Like most people, you may be filled with a burning curiosity to know what makes a rear-projection TV work. Well, it’s largely done with smoke and mirrors. (Only joking – if you have smoke inside your rear-projection TV you have a problem!)

Basically, a video picture is projected via a projectors lamp inside the box, then a system of lenses and mirrors direct the picture onto the inner surface of a see-through screen.

When this technology was first introduced, CRTs (cathode-ray tubes – the things that made old fashioned televisions so bulky) were used, and it worked quite well. The problem with this was that the tube made the chassis very heavy and, typically, a floor standing cabinet was required to accommodate it.

Eventually,In the end, as screens grew in size, and the industry began to take up the new, wider 16:9 aspect ratio (the ratio of height to width), those old CRT TVs gradually became replaced by new models which provide high-quality performance in light, compact enclosures.

Rear-projection TVs have built-in high definition capability these days. This is an extremely important point – they are equipped to handle everything high-definition broadcasting and discs can demand of them. And make no mistake – High Definition Television will provide wide screen pictures in much greater clarity and detail than we are used to from traditional broadcasting. In addition to tuners for cable and analog television – not to mention being able to receive digital cable signals without requiring a set-top box – HD tuners are included in all modern rear-projection TVs, which means they can take full advantage of all the exciting television improvements which will be coming soon.

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