Home Theater PLASMA TELEVISIONPlasma: the display that caught peoples' attention first.People drooled and stammered, "WOW I WANT THAT!" Finally, a television screen improvement that blew John and Jane Q Public away! Actually, they ran TOWARD the display, but then AWAY - screaming - from the initial price tag. I suspect that, Like Kleenex means tissue, the word "Plasma" actually describes the new sleek HDTV wide screen TVs to many people, whether or not they ARE those displays. The word and what it represents in the minds of consumers has much more weight than, say, DLP or LCD TVs, which now can be extremely competitive with the picture of a Plasma, but suffer as acronyms (Acronyms: the initials stand for longer, less known, more cumbersome words.) Watch for the telethon to help stamp out acronyms.
Plasma was very clearly new and improved TV.Compared to the old 'normal television,' here is a colorful, bright, thin, and very high-tech display.Add to that, the magical quality of DIGITAL. And, it can hang on the wall - is about 4 inches thick. To any viewer who grew up watching standard television, this is a clear LEAP ahead. The first units were in the $10,000 range, so value was established from the get go. Today, if you brought one home for $3999, you'd feel like a winner. Although prices have dropped enormously, the initial valuation has been retained! It'd be like buying a new Porsche for $15,000. You'd say, "Hey, It's a Porsche." And you'd feel like you stole it. Plasma is electrically excited gas in a tiny tube to make up each pixel... more than a million of the little buggers. This is true flat panel technology. The glow is stimulated by a network of electrodes. Hang yours on the wall if you can find studs to lift it, and IN the wall on which to mount it. These suckers aren't light. Even the fat ones are only about 5 1/4 inches thick.
But Plasma isn't perfect.Eventually, the displays will wear out. (But what doesn't?) There's a "half life" (said to be to a half-brightness level). And, no, you can't recharge the gas in the "tube" to make it new again. But I think that's way overblown as a concern. My guess is, unless you have it on all day, like in an office, you'll have your Plasma HDTV as long as you want. By the time you reach half life, I'll bet you'll be in love with the NEW new technology that'll be out by then.
Plusses:Wide viewing angle.16:9 aspect ratio screen. Available in larger screen sizes. No convergence. No magnetic shielding from your loudspeakers.
Minuses:Cost, though prices are dropping.Black levels and contrast still cannot match CRTs. Burn-in: Bars on sides or bottom of certain pictures, network logos; bright, sustaining images can appear as ghosts over other sources! The screen panels buzz when used at high altitudes - say, 6000 feet or so, due to the difference between the pressure inside the panel and the pressure outside. Put an LCD HDTV in your jet.You also might see the "screen door effect" though manufacturers are working to minimize that. (...like looking through... a screen door at a picture.)
Obsolescence?I think that LCD and DLP will rule, but Plasma sure has the popular buzz (even at sea level).
Cheaper VersionEDTV TVs allow Plasma advantages at non-HDTV resolution, but for a lot less money.You'll find certain PLASMA sets listed as EDTV - Enhanced or Extended Definition TV. This means better than 'standard' TV, and with a wide screen. It's digital. And at a lower cost than HDTV. At the lowest prices, you'll find EDTV MONITORS - meaning they have no picture source in them - no TUNER. Your cable or satellite box will do this for you, however.
OPINIONNow, this is - in my opinion. I would not buy a Plasma TV - today - no matter how good they look. Yes, they do look good - darn good. And yes, a good ED will outperform a mediocre HD from a cheap manufacturer. But I think you can do just as good or better with another display technology and I suspect that Plasma will become old technology before the other types of display do. If you HAVE one, well, that's fine. Enjoy it. It'll serve you well, probably for years and years to come. You'll wow your neighbors. It's a huge leap over what we've all become used to as "Standard Television." A HUGE leap. But I wouldn't buy one today. I sure wouldn't feel bad if I had already bought one as an early adopter, because it's a wonderful display technology. Your neighbors envy you.I know this is a bold statement. Here's my thinking: Plasma excels at screen sizes in the 42 inch range. And that's also, coincidentally, the manufacturer's sweet spot of return on investment. Larger panels are coming from LCDs. They will look like Plasmas, but won't suffer from some of their problems But I don't think that's the real competition. I see a two horse race developing between DLP and LCD REAR SCREEN Projectors. I doubt you'll ever be able to hang a REAR SCREEN PROJECTOR on your wall, but these ONE BOX displays are nicely compatible with many furniture styles, can sit on a stand or in a cabinet, and offer tremendous value and stunning pictures. The only BUT I see is the box depth - which might be 16 inches or so to the wall on some models However, now there's one DLP projector only 7 inches deep! Sony is shifting from Plasma to LCD flat panels partly because the higher resolutions (1920x1080) are harder to produce in smaller (under 60 inch) screen sizes. In the DLP and LCD sections, you can read about the technologies, the plusses and minuses.
The Plasma Screen Door EffectWhat drives some Plasma Obsessives crazy? How can YOU avoid it?An Achilles Heel? Burn inBURN-IN can ruin the fabulous Plasma display. What to avoid.High altitude: a problemBuzz is inherent in the technology.Cheaper VersionsEDTV TVs allow Plasma advantages at non-HDTV resolution, but for a lot less money. |
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