Top of the ‘Gotta have one of those!’ list these days has to be a big plasma screen for the ultimate home cinema experience. Of course that sounds like advertising language. This is one of those subjects where nothing else will do. And yes, size is absolutely everything. Did you know plasma screen prototypes are now up at 102 inches? Right now you can dither between 55-in or 60-in or even 63-in and even have the luxury of worrying about which brand will convey the appropriate level of prestige, luxury, design aesthetics, etc.
Whether you like MTV or BBC2, Munster or Manchester United or even the shopping and fashion channels, big flat widescreens are just the only way to go. When it comes to watching movies, the quality and comfort make old fashioned square TV screens and rental video seem like something from the last century – and indeed they are!
Prices come crashing down
Prices have tumbled with mass production and market popularity the last 18 months but industry insiders reckons they have now levelled off and certainly will not drop before Christmas. Entry level is down at EUR*1,500 for a 37-in, EUR*2,000 would get you a 42-in model and a mere EUR*16,000 would hang a 63-in giant on your living room wall. If you know where you are going to get hold of the necessary, what should you know about plasma screens – apart from the fact that they can be bigger than the biggest LCD jobs?
The right view
Funnily enough, the first thing is not the plasma screen but where you’ll be viewing it. For a 42-in screen, you need to be about ten feet back at a minimum for comfortable viewing, more like about 14 to 15 feet. For the really generous sizes like 50 to 60-in, 15 feet from your head to the screen is about the minimum. On the other hand, you sure save space because a standard widescreen TV can be a couple of feet deep and need a sturdy stand or cabinet. Now of course these plasma screens are skinny and ideal for wall-mounting – and you can push the comfortable recliner armchair or couch right back to the wall – but realistically you need a big living room (say 18ft or 20ft by much the same as a minimum) to enjoy your investment properly. Unless of course, you are the kind of person who sits in the front row of the cinema! Enough said.
Things to consider
There are other places for detailed technical comparisons between LCD and plasma screens but three factors stand out when you first start shopping: plasma screens are available in larger sizes than LCD so far and the viewing angle allowed by plasma is a good deal wider – 160 degrees as against about 60 degrees according to most experts. That can be significant for a slightly larger audience – The Big Match! – or to allow more flexible seating arrangements. The other potentially major factor is that plasma displays can tolerate higher ambient lighting, so in brighter rooms or for regular daytime viewers that might be important. Minor downsides are that plasma units are heavier than the comparable LCD screens and consume much more electricity. Another is that plasma screens grow duller over time, so after something like five hours a day for 10 years you may need to replace it. Think of it as part of the price you pay for a smashing big bright screen now!
Slim Jims
Both technologies permit very slim cabinets – more like frames, really – and wall hanging. The picture quality is subtly different but both offer depth and richness of colour and only trained photographers are likely to be able to distinguish between the degree of realism offered by each technology. There is a professional acceptance that plasma offers a higher contrast ratio than LCD but at that fine level of discrimination the specific manufacturers and models will also be significant factors. As always, you’ll probably get what you are willing to pay for.
Right resolution
Resolution is a major factor with all large screens. As all PC and printer users know, plus the growing legions of digital photographers, the more dots per inch the better the picture. With any large screen you should be looking ahead to the arrival of High Definition TV (HDTV), coming first in this country from Sky early next year. This is going to be the definitive standard in a very few years and in any event you want the best possible display for DVDs and quite possibly for the fruits of your photographic labours. In computer terms we are talking SXGA or UEGA (Super/Ultra Extended Graphics Array) but it’s probably better to stick to the consumer world and HDTV. Here is your first note of caution: being HDTV ‘ready’ or ‘compatible’ is not the same thing as simply being a HDTV screen – ‘enhanced definition’ is the small print wording. These screens will display HDTV pictures fine, when such broadcasts become available, but just not as well as native HDTV units. The quality difference is reckoned at 10 to 15% better by the experts.
Sound and vision
The next question is a bit of a cruncher: are you a Hi-Fi music lover as well as a moving image fan? Large flat screens come either as screen only or as combined units like a normal television. The sound quality from the top of the range plasma TVs is naturally excellent, but it does not pretend to compete with serious home cinema or Hi-Fi kit. Many of us have already invested in the best sound reproduction set-up we can afford (or even a bit beyond!) but really would just like to replace the screen – probably in exactly the same position that we are used to.
For us there is actually good news. All plasma screen manufacturers offer screen-only options and they are naturally cheaper than the plasma TV options. They will take input from pretty well any standard source – television tuner (cable, satellite, etc.), DVD player, PC or even old-fashioned videotape. Because plasma is not affected by magnetism and does not emit electrical interference, speakers and other units can be placed very close if that suits you layout.
Kick the tyres
Final important tip: when you are test-driving your proposed screen in the shop, as you absolutely should, insist on seeing the images from different sources including cable TV if possible. Bring along your favourite DVD, so you can judge from something familiar.
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