The Complete Plasma Television Guide
Plasma HDTVs: Delivering more for less

Way back in early 2009, Pioneer and Vizio moved out of the plasma TV market. With just three major plasma display makers left - LG, Panasonic, and Samsung - many soon started proclaiming that plasma is dead.

Yet plasma HDTV technology is still alive and going strong thanks to the millions being invested in this display technology by the remaining players in the field. This has brought about plasma HDTVs that are as slim as LED TVs, with superior picture quality than the significantly more expensive LED HDTVs, and that are among the most energy efficient TVs ever produced.

It is true that when it comes to power consumption, LED TVs are more efficient. But the FTC energy guide for a typical 50" plasma TV such as the entry-level Panasonic TC-P50S30 featured here gives a yearly energy estimate cost of just $21!

However, to really appreciate the advancement in plasma TV technology, one has to look at the latest affordable premium category of plasma HDTVs. A case in point is the Panasonic VIERA TC-P55GT30 ($1,950) 55-inch 1080p 3D premium plasma TV. Among others, this HDTV includes THX picture mode for one of the best out-of-the-box pictures, and Viera Connect for more Internet content straight on your TV.

Performance-wise, this Panasonic HDTV delivers one of the deepest black levels you can find thanks to the latest Infinite Black 2 panel from Panasonic. A deep level of black is a most important picture quality parameters.

But equally appealing is the affordable Samsung PN64D7000 ($2,550) 64-Inch 1080p 600Hz 3D Plasma HDTV with the latest Samsung Smart TV feature for an incredible entertainment experience. 

The Samsung PND7000 plasma HDTV series lacks the THX picture mode found on the Panasonic or LG equivalents but it is still delivers a superb picture performance with rich accurate colors. In addition, Samsung extensive picture controls make it easy for even the most demanding videophiles to dial the best picture setting for their liking, while its massive screen size makes for a truly immersive 3D experience.

In a similar manner, the latest LG plasma TVs represent a most interesting pick. In particular, LG HDTVs generally deliver one of the best overall value packs for the price.

LG's flagship plasma TV, the LG Infinia 60PZ950 60-Inch 1080p 3D HDTV is selling online at under $2,200 - one of the cheapest 3D premium HDTVs at this screen size. A typical 60-inch LED TV with a similar feature set such as the LG Infinia 60LW9500 3D LED TV is selling online at almost $4,500. The LG 60PZ950 plasma 3D HDTV comes with a most complete feature set - from an exhaustive set of picture settings, to THX display certifications, ISFccc support, DLNA and LG Smart TV with NetCast.

It is true that with the advent of cheaper LCDs and the competition from the latest more affordable but still relatively expensive LED TVs, the plasma television market has shrunk, mostly as a result of sales reps that continue to favor LCD and LED TVs over plasma with their hype regarding burn-in and excessive power consumption. Yet these issues are no longer worth worrying about; burn-in is more a problem of the past while the latest plasma display energy usage has reached a level that one cannot definitely say it is excessive. For example, the massive 64-inch Samsung PN64D7000 referred to earlier on in this article has an estimate FCC energy yearly cost of just $43.

The real reason behind this sales hype is that LCDs and in particular LED TVs carry a higher price mainly due to higher markups.

Nonetheless, for informed buyers looking for a big screen HDTV - videophiles, home theater enthusiasts, sports fans and consumers desiring a larger screen size - plasma has always remained the TV technology of choice.

What's more, as stated in our article - Is a Plasma TV still worth considering against the latest LED TVs? - the present tough economy seems to have brought about a wind of change as even more uninformed HDTV buyers in the market for a large screen HDTV are once again choosing plasma over LCD/LED TVs as a more viable big screen HDTV option that can deliver more screen for their hard earned cash.

