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Answering Your Basic Questions about Plasma Television
Plasma TV FAQs (and Answers)

Answers to a comprehensive list of Plasma TV FAQs covering most of the common difficulties many may have, including use, technology and common myths.

Panasonic TH-50PZ700U 50" 1080p Plasma HDTV

Frequently Asked Questions about Plasma Television

Most probably, by the time you finished researching on Plasma TV sets, you have ended up with a couple of questions related to use, technology and even fictions you might have heard or read about.

We therefore thought of taking a look at most of the commonly asked questions 'would-be' and 'proud new' owners would normally ask about plasma display panels. So let's start...

Plasma TV FAQs Index:

Is a 'Plasma Television' and a 'Plasma Display' one and the same thing?

This happens to be one of the first questions that may arise in that these two terms are more often used in an interchangeable fashion. Yet there is a basic difference between the two.

A plasma display lacks an internal tuner and therefore, it is closer to a computer monitor than a television. The first plasmas that came out did not include a built-in tuner. Nowadays, almost all models feature an internal tuner -hence the term plasma TV, yet most people - including sales reps in electronic superstores - still call these devices plasma displays.

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 What is flat screen Plasma display technology?

Flat panel plasma display is one of the latest display technologies; it is capable of excellent image quality, with large, flat screen displays that are easily viewable in almost any environment.

Plasma display panels consist of an array of cells, known as pixels, each of which is composed of three sub-pixels, corresponding to the colors red, green, and blue. Gas in the plasma state is used to react with phosphors in each sub-pixel to produce colored light (red, green, or blue). These are the same phosphors as used in cathode ray tube (CRT) devices. Compatible 720p HDTV plasma will have around 2.76 million sub-pixels, each of which is individually controlled by state-of-the-art electronics.

For more information, please refer to our How-It-Works: Plasma Display Technology.

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What are the advantages of Plasma vs. LCD and other display technologies?

Today, both plasma and LCD TVs are capable of delivering a great image at screen sizes up to around 65-inches. Yet plasma TVs come with a price advantage especially at the 50-inch category and above.

There is also the issue that in general, plasmas are capable of a deeper shade of black than an LCD.  A deep shade of black improves the realism of dark scenes while making colors look richer and more saturated. This renders the Pioneer as the best plasma television for those who want to enjoy the most in home theater image quality.

For more details, please refer to our Plasma vs. LCD TV article.

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What is the expected lifetime of a plasma TV?

Probably, the greatest myth about plasma displays is that they only last two to three years. The truth is that present day plasma display panels have an expected half-lifetime of anything between 30,000hrs and 60,000hrs, which is substantially more than that of a traditional CRT TV. Well, 30,000hrs at some 6hours per day every single day of the year corresponds to over 12 yrs of use!

Note that by half-lifetime, we mean that the display brightness will gradually fall to half its original value at the end of the specified period of time. By this time, the image brightness would be too dim for normal viewing and the display panel will have to be replaced.

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Considering the rapid advancement in technology - should I wait for the next big thing?

Surely technology changes fast, yet plasma TVs have reached a rather mature stage of development. Together with their LCD counterparts, plasmas are the real BIG thing in today's display technology. Even if new technology emerges, it'll be at least three to four years before it's widely available to consumers - and even then, it'll be too pricey for most household budgets. A case in point is the latest LED-powered LCD HDTVs from Samsung. These are capable of the deepest black irrespective of display technology, yet expect to spend anything up to $5,000 for the Samsung LNT5281FX 52" 1080p 120Hz LED LCD HDTV. This is almost twice the price tag of a typical premium 50-inch 1080p plasma TV.

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What are 'Dead Pixels' and do plasma display panels suffer from dead pixels - in a similar manner to LCD displays?

Though very rare, plasma display panels do suffer from occasional dead pixels. Dead pixels are pixels that malfunction and that show up as either a colored speck of light in case of a damaged sub-pixel, a black spot i.e. a pixel that remains always off, or a permanent always on white spot of light. Dead pixels are most easily seen when an area of the screen is all one bright color, or white. A single dead pixel is not terribly noticeable; but as the set ages, more pixels may die.

