Introduction to Big Screen TVs

Big screen TVs are the core components of state of the art home theater systems. These days there are many radically different television technologies to choose from, and all offer big screen sizes. This page will give you a quick overview of the technologies available when you shop for a big screen TV. If you would like to learn more about a particular technology, just follow the respective link to another page on this site.

The most important bit of information when discussing big screen TVs is screen size. TV screen size is measured in inches on the diagonal, so that a 40" screen, for example, will measure 40" from the top-left to the bottom-right corner. In the old days, when all television screens had the same aspect ratio, i.e. dimensions, of 4:3 width to length, this measure of screen size was absolute. But today there are two aspect ratio standards for television screens, one is 4:3 and the other 16:9. Given a screen size, a 4:3 screen of that size will have more area than a 16:9 of the same size. For example, a 40" 4:3 screen has an area of 768.0 square inches, whereas a 40" 16:9 screen has an area of 683.7 square inches. This is not a problem since it is easy to determine the aspect ratio of any screen in question, and because nearly all big screen TVs are 16:9, especially big screen TVs of the new plasma, LCD, and rear projection technologies.

Rear Projection TV - These are the biggest of the big screen TVs. Since they rely on projection to form their image on the screen, much larger screen sizes are possible without much additional cost. The screen size of rear projection televisions can be upwards of 70".

Plasma Televisions - A great sensation in the consumer TV world, plasma televisions offer the next largest screen size of the big screen TVs. Plasma televisions are thin and offer a great picture quality. Their maximum available screen size hovers around 60".

LCD Televisions - Like plasma TVs, LCD televisions are also thin and offer great picture quality. They are an alternative to plasma, and have some advantages and drawbacks compared to plasma. A comparison of the two technologies is found on the LCD vs. Plasma page. Because large LCD screens are expensive to manufacture, they are available in smaller sizes than plasma TVs, and their maximum size is around 40-50".

Front Projection TV - Also known as TV projectors, front projection TVs are like movie projectors for television. Any comparison of screen sizes with front projection TVs would be unfair because they don't have an internal screen. Instead, they project an image on an external one. Just as movie projectors can project images that are much larger than conventional TV screens, so can TV projectors. If you want to get one for a home theater, remember that front projection requires darkness for optimal viewing.