LCD is one of the biggest technologies in television at the moment, set to go head-to-head against plasma screens for the future of TVs.

But what do LCD televisions mean to you? Well, to begin with,the picture you get is a lot sharper. By now you've probably replaced your old bulky computer monitor with a flat, LCD one, and you've no doubt noticed the difference in picture quality and clarity. Now the companies behind LCD want it to do the same for televisions, making them flatter, clearer and altogether better.

Another thing to note is that the rise of HDTV (high-definition television) is linked to the rise of LCD televisions. HDTV allows the original TV signal to be broadcast in even better quality than a DVD, and digital LCD TVs can then display the signal perfectly.

It really makes TV as we know it today look ridiculously primitive by comparison - and if you're willing to splash out on an LCD TV and an HDTV subscription, you can have it today. Every year, LCD screens are decreasing in price and increasing in size, making them an ever-better competitor against other screen technologies.

When you buy an LCD television, the main things to look for are size and price, although there are also more technical features you might be interested in, like colour depth (the number of colours the screen can display). Response time is one that is often considered important,as LCDs with a long response time can produce a blurring effect when showing pictures of something that is moving quickly. There is also a measurement called dot pitch, which roughly indicates how sharp the picture produced by the TV will be (lower numbers are better).

As a final word of advice, if you do decide to buy an LCD TV,make sure you see it in use in the shop first. You should watch to see how it handles different kinds of pictures,and what the display is like compared to other LCDs, as well as compared to plasma screens.