Plasma Panel Displays, the next wave of HDTVAug 28 '03 (Updated Mar 09 '09) Write an essay on this topic.
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The Bottom Line Plasma panels are the new rage and can be the answer to your decorators prayers.
Edit 3/09: This epinion was written in 2003 and readers should bear in mind that quite a bit has changed over the years. Introduction First of all, if you are looking for value in a TV and you are price sensitive, a plasma TV may not be in the cards for you. They are expensive and do not provide any better picture than a good high definition direct view or rear projection TV. In many cases the picture will not be as good, in fact because they have lower resolution. What they do provide is a display that is very architecturally friendly. The thinness of the display will work well into walls and locations where an entertainment system is just not possible. Some examples that we have run into are bedroom walls where the owners want the look they have seen on the TV commercials and over the mantels above fireplaces, sometimes sunk into a shadow box and even one behind a two way mirror. We did it, but don’t recommend the two-way mirror, as it is only viewable in a completely darkened room. Plasma displays are not intended to be Televisions, so it is best to get that thought out of your head. They are intended to be the display panel in a Home Theater system. Just like a speaker does not a radio make, a plasma panel does not a Television make. To receive TV programming you need a source, such as a VCR, Satellite receiver, HDTV receiver or DVD Player. Additionally, you need to deal with the audio. You can hook up speakers to the plasma panel to get sound, or you can supply a home theater receiver or other audio system. The speakers that are supplied as an option for most plasma panels are pretty poor in sound quality. They are used mostly in applications where the plasma panel is used for presentations, in boardrooms, etc. Many high-end home theater systems still use the projection system and Da-Lite™ screens, but that is a whole different essay. Now the serious home theater buff that would use a plasma will also have equally high dollar equipment all down the line. In addition to a $15,000.00 plasma display, you will find $10,0000.00 receivers, $10,000.00 DVDs and equally priceless speakers. All integrated into the theater room so that nothing seems to be there except for the plasma display. This requires the equipment, speakers and wiring to be hidden and special remote control equipment to be used so as to integrate all of the various components into a system. Plasma Basics There are two basic levels of plasma displays; standard definition and high definition. To get a flavor for these differences, there is the need to go over some basics. Digital video is made by light emitting elements that are called pixels. If you look closely at news print, under a magnifying glass for example, you will see that a photo printed in your newspaper is actually made of of tiny dots, each a darker or lighter shade of gray, assuming a black and white photo. Each one of those dots would be call a pixel in digital video speak. The more of these dots in a given area, the smaller they have to be and the sharper the image they can make. Standard digital video will be 640 pixels wide by 480 pixels high for the 4:3 ratio screens (standard TV shape) and 852 pixels wide by 480 pixels high for the 16:9 ratio screens (widescreen). High definition digital video comes in various other formats. The lowest resolution generally considered high definition is 1366 pixels wide by 720 pixels high and all high definition digital video is in the 16:9 widescreen format. When high definition is displayed on 4:3 screens, usually the top and bottom of the screen will contain black bars. Standard definition plasmas are generally the 42-inch models and are quite a bit less expensive than the larger high definition 50-inch and larger models. A 42-inch standard definition plasma can be had for under $3,000.00, where the 50-inch high definition units will run you closer to $10,000.00 and up. If you are going to go with plasmas, everywhere you turn there will be expensive accessories. Mounting hardware to hang your plasma on the wall will run in the hundreds of dollars. Video receivers are almost a requirement and they have to be capable of handling the high definition signals and component level video. Remote control systems that will allow several components to be controlled by a single button push is generally a must to remove the complication of switching from satellite/cable to DVD or VCR. Some systems will incorporate a 300 disc DVD changer and remotes are available that allows the selection of a DVD via a series of icons.  |
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