Flatpanel Tvs Guide

What to look for when buying a Plasma Television

As with all big screen TVs, the choice of a plasma television is in reality a function of finding the right trade-off between screen size and supported features for your available budget.

This budget issue is even more important when it comes to plasma TVs. It is true that we are seeing more and more of the so-called cheap plasma TVs in the sub-$2000 price tag, yet as one starts stretching the screen size over and above the 42-inch entry-level mark, price increases drastically.

Before you start shopping around for your plasma display, it is important that you make a prioritized list of the features that are most important to your needs; this should include:

• Screen Size
• Display resolution
• Support for HDTV
• Connectivity
• Appearance

When evaluating your options, keep in mind that plasma’s are expensive - hence the end approach is a trade-off between the desired features and price in order to match your budget.

Ultimately, it is your budget that will drive your purchase - hence you may have to scale-back accordingly.

Always start with Screen Size

Plasma TV screens range in size from typically 37-inches to the latest 70-inch and 80-inch big screen giants.

Screen size is a big factor in plasma pricing and is the most important feature you need to decide on. You can always find smaller screens in the 37-inch to 42-inch domain, for $2,000 to $3,000. Some bare-bones models from major manufactures like Panasonic and Samsung, are even selling at slight less than $2,000.

Therefore, the best way to start choosing your plasma TV is to select the screen size you want, and then evaluate your options.

This is not an issue where if you can afford it, buy it! Here there is a very important aspect to take into consideration when deciding on your Plasma TV screen size - you need to choose one that fits your room. This does not simply mean a screen size that will fit your wall or available cabinet space only. Even more important is the need to match the chosen screen size with your available viewing distance. (More on this can be found in our detailed article on TV Viewing Distance and Screen Placement in the home theater.)

Many argue that TV viewing distance is a matter of personal preference. To a certain extent, this is true, but there are a few guidelines worth considering if you want to enjoy the best possible viewing experience. In essence, a 42″ EDTV plasma television would require 10 feet between you and your screen - you may get close to 9 feet for a HDTV plasma TV of the same screen size. However, try not to get closer than this as you may start seeing the pixel build-up structure on the screen - which can be extremely annoying.

Display Resolution and Support for HDTV

The native resolution of a plasma display is another important factor to take into consideration when choosing your plasma TV.

Although generally, picture quality from a plasma TV is very good irrespective of the set resolution, yet higher resolution plasmas will be able to display certain video content better.

This becomes an issue especially when watching an HDTV signal on your Plasma TV. A 720p HDTV signal supports a resolution of 1280 pixels by 720 lines while 1080i/p supports 1920 pixels by 1080 lines.

This means that to be considered true HD, the plasma display must have a native resolution of at least 1024×720. Normally HDTV plasma displays in this category will support a resolution of 1024 x 768 though some come with a higher resolution of at least 1280 x 768 or 1366 x 768. These higher resolutions will enable the respective sets to display a full 720p HDTV image without any re-scaling.

Plasma TV sets with a lower resolution will still be able to display a high definition video signal if they have the necessary electronics - by re-scaling the image. This re-scaling process means disposing of some of the information in order to fit the set native resolution. These plasmas tend to have a resolution of 852×480 and are referred as EDTV plasma TVs.

This resolution is actually what progressive scan DVDs and Digital Television are in and looks as good as any plasma with a higher resolution when displaying these signals. The only visible difference between plasmas with a resolution of 1024×720 (or higher) and 852×480, is when watching true HD material.

A few words about Digital Television and HDTV: While HDTV offers a clearer picture than regular television, yet not all setups allow you to take full advantage of HDTV. It all depends on the quality of your HD source. If your source is a compressed signal e.g. TiVo, then you cannot take full advantage of the quality supported by HDTV.

It is also important to remember that HD still represents a small portion of all available TV content.

Connectivity and Features

Inputs: A plasma TV should include the inputs you need to plug in the various video components. These should include composite, S-Video, component video, DVI, HDMI, and RGB. Preferably, look for a model that would also provide you with a set of front or side-panel A/V inputs for convenient camcorder or video game hookup.

RGB is a standard 15-pin computer input. Composite video is a single line video output that is typical on VCRs, cable/satellite receivers, and DVD players. The next step up in quality is S-video. This can be found on DVD players and most cable/satellite boxes. Component video, which is of a higher quality than S-Video, divides the video signal into red, green, and blue; it is mainly found on progressive scan DVDs and some newer cable/satellite boxes.

