The Lurks And Perks Of Plasma Tvs
Plasma is a very well-known, although fortunately little-bought
, television technology. There are some wonderful models out there, that have drool-worthy resolution, colour saturation and contrast ratio stats. If you also enjoy owning expensive items for the sake of it, plasma televisions have a much higher 'friend-envy' factor. However, unless you buy top-of-the-line models, there are quite a lot of technological issues to be found in plasma televisions. We look at when the model is preferable to
LCD televisions, like favourite Samsung TVs and other big brands, and when LCD wins out.
How do plasma televisions work?
Plasma televisions have thousands of tiny cells in the screen each pixel is divided into three cells, one coated with red phosphors, one with green and one with blue. These cells are filled with a plasma gas, and spanned by electrodes. When electricity is applied, the plasma gas gives off electrons that excite the phosphors, making them glow. The technology is inherently different to LCD televisions, and has vastly different benefits and drawbacks.
The Perks of Plasma Technology
If you are willing to spend the necessary dollars to make the potential of plasma a reality, the reward is amazing picture quality, in terms of colour saturation and contrast ratio. Unlike LCD televisions, light cannot "leak through switched-off pixels, so blacks are inherently 'blacker' than in LCD Samsung TVs, Sony TVs or Sharp TVs the phenomenon of leakage in LCDs is model-independent. However, there are some big drawbacks to buying televisions that use plasma technology.
The Lurks of Plasma Technology
If picture quality is high on your list of must-haves for buying televisions, plasma will be a major contender in the race for your TV dollar. There are plenty of other considerations to be made before buying, though:
The technology is not inherently perfect. Lower-priced sets are almost invariably much lower quality.
Plasmas are subject to screen burn-in, so if you watch one channel consistently you might get a ghosted version of their watermark while watching other channels.
The brightness starts to diminish from the moment you turn the screen on. The half-life of the screen is around 10,000 hours, so after three years of average viewing the plasma screen will be down to half its original brightness.
Early models of cheap plasmas have a screen resolution around 30% lower than cathode ray tube sets
If you consistently watch television in a brightly lit room, the display resolution drops enormously to a level where an old cathode ray tube set would be classed as irreparably faulty.
The power consumption compared to a similarly sized LCD screen is huge around double the figures for LCD in most cases. This quirk of plasma technology has led the EU to consider banning the technology, and Australia is said to be considering it also. While early indications are that the market will be left to its own devices to sort out what consumers want, the fact that legislative action is being considered should act as, at least, a warning to potential purchasers!
LCD televisions are cheaper, more reliable and durable, more future-ready, and take less energy both to run and to manufacture than plasmas do although contrast ratio and colour saturation shows definite improvements in plasma televisions. If you are buying a television and looking for a good all-rounder, go for an LCD; if you are willing to sacrifice long-term quality and quite a few dollars for better colour and contrast, plasma should be your choice
by: Joe Watson
Vga Cables: Allows For Analog Signal Extension Between Video Source And Display What A Gas: Plasma Screen Hdtv Avanti 30 Bottle Digital Wine Cellar Review The NewAir AW-180e Thermoelectric Wine Cooler For Great Tasting Wine Led Writing Board With Digital Computer Top 4 Tips Air Conditioners For Better Home Humidity Mep Design For Building Services Also Including Heating, Air Conditioning, And Ventilation Do It Yourself Electricity At Home The Digital Photography - Basic Skills You Have to Know The Asia Pacific Electricity Market Outlook: Country Profiles Of Supply, Demand, Regulation Canon Powershot Sx20 Is Digital Camera Electric Walk Behind Mowers Save Money and Time on Your Electric Model Train Hobby