Product Reviews Facts and Notes

Plasma used to be a term restricted to describing ionized gas and blood cells. These days, the word “plasma” enjoys a more stylish place in society, and many people consider plasma to be the lifeblood of uber-television viewing.

It’s alarming how quickly the television industry has evolved over the past several decades. Simple television sets have grown from small screens with rabbit-ear antennas to wall-sized flat screens offering larger-than-life sound and picture. The media has also expanded, from three main North American networks to virtually limitless satellite programming choices.

Of course, this evolution of technology has brought about some new complications. Buying a new TV set is no longer as simple as visiting your local department store. Today’s consumers must choose from televisions that accept traditional analog signals, and those that use digital programming. There are HDTV enabled sets, and others that are HDTV ready. Some TVs feature plasma screens, while others are LCD. Understanding the technology behind each option can make your decision a little easier.

Analog Television

The television you’ve known and loved for all these years is an analog TV. With this tried-and-true technology, signals are sent and received in analog format. Analog televisions are very competitively priced, and can offer good quality for your relatively small investment. The disadvantage of this format is that analog TV signals can only accommodate a limited amount of data for the screen and sound, and analog signals can be easily and immediately corrupted. Don’t worry, though, if you have an analog television. The service will be available and your set will work just fine, even years after other formats dominate the market.

Digital Television

Using digital TV signals, television stations are able to send data that is much denser and includes more definition. With digital service, there is less degradation of the signals. This decreased interruption and increased level of density creates a more stable, better quality sound and picture, particularly through DVDs.

High Definition (HDTV)

Traditional digital television has paved the way for the newer standards of high definition programming. In order to provide customers with the highest level of audio and video quality, television stations should transmit high definition television (HDTV). Your TV set should be able to receive and process the HDTV signal, and display it on a high definition-enabled screen. When all of these pieces fall into place, the results are simply stunning.

Digital television and HDTV are commonplace in today’s industry, but you won’t be able to appreciate the pristine levels of sound and picture on your old television set. We are in the midst of a digital video revolution, thanks to recent advancements like DTV, DVD-Video, HDTV, digital satellite broadcasts and computer video. One giant leap forward in modern television technology is plasma display technology.

Plasma television screens first entered the US market in 1999, but the concept was initially developed at the University of Illinois in July 1964. These first plasma displays were no more than points of light formed in laboratory experiments, but it was this infantile technology that brought about wondrous technologies. The plasma technology quickly evolved, and by the late 1960s it had grown to the point where scientists were able to show geometric shapes. Three decades and a great deal of advancement later, science has combined high speed digital processing, materials and advanced manufacturing technology to create the full-color plasma display screens that are widely available today.

Plasma television technology has gone leaps and bounds ahead of other types of televisions, making plasma the fastest-selling ‘new’ television technology on the market. Plasma television screens provide a higher resolution as compared to conventional TVs, and many plasma screens are capable of displaying HDTV signals. These space-saving screens can be wall-mounted for a true theatre quality viewing experience.

Watching HDTV television programming displayed on a plasma screen really is a unique experience. In fact, it’s like you’ll be seeing your favorite movies and television programs for the very first time.