisions were suited to smaller models, and had an early problem with "ghosting," where the picture couldn't keep up with fast movements, leaving behind a ghost-like blur. Also, the picture was only viewed well from a direct angle; anywhere else and the quality of the image suffered.
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Improvements
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LCD televisions became more popular and affordable as technology improved, and improved to accommodate larger screens--up to 50 inches and over. Changes from fluorescent to LED (Light-Emitting Diodes) backlight helped solve the viewing angle issue and made for a clearer picture.
Specifications
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High Definition LCD televisions have a screen resolution of up to 1280 (horizontal) by 720 (vertical) or 1920 x 1080 lines of resolution, much higher than the 720 x 480 lines of standard TVs. And, where older TVs had an aspect ratio of 4:3, HD televisions have an aspect ratio of 16:9, similar to a movie theater screen.
LCD vs. Plasma
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The other popular form of HDTV now is Plasma screens. One advantage of LCD is that plasma televisions have a permanent "burn in" after-image on the screen if an image (like a station logo) stays motionless too long on the screen. Also, on average, LCDs use half the power of Plasma televisions.
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