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Plasma Televisions Buying Guide
Plasma televisions offer great value, screen size, and depth of colour, and they've become very inexpensive relative to their counterparts from previous years. If you've decided that a plasma TV is right for you, then continue reading to learn about how to choose the perfect plasma. If you have more general questions about high definition or other types of HDTVs, such as LCD TVs, head on over to the guide to HDTVs.
Plasma features
The hardest part is out of the way now that you've made your decision between LCD and plasma. It's time to move on to looking at what features set some plasmas apart.
- Anti-glare: To compensate for the fact that plasmas generally have much more reflective screens than LCDs, some manufacturers add an anti-glare coating. This can help to eliminate some of the harsh glare problems on your telly if it's in a room with a lot of sun or lighting, although be wary of some coatings, which can muddy up picture quality.
- Burn-in prevention: Unlike LCDs, plasmas have issues with burn-in, which causes ghosted images to last on the screen. TVs with special settings designed to reduce burn-in can help to reduce this flaw.
- Connections: You've already learned about different types of TV connections in the HDTV Buying Guide. You can apply that knowledge based on what devices you plan to use your TV with. If you plan on using it as an HD television source, you might want to reserve an HDMI
, Playstation 3, or Xbox 360, make sure you'll have a spare component! - Movie Mode: Some televisions feature a special mode for movies that changes the TV refresh rate and colour settings to more accurately reflect cinematic scenes. If you plan to watch a lot of DVDs
, look for a TV with a film mode setting. - Picture-in-picture and picture-by-picture: Picture-in-picture (PIP) and picture-by-picture (PBP) both allow you to display two separate sources or channels at the same time on the same screen. PIP will display one image full size on the screen with the second image in a smaller box in one of the corners, while PBP will display the two images equally, side by side. Even if your telly has PIP and/or PBP, you'll still need to check with your television provider to see if they support this feature.
- Speakers: If you aren't going to connect a home theatre system, you'll want a TV with a good set of speakers to provide solid sound to accompany your viewing experience.
Quick Picks
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One of the most energy-efficient plasmas available, the 107cm VIERA TH-P42S10A has an incredible 2,000,000:1 contrast ratio and a 100Hz compatibility mode for a smooth picture. It also has an SD card reader. 1080p. |
This 127cm plasma has excellent picture quality an anti-glare screen coating, and plenty of ports and compatibility with all sorts of electronic devices. Its shining feature is its personal video recorder and built-in 160GB hard drive. 1080p. |
With a striking design around its 127cm screen, the PS50A650 provides exceptionally sharp images to accompany its 100Hz mode. It also has four HDMI ports and Full HD compatibility for its PC input. 1080p. |
A 127cm plasma, this Panasonic has unmatched colour depth and picture smoothness. Its speakers provide great sound for a TV, and its four HDMI ports all support film-compatible refresh rates. 1080p. |
The massive 152cm PDP-LX609A features unbeatable black level performance and fantastic picture quality to go with the ability to stream media from a network, as well as many other useful functions. 1080p. |
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