One of the most common electronic entertainment home appliances today is the television.  The use of the old cathode ray tube (CRT) television is slowly being taken over by the newer technology that uses liquid crystal display (LCD).  The CRT television is very bulky and takes up too much space in the house and the quality is inferior compared to LCD.

Aside from the fact that LCD televisions look sleek and stylish because they come in flat screens, they also greatly complement with digital technology that moves computers and the internet.  In fact, LCD television is actually the same screen used in laptops and LCD monitors in computers.

Before buying your LCD television, which costs significantly higher than CRT sets, you must consider the following:

Size
The screen size ranges from 15 to 40 inches measured diagonally. The bigger screen size you want, of course, the more you will have to pay.  Because LCD televisions are flat, many people prefer to hang them on walls like paintings so you might also consider the size of your wall if you want the TV to hang on there.

Angle viewing
This is the indicator where picture can be watched from certain angles without getting much distortion.  Manufacturers label angle viewing in terms of degrees wherein zero degrees refers to the position where the watcher is directly in the middle of the screen.  When it says 160 degrees viewing angle, it means that the television can be watched at that degree without any picture degradation.  Viewing angle is commonly quoted as horizontal but some manufacturers also specify vertical viewing angles.  Knowing about viewing angle is extremely helpful in deciding which part of the house you want to television to be placed.

Contrast Ratio
This refers to the difference between the darkest black and the brightest white of the picture on TV.  The average ratio is 500:1 but subtle gradations can be hard to get noticed by the human eye.

Aspect Ratio
This refers to the height and width of the viewing field.  There are many shows on film that are not tailored for regular TV but LCD TV sets can be set to the appropriate aspect ratio for better picture viewing.

Frequency Rate
Have you noticed that if you take a picture of a computer screen or television, you see scan lines in print?  This is because the screen or monitor is continually updating the display.  This number of updates per second is called “refresh rate”.  Older TVs having refresh rates of 50 Hz can give viewers flickering pictures.  Try to opt for LCD TVs with refresh rates above 100 Hz so you can get clearer and steadier pictures.

High Definition TV
Still related picture clarity, High Definition TV (HDTV) refers to more vertical lines, about 1080 lines compared to regular digital picture made of 576 vertical lines.  Try looking for an LCD TV that is HDTV-ready or HDTV-compatible especially if you are thinking of buying larger screens.

Sound Quality
Sound is as important as the picture in your TV viewing experience.  High end home cinema is system of usually five speakers that gives your house the sound quality as that of a real movie house.  Purchasing home cinema is usually a separate expense from the LCD TV but will definitely complement in the enjoyment of TV viewing.  Another option is the Dolby Surround Sound which is used in most TV programming broadcast.  Look for LCD TV that has Dolby Pro Logic to decode the Dolby signal from DVD of any digital TV broadcast.

Connections
Make sure that you get the right connections as many digital accessories like DVD players play stations and other VCR games need to be connected to be played.  There are also LCD TVs that provide high quality connections for better performance.

Warranty
Since LCD TVs don’t come cheap and can be complicated to tinker with by a non-technical person, it is extremely important to know the warranty terms.  Make sure that there is a service center you so that when you have a problem with your TV, you can easily get a quick fix.