Display Technologies Guide (LCD, Plasma, DLP, LCoS, D-ILA, CRT)

The Differences between LCD, Plasma, DLP, LCOS, D-ILA,
SED, OLED and CRT Televisions and Displays

Which is the Best Display Format?

A couple years ago it became apparent that in order to effectively review and compare the many upcoming display technologies, we'd need to publish an article or two about exactly what these differing formats mean and address the questions about which television or projection format is "best". After returning from CES 2006, we instinctively knew that it was high time we updated this article to reflect the newer technologies and discuss advancements made by current or older technologies.

The truth be told, each have their advantages and disadvantages. The comparisons we make will serve to educate, but only at the risk of adding enough additional information into the process that could make decisions even more involved. For some, this document will serve as a primer and will help pave the way towards understanding both current and up-and-coming technologies. Others may find that this article opens a Pandora's Box of comparisons and a more difficult decision-making process. For Audioholics, the goal is always to inform the end-user so that they can be better equipped to make the best choices. We hope that the detail included here helps to eliminate confusion and organize the positives and negatives of each format.

Editor's note: This article will also be somewhat dynamic as these technologies are almost constantly changing. Thus, in order to keep this document up-to-date, we'll address new issues, advances, and technologies as they arise and as time permits.

At the end of this article is a comparison chart of each display-type which compares the various displays against each other using metrics such as contrast ratio, weight, burn-in, viewing angle and longevity. If your head is spinning, this will be a good place to regroup before coming back up for air and once again delving into the technologies.

With that said - thanks for stopping by! We hope you can glean some helpful information from this document to aid you in your current and future purchasing decisions.