When searching for a new HDTV you have several different when it comes to the type of display technology that you want for your viewing space. These are plasma, LCD, LED, and OLED. Each of these has their own strengths and weaknesses which might make them attractive to a prospective buyer. However, this article is going to focus on the pros and cons of plasma 1080p HDTV family of displays.
Plasma 1080p HDTV Advantages
First I will go over the positive aspects of owning a plasma 1080p HDTV. If I were asked to choose a feature that a plasma HDTV outperformed all other technologies with I would have to say that it would in the area of contrast ratio. The contrast ratio is a figure that is derived from comparing the darkest blacks and the brightest whites that the display can output on the screen. Plasma technology is able to do this because of the nature in which the display is manufactured. Each pixel in a plasma HDTV has its own self contained backlight. This allows each individual pixel to output light and color independently. Each of the other technologies uses shared fluorescent or LED backlighting for rows of multiple pixels. This backlight sharing causes a certain amount of bleed-over from neighboring pixels can cause some dark scenes to look gray rather than dark.
The next area where plasma HDTV excels is in the area of motion rendering. There are several reasons for this. The first is related to the advantage mentioned previously. The fact that each individual pixel is able to use its own light source cuts down on light bleed-over which also causes slight blurring in other technologies. The next reason that plasma 1080p HDTVs are able to provide superior motion rendering is that they utilize a feature called 600Hz Sub Field technology. Each manufacturer has a different name for this technology, but it is essentially the same. It works by allowing each pixel to "fire" up to 600 times in a single second. This allows plasma HDTVs to provide much sharper video than most of their counterparts using different display technology.
While this is not always the hard and fast rule anymore, plasmas on the whole are better in rendering more vivid and vibrant color than the other display technologies. There are a combination of factors that contribute to this advantage. These are the contrast ratio, the backlighting factor, and the fact that each pixel is a self contained color producing unit. All of these factors come together to produce an excellent image on the screen.
Plasma 1080p HDTV Disadvantages
Plasma 1080p HDTVs do have their disadvantages as well. Probably the scariest complaint that has been logged about plasma is their supposed propensity for burn in. Burn in is a phenomenon that occurs when an image is displayed for too long on a plasma screen, permanently burning the image into it. The good news is that the risk of burn in is almost non-existent in plasma HDTV's manufactured within the last few years. It is still possible to burn an image into the screen, but it is something that you would actually have to work at by manipulating the screen settings to accomplish. Even after doing this you would have to leave a static image on the screen for hours for it to really burn in. Burn in is often confused with image retention, which is similar to burn in but is only temporary. Image retention will usually disappear after 10-20 minutes after turning the unit off.
Another common criticism of Plasma is that their screens are very reflective and are not good for medium to high light viewing scenarios. This is because the outer screen of the display is a pane of glass. Plasma HDTV manufacturers have gotten wise to this complaint and have since started adding anti-glare coatings to their plasma 1080p HDTV offerings. If you do decide to purchase a plasma HDTV, be sure to check and make sure that in the specifications that it has one of these anti-glare coatings on the screen if you are going to be placing the display in a medium to high light viewing room.
Some people also are critical of how bulky and heavy a plasma HDTV is. This complaint is a well founded one because these things cannot compete when compared to the ultra slim and light profiles of other competing technologies. It is confusing why this is such a common complaint because how often does a person go about moving their television after they have gotten it into the area of the house that it is going to be used in.
Plasma 1080P HDTVs have their advantages and disadvantages of ownership, but it is quite clear that for someone who values quality video output an HDTV using plasma technology is the best choice when shopping for a new HDTV.
