Let’s
See What All
Those
“Techie” Words Mean!
•
Need
to understand some of those fancy terms in your Plasma TV
owner’s manual? Here we go . . .
Glossary
of Terms:
123
Guide To Plasma TV
•
Analog
TV is the
poor quality television signal you grew up watching on broadcast
and cable. Glitches, snow, ghosting and just all around fuzzy
pictures are not uncommon. Better display systems have evolved
(DTV, EDTV and above all HDTV) present images up to five times
sharper with Dolby vSurround Sound(see Plasma
Screen Resolution).
•
Blu-Ray is a
new DVD format that gives the best image quality available today
(along with HD
DVD);
both display an image with 2,073,600
pixels!
• Coaxial
Cable
is the
wire often used in old style cable TV. It may be the only
connection available for older cable boxes, or to connect older
VCRs. This is now an outdated connection
type.
• Color Reproduction Plasma
and LCD displays must accurately reproduce millions of colors.
Plasma screens generally display richer, more brilliant colors,
especially in low to normal lighting conditions. Plasmas are also
way ahead of LCDs because of Plasma’s superior black levels.
LCDs will sometimes look better than Plasmas in brightly lit
areas.
• Component
Video is the
second best way to hook up your Plasma TV. It uses five cords;
three video (picture) cables and two audio (sound) cables to
produce the image. While not HDTV compatible, component cables can
carry a “dumbed down” HDTV signal if the connections on
your TV are labeled “high bandwidth” or “HDTV
component video”.
• Composite Video has
the three cable connection you’re probably familiar with: one
video (picture) cable and two stereo (sound) cables. This is now an
outdated setup. Composite wires may be the only way to connect
older VCRs and cable boxes.
• Contrast is the
difference between the brightest and darkest parts of the screen.
The best Plasma TVs (like Panasonic) have been measured at 50%
better contrast levels than the best
LCDs.
• Dolby 5.1 Surround Sound produces
that
crisp, rumbling, multi-track movie theater sound you want in your
Home Theater! It uses
five speakers and a sub woofer placed
in front, on the sides and behind the viewer. Dolby 6.1 uses six
speakers and a sub woofer, while Dolby 7.1 uses seven speakers and
a sub woofer!
• DTV
(Digital
TV) is the
new broadcast standard that will supposedly be in effect by 2009
(the deadline once was 2006). With 720p lines of resolution, DTV
produces a much better picture than broadcast TV does today, but
it's not the same (and not as sharp) as HDTV! By 2009 you'll need a
converter box to see broadcast TV on your old set, but your new
Plasma is built to handle the new digital signal. DTV images are
shaped like a movie or your Plasma screen (16:9), not like old
broadcast TV (4:3). You'll see letterboxing above and below the
picture on an old TV.
• EDTV
(Enhanced
Definition TV) is a
resolution standard offered on many older Plasma TVs; it's about as
sharp as the resolution of a standard DVD, but less sharp than a
High Definition (HDTV) equipped set. The resolution of EDTV is 480i
(see Screen
Resolution). Be
wary of salesmen trying to unload unsold EDTV sets by placing them
on sale. Only purchase HDTV Plasmas; not "HDTV-ready" or "HDTV
compatible" and not EDTV.
• Flat
Wall Mounts are
the most popular and least expensive of all wall mounts. Plasma TVs
are less than 4 inches thick; a flat wall mount adds 2 inches. A
wall mount requires locating the studs inside your wall, drilling
holes and screwing the mount to the studs. Cables going to the TV
are normally routed through the wall.
• Ghosting and
Image
Flicker are
possible on LCD displays when fast action is on the screen. Plasma
TVs have no ghosting or image flicker.
•
HD DVD is a
new DVD format that gives the best image quality available today
(along with Blu-Ray); both display an image with
2,073,600 pixels!
• HDMI is the
type of cable and connector needed for HDTV (High Definition
TV). You'll
get the best picture you’ve ever seen with one HDMI (High
Definition Multimedia Interface) cable.
• HDTV
(High Definition TV) screens
display a sharper, widescreen image by putting more pixels (tiny
dots that make up the image) on the screen. For high def you need a
HDTV television, a source for the HDTV signal like a digital cable
box and special cables. This produces the sharpest, clearest image
on the market, more than twice as sharp as a regular
DVD.
• "HDTV Compatible" or
"HDTV Ready," means a Plasma TV will accept and display a
“dumbed down” high def signal. This doesn’t mean
the TV actually has a HDTV tuner built in or can display real HDTV
signals. You have to read the specifications of the TV to
know.
• Home
Theater Systems provide
pumped up sound by connecting a stereo and DVD player to your
Plasma TV. It’s pretty easy to pump up the audio on your home
system for little or no money. Top end systems feature Dolby
Surround Sound.
• Image
Converter -
Plasma and LCD TVs are wide screen (16:9, that’s sixteen
inches wide for every nine inches high). This is the shape of movie
theater screens; TV shows are slowly changing to the same shape.
