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In Reply to: Re: Saw some plasmas at Best Buy a few weeks ago... posted by Kal Rubinson on December 29, 2004 at 08:05:13:
the following article is very interesting reading (see link)-I found this part of the article most useful-
"With flat-panel monitors, we can force light from a cold-cathode light source (such as a fluorescent lamp) through a light shutter (AM LCDs) made up of pixels coated with tiny precision filters and get our color images that way. Or, we can discharge electricity through pixels filled with a rare gas mixture (plasma) and watch as color phosphors are stimulated to produce RGB color imaging.
In the old days, color imaging was accomplished by tickling phosphors with an electron gun. Surprisingly, this system produced (and continues to produce) the most lifelike images of all, which is why a small number of high-end customers still prefer CRT front projectors for home-theater applications.
That's because CRTs are capable of a wide grayscale and can show images with very low luminance levels (shadow detail) as well as very high luminance levels (highlights) in the same scene. More importantly, when a CRT is idling, it is essentially shut off. I mean really shut off, as in black and not a deep gray, as you'll see with LCD, DLP, and LCoS projectors, and AM LCD and plasma monitors.
While there have been tremendous advances in color imaging with flat-panel displays, one stumbling block still remains. And that's the ability (or inability) to show a grayscale with the widest possible dynamic range."
Note that I never said that plasmas have a terrible picture or anything like that, only that they have a reduced grayscale compared with CRT (I incorrectly called it "contrast", as the article points out). That means that you can't see the blackest blacks or the whitest whites on a plasma, which is why I prefer CRT for critical viewing.
BTW, when discrete three-chip DLPs are avaiable at a reasonable price in home units, you can bet that I'll be the first kid on my block to get one.
Follow Ups:
further on in the article, Mr Putman says that there is one brand of plasma (Panasonic) whose black level and grayscale, when calibrated, approach that of a good CRT display (i.e., Mr Putnam's reference Princton CRT). I can't say that I've ever seen that brand, so perhaps there is indeed one plasma out there worthy of consideration.However, I'm still not convinced that plasma is as good a value as my Sony KP-57WS510, which I purchased a year ago for less than two grand delivered.
First, Putman is correct that the Panasonic glass does, indeed, have contrast superior to other plasma glass and, in fact, the 50" Fujitsu I have uses said Panasonic glass with superior signal processing. Performance is excellent.Second, there's no way to accommodate such a large-screen display in my room unless it is flat (plasma or LCD) or front projection. RPTVs and direct-view CRTs take up too much space and prevent me from arranging my speakers correctly.
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