Plasma
Photograph: Kevin CandlandPrice range: $3000 to $30,000 for screen sizes ranging from 42 to 61 inches.
Overview: Best if you want a wall-hanging or a relatively inconspicuous display for television and movie viewing that can perform well in strong room lighting--especially if cost is not a great concern. Heavy PC users and gamers should look elsewhere.
Details: Sleek and sexy, these wall-mountable panels are the embodiment of futuristic television. Top-of-the-line plasma screens can deliver gorgeous high-definition pictures. And because they are only a few inches thick and (unlike some LCDs) can be viewed from well off to the sides without loss of image quality, they are extremely versatile. Although the big downside to plasma has been price, some 42-inch plasma models now cost only about $3000--but for that bargain price you don't get HDTV resolution (see "Getting Set for HDTV").
With plasma screens, you tend to get what you pay for. Plasma displays in general struggle to produce deep black tones, and the images in some inexpensive plasma displays look washed out. You'll pay more for higher contrast and resolution, but if you can't afford to splurge for both, a high-contrast, low-resolution picture will usually appear to have more detail and better color saturation than a low-contrast, high-resolution image. Look for a contrast ratio of 1500:1 rather than 800:1. Contrast-ratio specifications are often exaggerated, however, so try to look at a display before you buy it, bearing in mind that display controls and signal quality strongly influence the quality of the image.
Almost all plasma displays are wide-screen units with a 16:9 aspect ratio. Like CRTs, they use phosphors to generate light, which means that phosphor burn-in can be an issue if you watch a lot of TV or play games in a narrower 4:3 aspect ratio. (Burn-in produces lingering, permanent or semipermanent ghosts of static images that have been displayed for long periods of time.) Stretch modes, which allow any image to fill the screen, can help (at the expense of distorting the picture somewhat); and many plasma displays now come with other features designed to prevent burn-in. Also, you can substantially reduce the risk of burn-in (and extend display life) by using moderate brightness and contrast control settings; you don't have to max out today's high-contrast panels to obtain vivid pictures.
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