DVI and HDMI are purely digital connections; the main difference between the two is that HDMI carries also the audio on the same interconnect used for the video. Both interfaces are capable of supporting up to 1080 lines of picture resolution. In order words, they both can handle HDTV.

Additional Features: Supported connectivity and additional features all add up to the final product price. If you can afford to add a little more to your available budget, you can normally find models with additional features that support a wider range of video inputs, better control options, and support for HDTV.

Final Advice

Keep in mind that price does not equate to performance. It may mean a bigger screen size but not necessary a better picture. Hence, if you are still uncertain as to the best way to go, your primary consideration here should always be - how good the picture will look on your big screen plasma TV.

(c) 2004/2005 www.practical-home-theater-guide.com. All rights reserved.

Andrew Ghigo - A Telecoms/Electronics engineer by profession.
Editor and publisher of http://www.practical-home-theater-guide.com - a comprehensive home theater guide to home theater systems, product reviews and home theater design.

This article is an excerpt from a series of informative guides appearing under the Plasma TV Guides section of the site.

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Every DVD manufactured in a particular region has its own region code, which is incorporated as one byte of information on the disc that the DVD player checks before playing. DVD players and discs are coded by putting in their region number superimposed on a world globe. If a disc can play in more than one region, it will have more than one number on the globe. This implies that a disc bought in one country would not play on a DVD player bought in another country. Therefore the DVD standard includes region specific codes to prevent playback of DVDs in certain geographical regions.

Preventing Illegal Playback of Pirated DVDs

The greatest requirement for carrying out the concept of region-specific codes was to prevent the illegal playback of pirated DVDs in certain countries. Movies made in the U.S. are released in a staggered manner all over the world. The DVDs are also released a few months after the release of the movie in theaters. However, it is very easy to copy DVDs illegally and distribute these movies in the other countries even before they are formally released in their cinemas. Also, movie studios sell distribution rights to different foreign distributors and would like to guarantee an exclusive market. This piracy results in huge financial losses for the production companies.

On DVDs also, movies are released at different times around the world, typically first in America and Canada, later in Australia and Japan, and then in Europe. In some cases, DVD movies are available for purchase in America and Canada even before they are released in European cinema theaters.

Considering the high quality of movies on DVD, and the staggered movie release system, six regions were established to prevent people from watching region 1 movies before they were released in Regions 2-6. The six regions are as follows; Region 1 being U.S. and Canada, Region 2 comprising Japan, Europe, South Africa, and the Middle East. Region 3 has East and Southeast Asia, while Region 4 includes Australia, New Zealand, Pacific Islands, Central America, Mexico, and the Caribbean. Region 5 comprises of Eastern Europe, Africa, North Korea, Mongolia, and the Indian Subcontinent, while Region 6 has China. An additional Region 7 for reserved category and Region 8 for special International venues like airplanes and cruise ships were also designated.

Catering to the Traveler

However, these region-coded DVDs can be very restraining in today’s time with the world becoming a global village. People travel extensively around the world and like to have access to entertainment without any restrictions. To counter this problem, the regionfree and codefree DVD players were designed. These DVD players are able to play a disc manufactured in any region and having any region code, anywhere in the world. To create such a provision in the DVD player certain modifications are carried out in its reading mechanism. There are certain global converters available in the market that can convert the coded DVD player to a region free DVD player.

Modifying DVD Players

Certain DVD players can be physically modified with a chipset technology to play discs regardless of their regional codes. This procedure, however, voids the warranty provided by the manufacturer, but is not illegal in most countries. Some players have a provision for modification using special command sequences to a code free mode by using a remote control. Several retailers sell DVD players that are already modified for multiple regions, or in some cases, they provide instructions on how to install the region change features that are already built into the player.

NTSC, SECAM and PAL

Most countries have television standards that are incompatible with those of other countries. These TV standards can be broadly classified into three categories, NTSC, PAL and SECAM.

The initial TV (color) broadcast system, released in 1953 in the U.S., was based on the standard called NTSC (National Television System Committee). NTSC runs with 525 lines/frame and 30 frames per second. NTSC is the TV format used in Canada, Japan, Mexico, Philippines, Taiwan, United States, and other countries

In the 1960s, the PAL (Phase Alternating Line) standard was presented in many European countries, most of Africa, China, India, Australia, New Zealand, Israel, North Korea and other countries - with the exception of France. The PAL standard uses a more expanded channel bandwidth than NTSC, providing more picture quality. PAL uses 625 lines/frame and 25 frames per second.

The SECAM, also known as Sequential Couleur Avec Memoire or Sequential Color with Memory, standard came to France in the 1960s. SECAM also has identical bandwidth to PAL, but it transmits the color information sequentially.

