Technology is both a boon and a bane if only because it has made the problem of choice so much more difficult for the consumer! For example if technology is so user friendly why are there so many brands of televisions flooding the market so much so that choosing the right one becomes the customers' problem. The same is true of the LCD TV.

What is LCD? - LCD stands for Liquid Crystal Display. As the name indicates, the visual images in this kind of television are crystal clear and set it apart from the ordinary television. There are certain broadly defined features that are common to most of the branded LCD TVs.

Picture clarity - Generally speaking they should be broad and flat with screen width ranging from 32 to 52inches and a high resolution for the images to be bright and crystal clear. Some TVs have 1366x768 pixels and a display format of 720p which ensures exceptional clarity of the pictures. The kind of wide screen modes available are conventional, auto wide, and zoom. One can opt for the most suitable depending on the type of room it will occupy.

Acoustics - The sound system varies in each. Most LCDs have two speakers with a stereo effect and a power output of 6 watts, 3 watts for each speaker and the surround mode adds to the effect of an immediate and a very near impact. For example there maybe a lion roaring on the screen but it may seem as if it were in the same room with us! There are others with 10watts too. Depending on the size of the room one can choose the right kind. A very large room can accommodate acoustics of a more sophisticated kind but smaller rooms do not require this.

Other features - They include infrared remote control, digital TV tuner, teletext, contrast auto tracking system, 3D digital comb filter and digital electronic programming guide. There may be a provision to connect the TV to a PC in order to access the pictures and videos stored on the PC. Interestingly as in a PC there is a provision for child lock or parent control wherein certain objectionable channels may be blocked. Some TVs have ambient light sensor and a noise reduction circuit. There are of course the headphones with a socket connection for blocking out the sound for the other viewers who do not wish to be disturbed by the audio. There is any number of channels to be viewed from BBC three, BBC four, BBC News 24, Sky News and even digital radio channels.

For those who spend all their waking hours in front of the TV there is even a sleep timer to set off the television automatically! The better the television, the more functions and features it promises.