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Manufacturer's General Warranties and Dead Pixels Policies

Generally warranties on plasma display panels vary from one to five years (depending on brand and model), and most exclude:

• Dead Pixels - unless there’s more of them than the manufacturer deems acceptable

• Burn-in

• Heat-related problems

When it comes to the dead pixels issue, return policies from manufacturers vary depending on the actual number of bad pixels and their placement. The presence of bad pixels does not automatically qualify a unit as defective, but the unit may always be returned to the manufacturer for evaluation. Every occurrence is most often treated on a case by case basis.  

The number of dead pixels that’ll be covered by the warranty isn’t always stated, and varies between manufactures. Some warranties are vague in this respect, using phrases like “within normal commercial tolerance” to describe pixel failure.

Luckily, some manufactures are realizing that what may be acceptable to their quality control standards, need not necessarily be so to the end customer; for this purpose, there is a shift among manufacturers towards a 'zero bad pixel' warranty - among these one finds Samsung and Viewsonic.

Keep in mind however that this is still not the norm with most manufacturers. Our suggestion is to get informed before you buy - it is important that you get an understanding of the manufacturer’s pixel policy before you buy a plasma screen to avoid disappointment later.

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Should I go for an Annual Service contract?

Another great fiction about plasma TVs is that they need to be re-charged or re-filled to extend their lifetime. No one can re-charge or re-fill the gas in a plasma TV, nor can anyone fix a dead pixel on your plasma screen.

In other words, you do not need a service contract to service your plasma TV annually; what most of the 3-year Television Service Plans advertised online do is to make the necessary arrangements for the repair of a faulty unit and pay the bill for you if the failure occurs within the 3-year period since your purchase - restrictions apply. This means that in the case of a plasma TV, the repairs will only apply to the electronics inside but not the plasma display panel since plasma panels can neither be repaired, nor recharged or refilled with gas.

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What native resolution is right for me?

A variety of resolutions exist for plasma display panels, including 852x480, 853x480, 1024x768, 1024x1024, 1280x720, 1280x768, 1365x768, and 1920x1080 pixels.

Resolutions lower than 1024x768 fall within the EDTV category; today, these have become almost non-existent. In fact, the lowest resolution most common today is the 1024x768 - which in itself classifies as HDTV despite that it cannot handle the full pixel content of even 720 HDTV.

The higher resolutions are ideal for situations where detail is important (small text, spreadsheets, CAD documents, etc), or when displaying HDTV content. In particular, the 1280x720 and 1365x768 are ideal for displaying the full content in 720p HDTV. A 1080p native screen resolution (1920x1080) is ideal if your screen size exceeds the 50-inch diagonal.

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Some plasma displays are labeled for commercial use; are there any differences between commercial and home-use plasma display models?

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) - as the responsible communications authority has established that:

1. For Commercial use: Digital device or peripheral that has been tested and complies with commercial environment limits should be labeled as Class A. Class A equipment generates radio frequency energy that may cause harmful interference to radio communications if not properly installed. Such devices and peripherals are not intended for the home because of the likelihood of harmful interference of radio communication. Corrective measures would be required at the owner's expense.

2. For Home use: Digital device or peripheral that has been tested and complies with residential environment limits should be labeled as Class B. Class B equipment may still generate radio frequency energy that may cause harmful interference to radio communication if not properly installed. In other words, there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular installation, yet all Class B devices and peripherals are safe for use in residential environments.

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How can I mount my plasma TV unit?

Plasma screens offer a number of options in this respect - from standard floor stands, to wall mounts and even ceiling mounts. We suggest that you take a look at our article on how to install a plasma TV for more details on this issue.

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What causes creak-like noises to be emitted from some plasma display?

As the operating temperature of the display panel changes, the cabinet expands or shrinks slightly. There is no need for alarm here; this is not a problem.

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Why has the power suddenly switched off?

If the plasma display unit's temperature becomes too hot, it may automatically switch itself off to prevent further damage. If power is suddenly turned off, it is probably because the air vents are blocked. Remove any objects blocking the vents and clean, before turning the unit on again

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At times, stripes appear on the screen - Why?

These should not be a cause for concern and are normally caused by radio waves from TV and radio stations, etc., or by RF Interference caused by nearby motors, household appliances, personal computers, electronic gear, etc.

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We hope that the above answers most of the common plasma TV FAQs you may have about use, technology, and even fictions you might have heard or read.

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