Choosing Your Plasma TV Set
 What to Look For

As with all big screen TVs, the choice of a plasma television is in reality a matter of finding the right trade-off between screen size and features for the available budget.

This budget issue is even more important when it comes to plasma TVs in view that as one starts stretching the screen size over and above entry-level 42- and 50-inch 720p HDTVs, the price increase is significant.

Before you start shopping around for your plasma display, it is therefore important that you make a prioritized list of the features that are most important to your needs.

Most important issues to consider should include:

Screen Size: 42", 50", or larger?

Display resolution: 720p or 1080p?

HDTV Support: This should complement the available HDTV sources at your end

Connectivity: In particular, the number of HDMI inputs, USB connections, and computer support.

Appearance: To what extend it is important to integrate your HDTV with the rest of your room decor?

When evaluating your options, keep in mind that plasma TVs can turn out to be relatively expensive. Even the so called cheap plasma TVs are not so cheap when considering that a typical 42-inch 720p HDTV such as the latest Panasonic VIERA TC-P42X3 or the slightly larger 43-inch Samsung PN43D450 cost close to $540.

Hence, the end approach is a trade-off between the desired features and price to match the available budget. Ultimately, it is your budget that will drive your purchase, meaning that you may have to scale-back accordingly.

Always start with Screen Size

Screen size is a big factor in plasma pricing and is the most important feature you need to decide upon. Plasma TV screens range in size from 42- to around 65-inches. As indicated above, entry-level 42-inch 720p plasma HDTVs are generally available at just over $500. Moving to the 50-inch screen size at 720p is equally affordable with the popular Panasonic Viera 50-inch TC-P50X3 and the Samsung 51-inch PN51D450 selling on amazon at under $700. Corresponding LG plasma TVs are also selling at practically the same price bracket.

Even 50-inch entry-level 1080p sets are selling at a relatively inexpensive price, though here pricing start to be very much dependent on the available features. Most popular sets at the larger screen category include the Panasonic VIERA TC-P50S30 50-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV which is selling at close to $800 and the Samsung PN51D550 51-Inch 1080p 600Hz 3D Plasma HDTV - which at around $900 is probably the cheapest 50-inch 3D HDTV available on the market. The LG 50PV450 50-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV is also selling at $900 as the Samsung D550 model but it does not bring you 3D TV; instead you get one of the best picture control settings that will surely enable you to tweak this TV for the best picture.

As you cross the 50-inch boundary, prices start to shoot upwards. In this respect, the 60-inch LG 60PV450 ($1400) plasma TV is possibly the cheapest name-brand massive plasma presently available on the market. Within the same entry-level 1080p HDTV category, one also finds the slightly smaller 59-inch Samsung PN59D550 3D 1080p plasma HDTV and the 60-inch Panasonic VIERA TC-P60S30 1080p Plasma TV; both the Samsung and the Panasonic are selling online at close to $1,700.

Move on to the massive 60-inch plus category and there you will find that the cheapest 64-inch Samsung plasma TV for 2011 - the PN-64D550 3D TV - is selling online at over $2,400. And here we are not talking about some high-end model but a step-up 1080p HDTV. Even more expensive is the 65-inch Panasonic Viera TC-P65ST30 3D TV which is selling at amazon at a reduced price of almost $3,000; OK, for the extra expense, the Panasonic comes with a few extra features missing on the Samsung like the latest IPTV support using Viera Connect and built-in Wi-Fi.

Definitely, these are expensive plasma HDTVs but still affordable considering the massive screen size. At the same time, it is important that you do not just buy a plasma television that simply fits your budget. When selecting your Plasma TV screen size, it is important to choose one that fits your room as well. This does not mean a screen size that will fit your wall or available cabinet space. Even more important is the need to match the chosen screen size with the available viewing distance. More information on this subject can be found in our TV Viewing Distance guide.

Some argue that TV viewing distance is a matter of personal preference - but there are a few guidelines worth considering if you want to enjoy the best possible experience. As a rule-of-thumb, you need between two to three times the screen width as viewing distance; viewing 720p or 1080i content over an HDTV set would allow for a closer viewing distance than standard or enhanced TV content.

Still, do not be tempted to not move closer than the recommended minimum viewing distance as you will start to see the pixel build-up structure and video noise; this can make an otherwise enjoyable viewing experience, extremely unpleasant.

Display Resolution and Support for HDTV

The native resolution of a plasma display is another important factor to take into consideration when choosing your plasma television.

This becomes an issue especially when watching HDTV content on your Plasma TV. 720p HDTV signal supports a resolution of 1280 pixels by 720 lines, while 1080i/1080p HDTV supports 1920 pixels by 1080 lines.

