Plasma TV: The Basics
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Plasma television. The mere mention of this appliance set evokes a sense of luxury, of high-tech goodness, of pure viewing pleasure. Most people think of it as a new-fangled device, so you might be surprised to know that plasma TV technology has been around for more than 40 years already! (Read more on plasma TV history). However, plasma TV technology of decades past was decidedly more rudimentary compared to today’s complex plasma technology, which is helped by modern computers.
Plasma TV Technology
According to Wikipedia, Plasma TVs, also called plasma display panels (PDPs), are emissive flat panel displays where light is created by phosphors excited by a plasma discharge between two flat panels of glass. This plasma/gas discharge uses an inert mixture of noble gases (neon and xenon). This plasma is the light used by the TV itself, thus giving rise to the name "plasma TV".
The plasma is sandwiched between two glass panes coated with phosphor material. The computer controlling the plasma TV controls the plasma through electricity delivered with beams of electrons. Each pixel of a plasma display panel is red, green, or blue, and the computer combines them and varies their intensities to produce the entire color spectrum.
Plasma TV General Features
Most plasma TV units come in 800x600 and 1280x1024 pixel resolutions. Plasma displays also boast of good brightness (1000 lx or higher, with "lx" being the standard of measure for illuminance, lux). Plasma TVs are larger than LCD screens, and its size does not equate to bulkiness – plasma displays are known for their sleek, flat screens, slimness, and lightness. They thus exhibit a great combination of size and style.
Of course, as with all good things in life, a plasma television’s advantages are offset by its expensiveness. The gradual drops in plasma prices might lead to wider use for plasma TVs, though.
Modern plasma TV manufacturers claim that their units can last approximately 60,000 hours of viewing (roughly 7 years of good use). However, unwise usage of plasma TVs can really shorten their lifespan; a big no-no would be to set the contrast to a high level. Also, it's not advisable to leave still images on the plasma display as they can cause burn in.
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