What Is A Plasma TV? A Guide For First-Time Shoppers

By Nathalie Fiset

Although Plasma TV is a term that's being bandied about frequently in the market, many people are still confused as to what plasma TV is all about. If you're one of them, here's what you should know to prevent you from making an uninformed purchase in the future.

What is a Plasma TV?

A plasma TV set makes use of flat screens unlike cathode-ray-tube or CRT TV sets, which was the TV set for older generations. If you're still using an old TV set in your living room, it's probably a CRT TV set and one way of identifying it is by checking its screen type. If it has a rounded screen, that's definitely a CRT.

Although plasma technology was discovered in the 1960's, plasma TV sets have only been introduced to the market in the 1990's, making any TV set manufactured before that decade is more likely a CRT TV set.

The flat screen of a plasma TV set is made up of minute pieces of bubble-shaped glass. Each piece of this contains plasma, thus the term plasma TV. Each piece also represents one pixel. This pixel can be divided into three parts, represented by one color each: red, blue, and green (yes, yellow, a shade that joins red and blue to make up the triumvirate of primary colors, is not included). These shades make up the acronym RGB, and it's a term that will be frequently used in any video-related topic.

Now, for a plasma TV set to show an image, a current of electricity must first pass through the plasma TV set's screen. This will cause the plasma substance inside the pixels to react and cast off ultraviolet rays. Each pixel will glow or dim appropriately to form a perfectly vivid image.

The Multitasking Life of a Plasma TV

Plasma TV can display images that make use of either standard or HDTV format. This is an advantage that you can't expect to enjoy with a CRT TV set. Plasma TV can also display images straight from home-recorded videos. Lastly, a plasma TV set can not only serve as a television set but as a computer monitor as well if you so wish.

If you are planning to use your plasma TV set as a computer monitor, be aware that if you're looking for a compact plasma TV, you might be better off choosing an LCD TV monitor instead. Plasma TV sets are generally manufactured with large-sized models while LCD TV sets are manufactured with smaller and compact-sized models.

The Difference between LCD and Plasma TV Sets

A plasma TV set obviously makes use of plasma to display images. A LCD TV set, on the other hand, makes use of liquid crystal to create the appropriate images in its screen. Both TV sets are engaged in a battle for the honor of being the best TV technology today.

What and What Not to Expect from a Plasma TV

Plasma TV sets will definitely produce better images than CRT, but whether it can also produce the same results over an LCD depends on your opinion.

Although programs using standard TV formatting will look better in plasma TV sets than in CRT, don't expect your plasma TV set to perform miracles. It can only make the images look more vivid but it cannot correct essential errors where standard TV formatting is to blame. If you want to make full use of your plasma TV set, stick to watching programs that make use of HDTV formatting.

Unlike CRT TV sets, plasma TV sets can still display rich images even in rooms where there's an abundant source of lighting. If you position the plasma TV set directly across a window that allows sunlight to filter in, however, sunlight can make TV viewing a problem even with plasma technology.

Plasma burning is the biggest problem you'll have to contend with when using a plasma TV set. Plasma burning is any incident in which images freeze within a screen for a longer time than what's appropriate. Although recent plasma TV units have added features to prevent plasma burning from occurring, there are also things that you can do to further protect your TV set from such occurrences.

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HDTV News

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