Rachel Cericola of Big Picture Big Sound is reporting that the Plasma Display Coalition is saying sales of Plasma displays are stronger than ever. This is being put down to more models and lower overall prices pushing consumer sales. Plasma TVs have always been regarded to offer the deepest blacks and better resolution even in fast scenes, and with modern sets screen burn is no longer an issue.

The now obsolete Pioneer Kuro range were regarded as the best quality TVs ever made, even though they had a hefty price tag it was these sets which were the bench mark for any new screen being released. The company unfortunately stopped production of the sets but did sell the technology to Panasonic, so hopefully we will start to see it soon.

Before Plasma was seen as a platform which consumed a lot of energy in use, but now several models from this year’s lineup meet the Energy Star 5.3 requirements. Consumers are also offered a lot of choice with Panasonic offering nineteen plasma models, LG has eighteen models, and Samsung offers fifteen plasma models for 2011. These include both 720p and 1080p, and 3D models available.

Other research by NPD has shown plasma sales have grown around 25% during the past year, with sales of one million sets in the US between January and May this year. This is compared to 805,000 during the same period in 2010 and LCD growth of two percent. The fact that plasma screens have become more energy efficient recently will have helped, with the PDC saying energy usage falling by up to sixty%.

Jim Palumbo, president of the PDC said that there has been a lot of false claims when it comes to power consumption of plasma TVs, and added that” today’s plasma sets use less than a dollar per year in electricity when in standby”. When being used they still only cost between $14 and $35 a year, and means the technology has become much more energy efficient.

LCD technology has come a long way in recent years, but still can’t match the picture quality of plasma sets. But for some LCDs are preferred as they are often thinner and lighter than their plasma cousins.

Which do you prefer plasma or LCD?

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A lot of people who have just bought a new TV just take it out of the box and connect everything up and switch it on. Modern TV sets now tune themselves to channels and set up is quite straight forward, but there are plenty of things which can be done to get the most out of the unit.

Screen calibration is a good way of improving the picture quality of a TV. There are professionals who can come out to you and do this for you, but not everyone can afford it. But there are cheaper ways to achieve this as many DVDs have THX picture calibration section which include Star Wars. There is also dedicated calibration DVDs available for a small price.

Positioning of the TV can also have a major affect on the screen image, as light coming in from a window can be an issue. Many flat screen TVs have small speakers which don’t do them justice when watching that blockbuster movie. This is where many people turn to a surround system, with 5.1 currently being the most popular and convenient.

Many people buy a dedicated receiver which nowadays can allow you to connect up many devices including games consoles and Blu-ray players. Unfortunately this can take up to much room for many, so that’s where all-in-ones come in handy. These can either be a DVD player of Blu-ray but still offer 5.1 surround sound and have everything in one box.

There are also many quality sound bars available now which although not quite as good as dedicated surround sound system; they are a great improvement over the standard TV speakers. A highly controversial topic is HDMI leads, and whether there is any difference between a really cheap one and a more expensive model.

Many people believe as they are carrying a digital signal of basically 1s and 0s, so the price of cables doesn’t affect picture quality. But on the other side you have the issue of cheaper materials causing interference from other sources, but some people think nothing spending a fortune on a HDMI lead.

Leads that can make a difference are speaker cables running from the receiver or an all-in-one to the speakers. Just replacing the cheap wire which often comes with some systems can lead to a vast improvement in sound quality.

Other notable improvements can come from better stands that the speakers are placed on. Some can have sand or a similar substance filled inside the stand to help improve sound quality. Have you done any of the above things with your flat screen TV? Or is there anything else you have done?

More About: lcd tv, LED TV, Plasma tv

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Plasma TVs were the first large flat-panel TVs to come to market, and some of the early versions were beasts, and also required a separate tuner box. They have come a long way since then, with Panasonic being a leader in the Plasma market.

We have known for some time that these new TVs struggle to match black levels of CRT sets, but new Plasmas are now coming close, which is a major factor when choosing a TV. There are two downsides to Plasmas, high-energy consumption and burn-in.

LCDs were next to market, these have now become very popular, but the larger models are much more expensive than their Plasma rivals. The main issue with LCD TVs is the poor black levels, although they have improved over the years. Another bad point is the viewing angle; older models were very poor and could only be watched in a limited field of view.

However, LCD TVs does not suffer with burn images on the screen and have greater resolutions.

Next up with have LED, this is like an offshoot of LCD. Remember that there are two types of LED TV, conventional rear and edge lighting. However, just remember that the latter carries a higher premium. The best part about LED is that they have greater black levels than LCD, and is more on par with Plasma black levels.

For those of you who are concerned about how much energy you use, then you will be interested to know that LED TV has the lowest energy consumption over all the flat panel TVs. Choosing between the three is not that hard for me, i would choose LED; yes they carry a higher premium, but the difference in quality will be worth it.

For a greater understanding of each TV set, then visit Wikipedia for Plasma, LCD and LED.

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One such model is the Samsung PN50C490B3D Plasma 3D HDTV, and if you take a look at the specs and features you will see why. There are those of you who believe that Plasma consumes more power than an LCD; you would be right, but the former has made huge advancements when it comes to energy efficiency.

Samsung believe that this model along with their other 3D TV range brings a new depth and dimension to your viewing pleasure – but I am yet to be convinced. I still think that there is a long way to go, but I am sure that Samsung will be one of the first to perfect the technology.

Some of the features include a black bezel frame and swivel stand, 50-inch screen, 1365 x 768 native resolution, 2,000,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio, 600Hz subfield motion refresh rate, V-chip, 3HDMI inputs and a USB input.

For more details on the Samsung PN50C490B3D Plasma TV visit Samsung’s U.S. website. if you are not interested in this model, then why not consider the Panasonic TC-P65S1 VIERA HDTV or the SANYO DP50740.

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Looking at the specs list, this 50-inch HDTV Plasma TV is a mid-range product, so this will have a broad appeal. It is all very good having the high-end models with all the bells and whistles on – but how many of you can actually afford them?

It is for this reason why the Sanyo DP50740 is still a very popular model, and features such as Digital Clear QAM and 2,000,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio should certainly help you come to a decision if you wish to purchase this model or not?

Some of the specs include 1024 x 768 resolution, ATSC/Clear, 178-degree vertical and horizontal angles. However, there is a downside, just two HDMI ports. This might not be an issue to some, but to others it is a major problem.

A few consumers have purchased the Sanyo 50-inch DP50740 Plasma HDTV from Walmart, and have left a few reviews on what they thought. One customer said how he loved the image quality, but picked up on the same point that I did – lack of connectivity.

Most of the reviews are positive about how much TV you get for the price, but have an issue with a glossy screen and slow input connections. For more details and reviews on this TV visit the Walmart website.

More About: Plasma tv, Sanyo, Sanyo TV

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