Pros and Cons of Front and Rear Projection TVS

Ask anyone and they will tell you, “screen size matters”. The bigger the better is how most people think today, when it comes to television screen size. When shopping for the biggest TV screen at an affordable price, projection TVs are a great choice. Projection TVS come in front and rear projection types that range in style and cost.

Understanding the differences between front projection televisions, and rear projection TVs, can help the consumer make the best choice, when considering purchasing a projection TV. To have a clear understanding of these large screen televisions, it helps by understanding the differences between traditional televisions, that use a cathode ray tube, which creates the picture, and projection screen TVs.

How Conventional CRT Televisions Work
Conventional cathode ray tube televisions use beams of electrons.

These beams come into contact with a phosphor-coated screen which causes a glow. Colored cathode ray tube televisions have three beams that are used to separate the phosphor-coated screen causing the reds, blues and greens. The surface of the screen is where the picture is actually created. These models of TVs are very dependable with good picture quality, but since the screen is made with glass, making these televisions into large screen TVs would be unpractical, due to the heavy weight it would end up being.

That’s where projection TVs come into play. Although the picture quality may not be as good as some of the expensive CRT televisions, the size of CRT screens can’t compare to the large size screens of projection TVs that can make you feel like your in your own private movie theater.

How Projection TVs Work
Projection TVs are made to create a smaller picture which is sent to the screen using a beam of light that ends up being display at a much bigger size. Shopping for a projection TV can be confusing without doing your homework and understanding the differences of front and rear projection screen televisions. Both models use the same type of technology to create the large size picture but front and rear projection do have major differences that should be understood before purchasing.

Pros and Cons of Front Projection TVs
Do not require as much floor space as rear projection screen TVs.
Offer the largest screen sizes which require a large room for comfortable viewing.
Work better in darker rooms which can cause some viewing difficulty while watching TV during the day.
Offer the closest quality of picture and size of that which is experienced at a movie theater
Front projection TVs are costly. Technically front projection TV setups require a separately purchased screen, projector, TV tuner and audio, speakers.

Pros and Cons of Rear Projection TVs
Rear projection televisions are becoming very affordable due to the popularity of flat-screen televisions.
Larger screen size at cheaper prices compared to plasma TVs.
High picture quality at an affordable price.
Bigger and bulkier than flat screen TVs
Lamps have to be replaced periodically.
A rainbow effect can occur with rear projection televisions that can cause bright colored streaks that run through the picture. New technology has come up with rear projection screen TVs that are not affected by rainbow effects. There are also rear projection TVs that do not require lamp replacement but models are still limited with these new features. Also some models are available in HDTV.

Do your homework and understand what you are buying and why. When purchasing a projection TV, shop around for the best quality at the most affordable price. And then, there are only two things left to do, pop the popcorn and enjoy the movie!