New types of TVs - watch for SED

If you are thinking about upgrading your TV this holiday season, you may find it’s a whole new televised ballgame out there with terms that can boggle the mind.

First there is HDTV or high definition TV (hi def to the truly cognoscenti) . High definition can then be broken down into four types. LCD stands for liquid crystal display and you may be familiar with LCDs from your computer screen. It has yummy resolution and can hang on your wall. The Plasma TVs can also hang on your wall and are favored by the home theater crowd, with a higher price tag than the LCDs.

There are two new guys on the block – DLP or digital light processing and SED which stands for surface conduction electron emitter display…hence the acronym SED. SEDs combine the slimness of plasma and LCDs with the high contrast ratios and picture quality of the CRT plus use less power than LCDs.

Toshiba plans to roll out SED TVs in the first quarter of 2008. DLPs are the brainchild of Texas Instrument and are primarily found in rear projection TVs. They are not as thin as the plasma TV and are noisy but offer smooth jitter free images, and have potentially a longer life than the LCDs. Confusing, and it only promises to become more so as more players take to the field.