Choosing a High-Definition Television

Lastly, it’s difficult to find LCD televisions much bigger than 52 inches because it’s not cost effective for manufacturers to produce them in larger sizes. Bottom Line: LCD is a great technology for the average television viewer who doesn’t need a super-huge set. It is more energy-efficient than other types, and because there are so many brands to choose from, prices just keep dropping. But if you’re a real movie buff or you like to watch lots of sports on a big screen, you might be happier with another type of HDTV. Plasma Plasmas are often the choice of true videophiles thanks to their impressive contrast and true blacks. Pros: While LCD sales may be surging, don’t count plasma out yet. “Plasma is not an over-and-done technology by any means,” Willcox says. “They come in larger sizes [and] have virtually unlimited viewing angles, deeper blacks and better contrast. They don’t suffer from motion blur and, increasingly, you just get more screen for the money.” Tynan agrees, saying, “In terms of picture alone, I like plasmas best. They have the blackest blacks.” And while casual television watchers may not really notice the difference between the colors and visual depth of a plasma and an LCD, true video lovers probably will. “There’s a certain amount of frustration among videophiles that the colors on LCDs are almost cartoonish and artificial-looking compared to plasma,” Willcox says. If those detailed reasons aren’t enough to convince you to think about plasma, Berman says he believes plasma gives a superior viewing experience. “Plasma has more depth to the picture,” he says. “It’s almost an optical illusion because of the glass, but it has more depth and looks better and more real.” Cons: The first disadvantage to plasma that many people cite is simply its weight. “It is significantly heavier than LCD,” Berman says. “It should really be professionally installed. Even if you put a plasma on studs [but] don’t reinforce the studs, you’ll be in deep trouble.” And if you’re watching television in a room with lots of natural light, you may be disappointed in the screen quality. “Plasma has a shiny screen, and it can glare in bright rooms,” Willcox says. Lastly, plasmas have long been saddled with the image that they’re susceptible to a phenomenon called “burn-in”— when a static image stays on the screen for so long, it “burns” into the viewing area and never goes away, no matter what you’re watching. But Berman insists the concerns over plasma’s burn-in susceptibility are overblown. “Plasma has been tested to go beyond 1,000 hours on one image before it will burn,” Berman says. “They’re just not as susceptible to burn-in as LCD companies would like consumers to think they are.” Berman says the technology has improved so much, it has really made most concerns about plasma burn-in obsolete. Most technologies like TiVos, video game systems and DVD players all come with screensavers that automatically begin bouncing around the screen after a certain amount of paused time elapses. And even if you somehow defeated those, leaving one image on a set for 1,000 hours in a normal environment is extremely unlikely. Bottom Line: If you’re looking for a large screen with a stellar picture, plasma may be a wise choice for your household. Rear Projection Pros: When HDTVs first went mainstream, rear projection sets were everywhere. They were significantly cheaper than LCD and plasma sets, and they came in the large sizes many consumers craved. Unfortunately for rear projection makers, plasma and LCD screens have quickly closed the gap on size and price. Now the Texas Instruments technology called digital light processing, or DLP, is about the only player left in the rear projection game.

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