If you've ever owned a big-screen television set, then you know about the spoiling effect: after the initial novelty wears off, you grow used to the idea of a giant TV in your home and eventually, you don't even think about the quality and size of your screen.

Other people who aren't used to big-screen TVs might marvel at yours, but you're so used to it that you hardly notice any more.

Does this also happen with LCD TVs?

We know HD television is already becoming popular. We also know that in the U.S., some 47 million television sets are HD-capable, which means a large section of the population is growing "used" to a higher quality picture. So what does this mean for the world in general, and what does it mean for the world of LCD TVs, where clearer picture and high resolutions are simply making a better picture quality the new "normal"?

Newsflash: Novelty wears off

No matter how great your television set is, the novelty will eventually wear off. It doesn't matter if you're buying the best LCD TVs out there: eventually, your mind will grow accustomed to the specific stimulation it's getting from a specific product. Does this mean that you forget the HD quality, or that you stop enjoying the better picture? Of course not. You may watch someone else's television set for a while. If they're getting a standard cable picture, you might not even notice the difference. But when you snap that HD television set back on, you will once again feel it right away. It might not be as dramatic as the first time you saw high-definition television, but you'll still remember: "This is why I bought an LCD TV."

The novelty, of course, wears off. But that doesn't mean the effects do. Even as you grow accustomed to a better type of television, you will still notice the differences between your television and another type of television as long as there are differences to notice. It is exactly this difference - this contrast, to use a television term - that makes our initial "novelty" so special in the first place. If you've never even seen high-definition television, there's a greater chance you'll be amazed by it.

Keeping Old TVs Around

Of course, you might not need to venture to a friend's house in order to see an older-style television: you may simply have to go into your own basement, where a standard television set is waiting to be watched. If you travel quickly through the same rooms, you'll be able to instantly tell the difference between standard television and high definition television. There's a good chance that if you live with a large family, you fill find yourselves fighting for the "rights" to the high definition television for movies, television shows, and video games.

Keeping the old TV around doesn't just give you an extra screen and an extra option, it keeps this "contrast" effect in order to draw a comparison between your LCD TV and the standard TV. You'll come to appreciate the quality of that LCD television set over time, realizing that you frequently go to it when you're looking to enjoy a program with better picture quality.

Getting Spoiled by Technology

Quite simply, you will get spoiled by technology sometimes. But this doesn't always mean that you'll be totally disconnected from the old models of electronics. It is the contrast between what we're used to and what we're seeing that makes an LCD appear even sharper in the beginning. The truth is, the LCD TV is always the same - it's your brain that changes.

It might be the ultimate statement in gaming blasphemy: saying that you should make do with less graphics and less picture quality if need be.

But that's exactly what this article is suggesting: depending on your home situation, having your LCD TV double as the TV for your Xbox or PlayStation is not exactly the ideal situation.

Need a little more explanation? We thought you might. So here are five reasons to keep the gaming system separate from the "quality" television set that might convince you of the validity of our points.

1. Presentation.

Like it or not, how things look contributes to your experience. "Well, exactly," you might be telling me, "and that's why I want good picture quality for my Halo playing!" Fair enough. But consider this, as well: if you have to live on the inside of your home, you might as well like the way it looks.

Assuming that you only have one "star" TV that's HD-capable like an LCD television set, do you think that your interior design is better served by keeping your gaming habit down in the basement with a lesser but acceptable television set? Of course it is. Whether you keep your "main" TV in your living room or den, chances are that you'll at some point have people over to your home. You want to put the goods out front while keeping the endless amount of cords, controllers, and games to yourself.

Besides, if you really believe you could simply "move" your Xbox every time a guest arrives, then you probably have the self-discipline enough to ignore what this article tells you anyway.