Decoding NTSC and PAL with the Flip of a Switch

NTSC and PAL standards are incompatible with one another. With a multi-system TV, one can view both the NTSC and PAL formatted DVDs. A regionfree DVD Player with a built-in PAL to NTSC and NTSC to PAL converter enables a viewer to watch different system DVDs. A codefree DVD player is able to decode NTSC and PAL with a simple flip of a switch, enabling the user to watch imported DVDs on the same DVD player. External converter boxes are also available, such as the Emerson EVC1595. Several high-quality converters are available from companies such as Tenlab, Snell, and Wilcox.

There is a range of additional features available in a code free DVD player, such as the multi-format playback, which allows the user to playback formats other than DVDs. Most multi-format DVD players are compatible with CDs, MP3s, DVD audio, DVD-R/DVD-RAM, CD-R/RW, and WMA. However, it is always advisable to read the specifications before buying, because not all players are compatible with the same formats.

Parental Control and Other Great Features

Another useful feature is the parental control, which give parents the control in choosing movies based on the movie ratings allowed for playback. Another extra includes a zoom function that magnifies an image on the screen. The shuttle or jog function allows frame-by-frame scanning, and dual laser for better playback of audio discs.

Codefree DVD players are available online at affordable prices. The great features and the codefree benefits make it a worthwhile investment.

Where to get REGION FREE DVD players/recorders. To prevent the latest movies from reaching countries where a film has not reached theaters yet, Hollywood studios imposed a block. This regional coding is a digital flag on the disc that tells the DVD player where a particular DVD comes from. This is supposed to prevent the disc from being used by an incompatible player in another country. A normal DVD player can only play discs designated for the player’s own particular region. However, a codefree DVD player is a capable of playing DVD discs from anywhere around the world. A codefree DVD player can play DVD discs from all 6 regions and both standards, PAL and NTSC. That’s every DVD movie on earth! PAL-NTSC 110-220 volts DVD/VCR Combos for use worldwide. CODEFREE DVD / PAL-NTSC VCR combos and MULTISTANDARD VCRs will play 100% all known DVD discs including FRENCH DVDs. You can buy region free and region free converting DVD players and region free DVD recorders from http://www.mindlogic.com in California. They give you a LIFETIME Warranty and ship worldwide. Tel.800-514-2984 or tel. 925-686-9945

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One of the great advantages of the modern TV screen is that many of the newer technologies employ display methods that allow the TV screen to be very thin by past TV standards. This makes having a large screen TV much more practical, especially in rooms where space is at a premium. Older large screen televisions that used CRT monitors were very large, bulky pieces of equipment that only the most spacious rooms could accommodate. But that has all changed now with LCD and plasma TVs.

So if you have decided on mounting your plasma TV to a wall in your home, you need to keep a few things in mind. First and foremost is the weight of your particular TV model. You can usually find that weight specification in the user manual or even on the box that it comes in. As you start to shop for a wall bracket system, make sure that any mount that you consider is able to comfortably handle the weight of your television. If for any reason, the wall mount fails you can wind up with a very expensive piece of equipment on the floor pretty much destroyed. So with wall mounts you will need to have strong, sturdy equipment that can easily handle the weight of your TV. As always, price will affect how heavy-duty the brackets will be, so don’t spend a lot of money on the TV and then try to scrimp too much on buying a plasma TV mall mount.

If you can, it’s good to get a wall mount that is specifically made for your TV model, but there are also good universal mounts available. It used to be that the only wall mounts you could get for most televisions were a set of metal brackets that mounted to the wall and the TV hung on those brackets. While very sturdy, it did not allow any movement or repositioning of the TV, so today, you can find flexible wall mount units that actually let you extend the TV from the wall and turn it to adjust the viewing angle too. Just bear in mind, that with every flexible joint in the mounting system, there is more chance that something can go wrong. So buy extra heavy-duty in this particular area.

Just getting the plasma TV wall mounts is only the first step though. Now you have to install them and we suggest that you have someone who is very familiar with this kind of task to do this job for you. You can’t simply drill holes at any spot in your wall and mount the hardware. You have to do it correctly or the weight of the TV will simply pull the wallboard down along with the brackets. So it’s a good idea to factor in the cost of having a well-qualified person install the mounting hardware for you, in your total wall mount budget.

Once installed, a wall mounted plasma TV can be a joy to behold and watch, and if done correctly, it will last for many years.

Jim Johnson is a successful author and publisher on consumer related matters. You can find out more about the best plasma tv and getting a plasma wall mount by visiting our HDTV website.

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