• The world's major electronics companies have entered the LCD TV market.lcd tv image by Eray Haciosmanoglu from Fotolia.com
  
  Ever since flat-paneled LCD, or Liquid Crystal Display, televisions became available to consumers, they have dominated the television market. With the advantages they offer over the traditional CRT, or cathode ray tube, TVs, it's easy to understand their popularity. With a brighter display, better contrast, wider viewing angle of 160 degrees and space-saving flat-paneled shape, LCD TVs offer the public a markedly improved viewing experience.
  
  

Samsung

• Samsung is "the world's leading consumer electronics brand," according to the LCD TV Buying Guide. Samsung was founded in 1938, and the South Korean corporation started manufacturing flat-screen televisions in 1999. There are three major flat-screen TV technologies, as described by the LCD TV Buying Guide, and Samsung provides several products for each of these technologies that can meet "just about any budget."
  
  

Sony

• Sony's beginnings go back to 1945 in a bombed Tokyo building, when it was known as Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo K.K., which means Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering Corporation. The company changed its name to Sony in 1955 and has become, according to the LCD Buying Guide, "one of the largest media and electronics companies in the world." In 1960, Sony began manufacturing TVs and began producing flat-screen televisions in 2001. An LCD TV's backlighting, illumination coming from behind the TV screen, can be produced by either CCFLs or LEDs. CCFLs, cold cathode fluorescent lamps, are a series of laid-down tubes emitting fluorescent light behind the display panel. LEDs, light-emitting diodes, are special electronic components that can also serve as a source of light. Although most of their new LCD TVs use the more costly LED backlighting, Sony still offers some middle-range and budget products with CCFL backlighting, the traditional and less expensive backlighting method.
  
  

LG

• LG Electronics was founded in 1958 and manufactures a variety of electronics products, such as appliances, cell phones, computers, TVs and audiovisual products. According to the LCD TV Buying Guide, most of LG's LCD products have the more costly LED backlighting, illumination from behind the display panel coming from light-emitting diodes. However, the company stands out for offering higher-end features on the lower-priced models with fluorescent backlighting, illumination provided by CCFLs behind the screen.