LCD TVs: Then and now

It wasn't too long ago that LCD TVs were tiny sets with 4- or 5-inch screens, so-so picture quality, and hefty price tags. Watch our "vintage" video review of portable LCD TVs from 1993 and it's easy to why we said LCD display technology had "a lot farther to go." (Click on the embedded player at right to watch the video.**)

In the 15 years since then, LCD displays have gone even farther than anyone expected, transforming the TV industry as well as smart phones, laptop computers, portable digital media players, and much more.

LCD TVs, of course, have grown exponentially in size and image quality. We now have models up to 52 inches in our latest LCD TV Ratings, all of them with far better picture quality than their miniature ancestors.

And smaller LCD displays have carved out several new niches: 

• Touch-screen smart phones (such as the new iPhone 3G) that download YouTube videos or receive TV "shows" from cellular service providers.
• Notebooks and portable computers that wirelessly access popular primetime shows from Amazon, iTunes, Netflix or even the TV networks' own Web sites.
• Tiny portable digital media players with spacious hard drives that store and play hundreds of hours of digital video. 

It will be interesting to see whether OLED displays, still in their small and pricey infancy, make similar strides over the next decade or so.

—Nick K. Mandle

** That's Evon Beckford, Senior Director of Electronics Testing at Consumer Reports, in the video. He's been testing televisions for Consumers "for almost 30 years," as he says in our much more recent "Comprehensive video guide to buying a big-screen TV."

Comments

[everett whitney]

TO: Valerie - 26 Aug - " Weather-proof HDTVs ?..."

Neither of your posted Brands will state what the terms of any warranty might be .... only as one registers a newly-purchased unit.

Claims include ... -24 F up to +124 F ... that's only possible for that outer casing ! The internal, HDTV components Still must comply to the normal limits of all other televisions - namely, depending upon Brand Name, about 40 F to not more than 104 F plus NO excessive humidity including Kitchens, Baths or even laundry rooms!

ALL HDTVs Must be ventilated to eliminate the heating given off ... Claims for all-sealed units is not a remote possibility!

Any condensation formed within the display and / or internal portions will quickly cause the end of that television.

Daytime Outdoors is Far too bright for any display to be watched ... in order to attempt to do so, all the settings will have to be far too high in Contrast, Brightness, with the HDTV set on "Vivid" ....

These are Not inexpensive, either !

Save the funds .... HDTVs can not be properly used outside !

[Valerie]

I would love to know more about the ability of LCD's and plasmas to stand up to the outdoor environment, for example on a covered porch. What about the specifically "outdoor LCD's" by MirageVision and SunBrite: Are they worth the extra money and do they perform as expected?