OTHER TECH

A single panel can contain a million or more pixels, and screen sizes range from 32 to 63 inches (diagonal). Smaller sizes are feasible, and manufacturers are also experimenting with displays up to 72 inches. Plasma TVs are usually widescreen, with the 16:9 aspect ratio used in high-definition TV (HDTV), but our shopping guide at the end of this article lists one model with a standard-shape 4:3 panel.

Plasma monitors are jacks-of-all-trades. They can typically handle computer images, analog TV in both the American (NTSC) and European (PAL or SECAM) formats, and digital TV. Many can also display high-definition programs. Only a few have built-in TV tuners (although that's changing) or sound systems. The major advantage of plasma over a traditional picture tube, aside from its superiority as a status symbol, is size. A large-screen CRT set needs a deep cabinet to house its electron gun. The average 36-inch TV is about 2 feet from front to back and weighs more than 200 pounds (try hanging that on your wall). A plasma monitor, thanks to those self-contained imaging cells, is only a few inches deep regardless of its screen size. Most 42-inch plasma sets are around 3¹¼₂ inches thin and weigh less than 70 pounds. And plasma TVs can have significantly larger screens than CRT-based direct-view sets, which are limited to a maximum of 40 inches or so.

Indeed, plasma might be the ideal display technology for home theater. Unlike projection setups, front or rear, which you have to watch in a dim room, plasma TVs look fine over a wide viewing angle in normal room lighting. Their slimness makes installation a matter of clearing enough wall space. Custom installations can involve a plasma screen centered above a mantelpiece or sliding down from the ceiling - one inventive design mounts the display inside a transparent glass wall that swivels between two rooms.

Those of us in lower tax brackets are more likely to run into plasma screens in public places or to see them used on TV shows. America's first large-scale commercial application of high-definition plasma displays was at the New York Stock Exchange, which installed panels above the main trading floor to display trades and quotes. Airports are a significant market for the panels, which can be hung just about anywhere to display arrival and departure information as well as eye-catching advertisements ("digital signage") that can be changed in an instant or on an automated schedule.