Earlier plasma used to come with lower resolutions - resolutions that were mainly intended to support standard definition TV. To-day, standard definition plasmas are no longer available. In fact, the most common minimum resolution found on entry-level 42-inch and smaller plasma TV sets is 1024x768 pixels. Note exactly true HD but it is still considered enough to display 720p HDTV. It also represents a significant improvement over earlier EDTV plasmas that came with a native pixel resolution of 852x480 pixels.

Entry-level 720p 50-inch displays come with a typical native pixel resolution of 1366 x 768. At this screen size, this level of pixel count is more than adequate to display any HDTV content, including 1080p content. Most retail representatives argue that 1080p HDTVs deliver more in terms of picture detail in comparison to a 720p screen. This is true - but at this screen size, a person's vision system would not be able to see the additional fine detail supported by a 1080p screen when viewing takes place from the recommended minimum distance.

A few words about Digital Television and HDTV: While high definition plasma TVs offer a clearer picture than regular television, yet not all setups allow you to take full advantage of HDTV. It all depends on the quality of your HD source. Do not expect the best in HD picture quality from HD broadcast content, irrespective of whether this is cable, satellite TV or free over-the-air HD DTV programming; HD broadcast content comes with reduced resolution. To really experience the very best in high definition, you need to connect your HDTV to a Blu-ray source. For an understanding of the different HDTV formats and resolution issues, please refer to our HD guide: Understanding HDTV formats.

Connectivity

A plasma television should include the inputs you need to plug in the various video components; these should include composite, component, multiple HDMI, RGB, and preferably S-Video. We say preferably because the latter has practically disappeared from the latest HDTV sets.

Look for a model that also includes a set of front or side-panel A/V inputs for convenient camcorder or video game hook-up; ensure that at least one HDMI and a USB2.0 ports are also accessible from the front of the TV set.

RGB is a standard 15-pin computer input. Composite video is a single line video output that is typical on VCRs, cable and satellite receivers, and DVD players. The next step up in quality is S-video. This can be found on some DVD players and most cable and satellite set-top boxes. Component video, which is of a higher quality than S-Video, divides the video signal into red, green, and blue and is on progressive scan DVDs and some newer cable and satellite boxes.

HDMI is a purely digital connection capable of supporting the highest quality HDTV resolutions - including 1080p HDTV. You will have at least two, preferably three or more HDMI connections on your plasma HDTV.  Having multiple HDMI inputs has become a must as most of today connectivity comes in this form. Having multiple HDMI inputs on your flat-panel TV should not be a problem; almost all models except for entry-level sets come with three or four HDMI inputs; and even entry-level sets from all major brands include at least two HDMI inputs.

One thing to note buying an HDTV is to ensure that the HDMI connections are HDCP compliant. In most cases it is - at least with HDTVs from major brands, but it may turn out to be a problem with some unknown brands. Therefore, it is better to be safe and check before you buy.

Last but not least, consider an Ethernet port on your television. Having a network connection on your TV is turning out to be a common feature with premium line HDTVs - in particular as most of today's premium HDTVs come with IPTV features. An Ethernet connection on your plasma HDTV - especially if supported by a DLNA-compliant (Digital Living Network Alliance) option - is a great way of integrating your home entertainment with your PC. This lets you use your TV to view photos, or play music and stream video files from your PC without the need for an additional media player.

Additional Features

Supported connectivity and additional features all add up to the final product price. If you can afford to add that little extra to your available budget, you can normally find models with additional features that support a wider range of video inputs and better picture and sound control options.

In particular, a very useful feature with today's multiple input TVs is some sort of a second channel preview such as picture-in-picture preview. Unfortunately, this is becoming extremely rare and the only TV maker that is still including a limited PIP feature is Samsung. We say 'limited' because it will only allow you to watch the analog TV channels in the sub-window (preview window) when you are using one of your external video sources as your main input. It would not work the other way round. Still, it is an added bonus over what you will find from other TV makers. The only TV maker that comes close is LG with its freeze frame function, but then this is not a PIP preview feature.

Important: Always ensure that when it comes to paying extra for additional features, you first research your plasma HDTV carefully to see if this or that feature do actually provide the functionality you are looking for. An easy way to research your product before buying is to download the product manual - if available online - and read carefully the various sections that deal with how to operate the set features. This should give you a pretty good idea of what is possible and what is not. Alternatively, go through the various customer reviews available on major stores to see what customers like and dislike about a product.

For more information on available plasma television options, check our Plasma HDTV Reviews section.