When you watch a show with the old shape (4:3), your Plasma can
show it as is, letterbox it or scale the image so that it fills the
screen.
• Interlaced
video
puts up every other line of a video image; or half the picture each
time. Progressive
Scan Video puts
the full number of lines on the screen every frame. Both systems do
this 30 to 60 times a second. Obviously
a PROGRESSIVE
scan
TV will produce a better picture than one with an
INTERLACED
picture;
a 1080p display is much better than a 1080i.
• LCDs
(liquid
crystal displays) send
thousands of electric currents which twist tiny crystals to create
the colors on the screen. LCDs can be either flat panel or
projection TVs; both have white light shining through the
crystals.
• Plasma
TV Display A
Plasma screen image is made up of thousands of tiny colored dots of
light created when tiny electric currents hit gas cells inside the
screen. Plasma screen technology offers the sharpest picture, the
most vibrant colors, the most true-to-life picture available
today.
• Pixels are
tiny dots of light produced by a TV screen to form the image you
see.
• Power Consumption is
significantly higher (about 1/3 more) in a Plasma TV than in an
LCD. This is because the Plasma TV sends tiny electric charges to
light up hundreds of thousands of pixels on the screen, while LCDs
use fluorescent lighting to backlight their
pixels.
• Progressive Scan Video puts
the full number of lines on the screen every frame, while
Interlaced
video
only puts up every other line; or half the picture each time. Both
systems do this 30 to 60 times a second. Obviously
a PROGRESSIVE
scan
TV will produce a better picture than one with an
INTERLACED
picture.
This is where the “p” and “i” in the
resolution figure comes from: 480i means 480 lines of resolution
interlaced, while 1080p means 1080 lines
progressive.
•
Resolution is a
way of saying how sharp a television image is. Imagine drawing a
picture of a house using 100 colored blocks; the picture would be
crude, but recognizable. Now draw the same picture using 1000
smaller colored blocks; your picture would have much more
detail.
•
Screen Burn In occurs
when
displaying video games, computers, stock tickers and other images
that don't move or change. It’s much harder to burn a
permanent image on a Plasma screen than it used to be; LCDs have no
screen burn-in at all.
•
Screen Life of
both Plasma and LCD screens is 50,000 to 60,000 hours, depending on
the quality and manufacturer of the TV. Plasma displays fade over
time and the white light source for LCDs turns yellow, changing the
colors on your screen. It takes 10-20 years for either Plasmas or
LCD screens to go bad under normal use.
• Screen
Size is
measured diagonally from one corner to the opposite corner. Plasma
screens range as large as 108” while the largest LCDs are
currently 70”. The most popular Plasma screen sizes are
42-inch and 50-inch, although you can get many sizes between
32-inch and 108-inch.
• Sharpness is
measured by the number of screen pixels per inch. LCD displays have
a higher pixel count than Plasmas for the same sized screen,
although the larger plasmas can equal LCD sharpness. The newest
models of both will display HDTV
resolution.
• S-Video uses a
round four pin plug on a single wire, it may be the only way to
connect older VCRs and cable boxes. This is now an outdated
connection type.
• Surge Protectors, which
shut off electric power in an emergency, should be connected to all
electronic components, especially your Plasma TV. You don’t
want a lightning strike or power surge to blow out thousands of
dollars worth of your home entertainment
equipment.
•
SXGA (Super
eXtended Graphics Array) A Plasma, LCD or DLP TV capable of SXGA
resolution creates 1,310,720
pixels on the
screen.
• Tilted
Wall Mounts are
more expensive and are usually mounted higher than a flat mount.
They are used above fireplaces or in bedrooms, and can tilt up to
20 degrees from the wall. The viewing angle can be adjusted as
needed.
• TV
Stand sizes
vary
with the style and make. When measuring your living room, figure
about 18 inches in depth and purchase a stand at least 6-inches
wider than the base of your televisio
•
UXGA (Ultra-eXtended
Graphics Array) is the highest resolution available in Plasma, LCD
or DLP TVs. It creates 1,920,000
pixels.
• VGA
(video
graphics array) is the 15-pin, screw in plug used to connect a
computer to a monitor. They can also connect your computer to a
plasma or LCD TV.
• Viewing Angle describes
how far you can sit to each side a TV and still see an acceptable
picture. Plasma screens are viewable at angles of more than
150˚, while LCD screens have viewing angles around
125˚.
123
Guide
To Plasma TV
• Televisions
are more complex today than they have ever been; a whole new
language of tech talk has sprung up to describe video products than
didn’t exist ten years ago.
• This
glossary seeks to give you a plain language definition of the most
common Plasma terms you’ll need to understand to make an
informed purchase. Let us know if there are other terms you’d
like to see included.
It’s
as easy as 123!
Sony KDS-60A2000 Grand WEGA 60 Projection TV - 60 -
DLP - NTSC, ATSC - 16:9 - 1920 x 1080 - Surround Stereo Sound -
HDTV 
Samsung HLT5076S 
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