The future of television is as slim as three inches, can be mounted on your wall, and produces unparalleled images. High cost may deter average consumers, but industry insiders expect plasma screens to be the next hot item for home theatre enthusiasts.
LG Electronics, the world’s leading plasma TV manufacturer, offers these high-end products for those with fat wallets and high expectations. Although primarily for industrial and commercial use, such as directional signs at airports, anyone with a passion for crystalline pictures coupled with elegant design would drool at the sight of a plasma display panel.
“It has a sharper image with more pixels,” says Steve Preiner, LG Canada’s corporate marketing manager. Speaking from the electronics giant’s Mississauga, Ontario headquarters, he notes that the 40-inch model comes with amazing picture quality, but a hefty price tag of $8,499. But he forecasts the consumer market to outsell the industrial market as the shift to plasma gains wider acceptance. After all, didn’t DVD players once cost more than a month’s salary?
“I wouldn’t use plasma for just news,” Preiner says with a laugh, but he couldn’t be more accurate. Since the monitors employ technology unheard of for most tube screens—such as a 700:1 contrast ratio which increases the level of picture detail in dark scenes—buyers would usually include plasma screens in their home theatre systems. Preiner says that the slim design, which hangs on any wall and is three to four inches deep, is ideal for those concerned with space. As the boomer market and the younger generation move into condos, greater significance is given to keeping technology compact and graceful.
Viewing a plasma screen is as luxurious as it gets. At almost any angle, the picture never shadows or darkens—a common problem with rear projection screens. The DCDi chip detects any video blemishes to provide a clean and crisp picture. Fan-free technology allows the movie or show to roll on without any bothersome whirring noises.
For those with PC passions, LG’s plasma models have computer inputs as a secondary application. Playing Counter-Strike has never been so scary.
LG is also the first manufacturer of the 60-inch plasma screen. This kind of attractive sales item may intimidate the average consumer, Preiner says, but North Americans are early adopters of high-end technology. He envisions plasma screens in a “digital” home beside a DVD player and an extensive speaker set-up. The audio quality of the plasma screen is merely a double 10-watt system, but is meant to work with an audiophile’s gadgets.
Plasma screens differ from tube screens through their image-creation mechanism. While most TVs use colour guns to fire a beam of electrons at a glass tube, plasma screens create pictures with an array of cells covered with electrodes. These cells receive a constant flow of neon and xenon gas. When a charge hits a cell, the voltage ignites the gas, changes it to plasma which emits ultraviolet light. So the basic idea behind a plasma display is to illuminate tiny coloured fluorescent lights. Because each pixel is lit individually, the picture is bright and crisp. Scan lines for these types of monitors—known as HDTV—vary between 720 and 1,080. The average TV has 480 scan lines.
The one drawback—other than price—is the monitor’s lack of a tuner. Since plasma screens display a standard video signal, you have to hook up a separate unit that has its own television tuner, such as a VCR.
If financial times are tough, plasma screens may continue to be the Holy Grail for high-end enthusiasts and merely a dream for Joe Somebody. Plasma could be the buzz word in a couple years, when manufacturing costs depreciate, but for now the monitors remain a costly venture.
Undoubtedly, the flat screen is far superior to the usual rounded screen in our homes—but is it worth several thousand dollars?
For those who want a perfect image of Kevin Spacey from any angle, it is.
