Plasma TVs are what?

[MrSmith]

I love explaining things so I thought I'd give you guys the opportunity to do some

I have a CRT TV that's wider than it is tall, as opposed to square, which my mother's is. I have a button on the remote that changes the picture somehow. Sometimes people's faces are too thin and pressing that button improves their proportions. This wasn't an issue when TVs were square. Now there are Plasma TVs and LCD TVs and various other types. Then there's digital TV. Then there's the number of pixels, which I can understand on a computer screen but don't see how it's connected with the picture beamed from the station. Related to that, I presume, there are also high-definition TVs...and the discussions about whether certain TVs are really high-definition. There are TV aerials and satellite dishes... I don't know whether the high-definition applies to only DVDs or to the TV channels as well. Whether a special DVD player is necessary...

It's a morass of technology that frankly leaves me cold. Hell, I only bought a DVD player last year. No, I'm not taking the mickey. I really am that unknowledgeable. Would anyone care to enlighten me and explain to an idiot what it's all about? Please, no links. I've tried to research but it just confuses me. The kind of explanation that fits in a forum box would be good for my tired brain.

Any information would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[liketom]

best advice for you is to take a walk down to your local electrical retailer and have a look at the pictures from all the TV's they have.

i remember when i first got a widescreen TV and thought thats just weird and i would never get used to it ! well after 20 min i got used to it and would never go back to 4:3 TV

Plasma and LCD is all about size of screen , it used to be a fact (not any more) that if you wanted a bigger size TV like over 42" then plasma was your only choice - LCD was only until recently limited in size to around 32" but IMO a better picture
Now day's you can get any good size you want say 42" Plasma for under £799 and a 32" HD LCD for much less then that

 

[freeny]

Well I will tell you what I do know.

Plasma TV's are like a screen made of thousands of tiny neon light bulbs that turn on and off as they are told. this is also why plasma's weigh a fricken ton. Also, plasmas can only get so big due to the weight of the screen. the screen will sag (literaly) when too big.

LCD TV's, like your computer screen, are made of thousands of little liquid crystals that change color via electronic pulses. these crystals do not glow but act like tiny gels that are illuminated from behind by a seperate light source. LCD's at times have distorted colors when viewed at odd angles from light refraction.

CRT's like the old TV's work by some kind of beam contacting the screen or something like that. Honestly I really dont know perhaps someone could shed some light on this one...

 

[iBlue]

good post freeny.


one word of caution with plasma TV is that if you frequently watch a channel with its logo in the corner excessively, you will get a "burn in" - where you'll see a faint dark spot or outline of that logo even when it's not supposed to be there. Mtv2 and a few news channels are horrible about that. (as are a couple kids channels like Noggin and Nickelodeon) maybe that's one reason why the plasma technology has gone down in price recently. plus the weight of those things, wow.

i am not all on the up and up with this technology myself but i know a little and i try to warn people about the plasma burn-in issue. many people have never noticed it but i've seen plasma screens with that problem and it was really unfortunate. i'd hate to hear of someone paying through the nose for a TV they were unhappy with. it's just something to consider.

i love LCD tvs personally and hope to have one soon myself - i am still with CRT at the moment. <grumble grumble>

 

[XNine]

CRT's last the longest out of Plasma, DLP, and LCD. Yeah, the flat panel TV's are ncie, until they die 5 years afterward or the colors start fading badly.

I'd go with a CRT big screen. You want your TV on the wall? No problem, follow these simple steps:

1. get sledgehammer.
2. Bust open wall.
3. Saw out load bearing studs.
4. Shove TV into wall.
5. Done.



Oh, and plasma's hum like a model airplane engine when in high altitutdes (a lot of places in Colorado cause this).

 

[liketom]

Oh, and plasma's hum like a model airplane engine when in high altitutdes (a lot of places in Colorado cause this).

your kidding right ?

 

[XNine]

your kidding right ?

Not at all. I use to do HIGH END audio video for the rich and famous here. There were several customers who lived in the foothills or mountains and their plasma's would hum, and loud enough that it was very distracting. It's not a little whisper of a hum, I'd say it's loud enough for you to have to turn the volume up that it keeps everyone else in the house awake.

 

[clayj]

your kidding right ?

Nope. There are a few companies (Runco, for example) that produce plasma TVs that are specially-designed to work at high-altitudes. The gas pressure inside the plasma elements has to be calibrated to the outside barometric pressure, so when the air's much thinner, it can cause some odd behavior.

 

[XNine]

Nope. There are a few companies (Runco, for example) that produce plasma TVs that are specially-designed to work at high-altitudes. The gas pressure inside the plasma elements has to be calibrated to the outside barometric pressure, so when the air's much thinner, it can cause some odd behavior.

Huh. Runco came out with something like that, eh? That's sweet. I always liekd their CRT projectors. Even the DLP's weren't bad (easy to mount/hang), but the CRT's had no rival in picture quality.

Good to know, thanks clayj!

 

[freeny]

Can anyone fill in the spaces about High Def tv's and DVD's? I can but have WAY too much work to at the moment.

Just trying to fullfill the OP's request....