Aspect Ratio: A comparison of screen width to screen height. Analog television has an aspect ratio of 4 by 3, which means the screen is 4 units wide by 3 units high. The aspect ratio of HDTV is 16 by 9, the same as the wide scope of a movie theater screen.
Broadcast Stations: Stations that send analog or digital signals over-the-air free for anyone to receive. The most common broadcast stations are ABC, FOX, NBC, and CBS. Broadcast stations are regulated by the FCC, and referred to as over-the-air stations and/or network affiliates.
Built-in Tuner A device inside in a television allowing it to decode over-the-air signals broadcasts without the aid of an external receiver. Most built-in tuners require an antenna to receive the signal.
Burn-in: When a static image is leaves a permanent mark on a television screen regardless of whether or not the television is on or off. This issue is common in CRT projection and plasma televisions due to video game use and/or leaving an image on the screen too long.
CRT Rear Projection: A rear projection television that uses a cathode ray tube for a receiver. Since cathode ray tubes max out at 40 inches, it’s necessary to reflect a small image onto a larger screen to produce a larger screen size. To do this, three CRT’s are used, one for red, one for blue, and one for green CRT rear projection televisions offer a low price, good picture, and a heavy and bulky unit. Burn-in is a problem.
Digital Television: The new standard for television watching. Digital uses progressive and interlaced scan, features more lines of resolution, and offers a much clearer and stable picture able to quickly decipher fast, moving images. All stations are required to make a full transition to digital by December 31, 2006.
Direct View: Often referred to as a CRT or tube television, a direct view TV is the closest thing to the one baby boomers watched when they were kids. All science aside, CRTs come in basically all shapes and sizes up to about 40-inches. They feature a good picture from all angles, the best black level, and are significantly lower in price than other TV’s. However, they are bulky and heavy, but retain a good picture for many years.
DLP: Created by Texas Instruments, DLP, or Digital Light Processing, works by shining a light onto a semiconductor called a digital micromirror device (DMD), but not before passing through a fast-spinning red, green, and blue color wheel. As light passes through the color wheel, the DMD uses mirrors on its surface to translate the light to form an image, then reflecting the image onto a large screen. DLP’s are also lighter and narrower than CRTs, but are too heavy and bulky to hang from a wall. Burn-in is not a factor with DLP’s.
DVI/HDCP: Digital Video Interface and High Definition Content Protection is a copyright protection system installed on certain televisions. It prohibits the copying of copyrighted material, like onto a VCR or DVD-recorder. It is a new feature, and not a major impact right now.