WHAT'S A MICRODISPLAY?

Microdisplay TVs are rear-projection sets, meaning they have an internal mechanism that projects the image onto the rear of the glass screen you view. These TVs use a digital light engine instead of the red, green, and blue picture tubes that made older projection sets so bulky. The light engine contains digital imaging microchips that create the images, plus a high-powered lamp and optics.

There are three digital technologies used in microdisplays: DLP, LCoS, and LCD (not to be confused with flat-panel LCDs). LCoS is also known by various brand names. Sony calls it SXRD, while JVC calls it D-ILA. DLP is the most dominant technology right now; LCoS sets are generally more expensive; LCD sets appear to be waning.

The compact innards allow for relatively slim cabinets. All the microdisplay models in our most recent Ratings (available to subscribers) were 16 to 19 inches deep. By comparison, the single CRT-based projection set we reviewed was 24 inches deep.


WHAT'S 1080p?

A TV's native screen resolution indicates the number of pixels the screen contains. A 1080p resolution means a screen has 1,920 pixels from left to right and 1,080 from top to bottom. That's the highest resolution available on a consumer TV, and the only one with the potential to display all the detail in the most common high-definition TV signals.

The "p" refers to progressive scan; all pixels in a frame of video are sent in one sweep. An interlaced signal, by contrast, sends half the pixels first, with the second batch arriving a fraction of a second later. A viewer perceives them as a single frame, but because two fields of video are captured at different times, some TVs display "jaggies" on the edges of moving objects. A progressive signal should look smoother, because all pixels in a frame were captured at the same time and sent consecutively.

A 1080p TV can display more and finer resolution than a 720p set, which might have a resolution of 1366x768, for example. But resolution alone doesn't determine picture quality. Black level, brightness, and color accuracy are just as important. A 720p set that does everything right can have excellent picture quality, but an equally adept 1080p set has the potential to be even better. The difference is most obvious on large screens and in close viewing.

CR's take. If you want state-of-the-art technology and potentially the best HD picture quality, consider a 1080p TV, but be prepared to pay at least a few hundred dollars more than for a comparable 720 model. If you simply want fine picture quality and prefer to spend less, opt for a good 720p set instead.