What is the best HDTV format...?

Direct-view CRT
Your standard cathode-ray tube (CRT) basically looks like your normal TV – deep backed and heavy. CRT works by illuminating phosphors with an electron beam to produce an image. The phosphors light up when hit with electrons, mixing red, green, and blue to create the colors you see on the screen.

Stengths
Relatively inexpensive; excellent picture quality, the deepest blacks; wide viewing angle.

Weaknesses
Bulky and heavy; limited screen size (about 36in); lower resolution; usually not PC-compatible. Also, tubes suffer from more geometry errors than do flat-panel sets, which can make straight vertical and horizontal lines appear to bend onscreen.

Plasma
A plasma display works by illuminating each plasma filled pixel (plasma is effectively gas made up of electrically charged atoms).

The plasma in each pixel has a current ran through it to produce a full spectrum of colors and the picture.

Limited product life is thought to be an issue but with most TV’s having a 100,000 hour screen life it is definitely not an issue.

100,000 hours translates into 10 years of continuous TV watching (24 hours a day 365 days a year)

Stengths
Can be as little 3 inches thick; very good rich and natural image quality (but only in the best examples), good black levels with top performing sets, wide viewing angle, reasonably light.

Weaknesses
Relatively expensive; slight potential for burn-in; generally lower resolution than similarly sized LCDs, usually not as deep blacks as CRT’s, slightly heavier than LCD, picture quality varies greatly between different makes of plasma, so be sure to read reviews before you plunk down your cash.

LCD
An LCD works using liquid crystals held between 2 panes of glass.

Different levels of electrical current are passed through the crystals to cause them to twist and untwist which allows different amounts of light through the color spectrum to create the picture.

Strengths
Higher resolution than similar sized plasmas offering better image quality with HD and computer sources, no danger of burn-in; available in a range of sizes, rich and natural images, good black levels with current technology, relatively light, image quality varies between makes

Weaknesses
Relatively expensive; home-theater image quality generally not as good as plasma but very good for PC or computer sources, some older sets can suffer from motion blur, some sets suffer reduced image quality from certain angles.

CRT Vs Plasma Vs LCD
In terms of picture quality and the deepest blacks CRT’s are generally considered the top performers. However due to CRT’s weight, bulk and smaller screen sizes I prefer a sleek plasma or LCD.

LCD’s and Plasmas current generation, while not as good as CRT, offer excellent picture quality – rich and natural images, very good blacks and very little image noise.

Plasmas are produced in the largest screen sizes (50" and above), LCD's range from small to large (17" - 50").

For home-theater viewing generally the best plasmas just out perform the best LCD’s. However for PC’s and games console’s LCD’s are usually top of the pile.

Please bear in mind due to continuous advances in technology you can barely tell the difference between a good LCD and Plasma.

So choice boils down to what size screen you want, what price your willing to pay, the overall performance, the amount of features and specs and personal styling preference.

To help you along learn "how to pick a HDTV here" and take a look at a few top performing low to high budget sets here.