Advantages and Disadvantages of Plasma TV

Plasma televisions are becoming more and more popular in American households because of their amazing picture quality. Most people who are looking for a serious home theater start looking at plasma HDTV's. Compared to LCD TV's, they have much richer colors and the black and dark colors are much blacker. There are several advantages and disadvantages of owning plasma television. Learn the pro's and con's before you head out to the store.

Advantage #1 - Picture Quality
The main reasons people choose plasma over LCD, rear projection and front projectors is the picture quality. Because of the plasma technology, the colors displayed by plasma TV's are superior to those of any other kind of television. Many people think that when the color black is displayed on their TV that it is actually black. However, most TV's can't actually display blacks. They are just dark shades of gray. Plasma TV's produce very black blacks because of the plasma technology.

Advantage #2 - Screen Size
Plasma TV's start in the 42 inch and higher range. If you are looking for a large TV, there are plenty of plasma options. LCD screens range from cell phone screens clear up to 65 inch televisions but a large plasma TV is typically a better buy than a LCD TV. If you are buying a plasma TV 50 inches or great, make sure you get a HDTV with 1080p resolution. 1080p is the highest possible resolution and if you are viewing a large screen TV, you will actually see the difference between 1080p and 720p. If it is a smaller TV, the difference is hardly noticeable and not worth the extra money.

Disadvantage #1 - Cost
Plasma TV's are typically the most expensive televisions on the market. They used be nearly double or triple the price of similar LCD HDTV's. The prices are slowly dropping due to advances in technology but you will usually pay more for a plasma TV than the same size in a LCD or rear projection television. Plasma TV's also cost more to run because they require more power and electricity. It isn't a major difference but over the course of a year, you might pay an extra couple hundred dollars in electricity bills.

Disadvantage #2 - Screen Size
Because plasma's aren't usually available in less than 42 inch screen size, you can't get a smaller TV if you are limited to a certain size. Most flat panel owners are looking in the 30 and 40 inch range and you will find your options are somewhat limited if you are looking for a plasma television. If you are buying a smaller screen, you don't have to have 1080p resolution. Many new TV's come with 1080p but if you have the choice, a 720p might save you some money and you won't even notice the difference.