A modern day Television has become an almost essential tool in the average household. In addition to providing entertainment, many households use it as their primary means of communication through social media and email updates, but how does a television work? When you turn on your TV, several components come together to form the images that appear on your screen. Keep reading to learn more about how your television works and how different technologies work together to allow you to enjoy all of the great shows that are out there waiting for you to enjoy them!

The Cathode Ray Tube

Every television consists of four primary parts - a power source, an image source, control circuits and a display unit. Every part has to do its job well for you to enjoy seeing your favorite sitcom or news broadcast on your TV. The heart of every television is called a Cathode Ray Tube (CRT). It is where images are displayed. The Cathode Ray Tube sits at one end of an evacuated tube about 4-1/2 inches in diameter and 9-inches long. Electrons are shot from a heated cathode toward an image forming anode at nearly the speed of light. In fact, televisions operate at 30 frames per second (fps), which is fast enough to produce very realistic moving images.

The Backlight

The television’s picture is created with an array of 3,840 red, green and blue pixels. Each one emits its own color of light to create millions of different combinations. The intensity of each pixel can be adjusted individually to display different levels of brightness and darkness. The pixels are formed from three types of colored phosphors (green, red and blue) that are arranged in stripes on a fluorescent screen. These pixels are then backlit by an array of X-shaped lamps called cold cathode fluorescent lamps (CCFL). The lamp passes through a magnetic field generated by coils that produce electrical charges when fed high voltage.

Color, Sound, and Cable

The three most important elements to any television are color, sound, and cable. Color is one of the single most important factors when purchasing a new TV. The HDTV standard is improving so rapidly that it's hard to keep up with what is needed for any given set. As long as you have enough bandwidth to send whatever signal you're using, there really isn't much difference between an SD or HD signal in terms of quality, but don't think you can get away with an SD signal without having some problems in your picture. Sound and cable can be just as important as color if you have a larger TV and want that movie theater experience at home. It's not worth buying an enormous LCD screen if you then spend all your time listening to your television instead of watching it!

Smart Television

These televisions are even more advanced than their smart counterparts. They operate much like a tablet or smartphone, but have an even larger screen to work with. The downside is that they tend to be on the expensive side. Samsung’s Smart TV starts at $199 for its 28-inch screen, while LG’s WebOS smart television retails for over $1,300—and it has only one app available (Netflix). Because of their high price tag and limited functionality, these televisions aren’t necessarily worth buying right now; however, they’re still relatively new on the market and should improve over time. For now, stick with your dumb TV—but don't rule out smart TVs in five years!