Yes, plasma HDTVs still continue to deliver more screen estate for your dollar, but not only. Discerning consumers continue to appreciate the strengths of plasma over LCD such as the deeper black levels and its ability to display subtle shadow detail in predominantly dark content. In addition, plasma's superior smooth motion, excellent screen uniformity, and an off-angle viewing performance that does not exhibit deterioration in the perceived image contrast as one moves off axis, are aspects of picture performance that no LCD or LED TV has ever attained.

In particular, plasma's deep shade of black and its capability to render subtle shadow detail make plasma televisions the best choice for use in the home theater; it is the display technology that is capable of delivering the best cinematic picture.

Despite the much touting by LCD TV makers about their latest and greatest LED TVs, the best plasma televisions continue to have the upper hand when it comes to a stable deep shade of black. This is a most important picture quality parameter as it helps render better those difficult-to-define quality attributes like picture depth, scene detail - especially in television and movie scenes where lots of dark and light content is shown simultaneously, and color richness - more specifically the perceived color saturation. Indirectly, a better black level also leads to better rendering of picture contrast. Plasma TV reviews published on various sites continue to show that even the latest LED TVs find it hard to beat the significantly less expensive plasma televisions in this respect.

Equally important, plasma televisions are capable of smooth motion when handling fast action content thanks to a pixel response that is a thousand times faster than that of LCDs. This also makes plasma TVs the primary choice for sports fans looking for the best blur-free motion.

It is worth taking note here that plasma's superior picture performance is not just a matter of 2D. The advent of 3D TV has once again confirmed plasma's picture quality dominance over LCD, and in that case LED TVs. 3D plasma TVs offer solid 3D image performance with hardly any 3D image crosstalk in contrast to 3D LED TVs (more information on 3D TV image crosstalk is available in our 3D TV FAQs article.)

This superiority is not a merit of some brand but arise out of plasma's superfast pixel response time - one that is much faster than that of the fastest LED and LCDs!

And yes... there is more in favor of plasma televisions! The latest innovations in plasma display technology have done a great job in narrowing the gap between plasmas and LCDs in the areas of image brightness and power consumption. Up to very recently, these were areas that rendered LCD and LED TVs the exclusive choice if you wanted a TV for use under bright lighting, or one with a low power consumption. The latest plasma display panels have a much brighter image - one that is bright enough for viewing in bright room conditions - while consuming some 40% less power than previous generation 1080p plasma TVs.

Mind you, we are not saying that plasma televisions are more energy efficient than LCD TVs; in particular nothing beats an LED LCD TV for its low power consumption - with an energy usage that is typically 60- to 66% that of a similar size plasma HDTV.

At the same time, we cannot but remark that with these developments, power consumption in plasma displays has become a non-issue. This power issue has long been a seller for LCDs over plasma inasmuch as plasma's reputation for burn-in.

We have already referred to burn-in earlier on in this article. We have to say here that we have never experienced burn-in issues with any of the latest plasma televisions we have handled during the last two years or so. But there again, while this is surely something not worth worrying about anymore, we still say that it is best to manage your content to help avoid any such occurrence no matter how small the possibility of such an occurrence is.

There is no denying; plasma delivers more for less! It is the best all-rounder display technology and the primary choice among those looking for the best picture, irrespective of whether it is for use in the home theater, sports and gaming, or just about anyone who wants a big screen TV for general viewing.

And contrary to what some sales rep may tell you, the continued developments in plasma technology and the present pricing strategy still make plasma a most viable HDTV display technology for the years to come - at least till a suitable alternative display technology is available that can deliver improved picture performance at an equally affordable price. Till then, for the informed buyer, plasma television sets will continue to represent the big screen TV technology of choice.

Plasma Television technology offers a lot more at the big screen TV category, irrespective of available budget.

However, no matter how affordable a plasma television is, it still represents a big portion of any home entertainment budget. Opting for the wrong choice can still turn out to be expensive. The problems many face here arise out of the large selection of plasma television models; this often makes the whole selection process rather frustrating.

We therefore hope that this series of plasma television guides and featured plasma TV reviews appearing under this section will provide you with the necessary information to help you make the right choice.