OTHER TECH

PLASMA

Just 3 to 6 inches thick, plasma TVs can be set up next to or mounted on a wall, preserving precious room space. Screen sizes range from 37 inches diagonal to a cinematic 70 inches, and models as large as 108 inches have been shown.

How It Works - Each pixel in a plasma display consists of three gas-filled sub-pixels (cells) coated with red, green, or blue phosphor. Electrodes above and below the cells (the top electrode layer is transparent) jolt them with varying amounts of voltage. This excites the gas in the cells to a plasma state, stimulating the phosphors to produce colored light. (For a more detailed, illustrated explanation of plasma operation, see Inner Workings: Inside a Plasma Screen.)

Pros •Uniformly bright picture over a wide viewing angle - even in a brightly lit room. •Svelte design and large screen size. •Wide 16:9 aspect ratio screen and on nearly all current models enough pixels for HDTV resolution.

Cons •Can be expensive, especially for screens larger than 50 inches. •On some sets, the black parts of the picture, such as dark shadows or letterbox bars on widescreen movies, look dark gray instead of black. (The best models now do pretty well, however.) •Subject to burn-in, where an image becomes permanently etched onto the screen. But this won't happen unless you leave a bright stationary image on the screen for hours at a time. Recent models have burn-in prevention features, such as "pixel orbiters," which exercise pixels by slowly shifting an image around the display.

Where It's At - Plasmas are available from many manufacturers, with 42-inch high-definition models available for as little as $1,200 and 50-inch displays starting at about $1,800. Expect to pay more for top performance, cutting edge features (such as 1080p resolution), or a really huge screen, however.