2. Domestic happiness.

Chances are that your gaming habit is not very popular with your girlfriend or wife. Far be it from me to tell you you should give up something you enjoy just because it grates on someone else, but you can at least increase your chances at domestic happiness by separating your Xbox from your spouse. This means keeping it a private event. You don't have to hide from her every time you whip out the Halo 3 box, but you'll be able to have your cake and eat it, too, if you're willing to make a small sacrifice and play your games on a less-than-ideal television set. (Yeah, we're talking to you, you married folks: these statistics show that even aging gamers still love the thrill).

3. Setting boundaries.

It's good to have boundaries in your own life, even if they're not the most comfortable at first. It's precisely these boundaries that set you apart from a homeless man on the street, asking people for change so he can rent an Xbox for a night.

If one area of your home is for playing Xbox and another is for watching TV, then you at least have the discipline to take your entertainment seriously - for many people, this is a good start. You may find yourself less tempted to play Xbox - while still playing it and getting the same thrills - if you have a separate, older TV set up in the basement specifically for that purpose.

4. Cleanup isn't such a drag.

When you play video games on the "prime" television set in your living room, there's a lot of cleaning up to do. If you play it in your bedroom, your spouse may pester you to get the controllers off the floor. If, however, you relegate your Xbox mess to the junkiest part of your home, then clean-up won't be such a drag.

5. Saving money.

If you're the kind of person who needs to have every latest technological advancement in every piece of electronic hardware in your home, you can save money by sacrificing a little quality - it may help your obsession with the latest and greatest, as well.

Liquid-crystal display (LCD) technology is a relative revolution in the world of television: a mostly inexpensive way to produce a sharper image that's capable of delivering high-definition picture to its audience. But if you thought that LCD TV was only for the living room, you would be wrong.

LCD TV is popular enough these days that you can expect to see it just about anywhere you see a screen - a computer, a display window, a...giant box hanging from the top of an American football stadium. Huh? Let's take a look at the unusual places LCD TV is showing up these days - as well as the unusual uses it's getting.

Advertising and Informational Displays

You know those boring trade shows in which people give you a snoozer of a pitch, some free stuff, and send you on your less-than-merry way? Those experiences are going to be available in...wait for it...high definition!

Samsung is reportedly "mass producing" super-wide LCD displays to be used at trade shows and advertising display panels, which means that good old-fashioned posterboard is officially on its way becoming a dead technology.

Says the excellently-titled Chang-man Kim, vice president of marketing at the Samsung LCD division: "We now are witnessing digital information displays being used in a broader range of applications with increasing demand for customizable DIDs to improve information delivery." In other words, LCD TVs aren't just for watching network television on a Tuesday night - they're ready for more official use as a part of the way you conduct business.

Giant Boxes Hovering Above Giant Men

American football's Dallas Cowboys have one of the most spectacular stadiums in the world to play in, a $1 billion-plus tribute to the world of professional sports. The largest LCD screen in the world is housed there, held high above the football field and displaying screens on each side so that fans all across the stadium can enjoy high-definition closeups of their favorite athletes.

If you're like just about any 18-24 year old man on the planet, your first thought may have been: "Can that thing play video games?"

Since there are no stupid questions, you deserve a legitimate answer: yes. That thing can indeed play video games, reportedly being used by an NFL player to play Gears of War and perhaps Halo, as well. There's even video evidence that the world's largest LCD screen was indeed hooked up to an Xbox 360 and enjoyed in the way LCD was meant to be enjoyed.

Projector Form

Of course, you don't need a giant LCD screen if you've already got, well, just a regular giant screen. LCD projectors are available if you don't want to lug around a television set but instead prefer to simply lap up the good old-fashioned quality picture by enjoying a more cinematic experience. You can't, after all, bring the Dallas Cowboys LCD screen home with you.

Set it up well enough and you can enjoy a gigantic LCD experience without lugging around a giant panel - if you already own a projector, you can even simply upgrade your old one by selling it and buying a used LCD projector. Simply keep your projection screen and you're good to go.

One of the most exciting aspects about new technology isn't always the technology itself - it's the way the technology is used. While a trade show display may not excite you, you can't help but get pumped about starting your own LCD movie night.