Post by dkennedy on Mar 25, 2005 9:10:39 GMT -5
The Clicker: Plasma TVs
Posted Mar 24, 2005, 8:20 PM ET by Peter Rojas
Every Thursday Stephen Speicher contributes The Clicker, a weekly column on television and technology:
LG Plasma TV
As my father trained his trusty Red Rider on his arch nemesis, the raccoon, he dreamt of a trash-day without the unpleasant chore of recollecting the family’s scattered refuse from the lawn. Having been assured that the pellet wouldn’t kill the little vermin and that shooting it would only cause it to seek a new trash venue, he was quite comfortable with his decision to sting the critter.
The raccoon began to move left to right and so too did the barrel of my father’s “gun.” My father tracked the nasty critter with the skill of a marksman. Finally it was time. Slowly and between heartbeats he gently squeezed the trigger. The compressed air let loose and spit the small pellet towards the wily beast. “TING!” Ting? He had just heard the all-to-familiar sound of a BB hitting metal. He bowed his head in disbelief. “Oh no – not again,” he thought.
His suspicions were confirmed. The great hunter had not, in fact, shot the raccoon. Instead, for the second time in 7 days, he had shot his brand-new sports car. I, being young and clueless, laughed and laughed. My father took a deep breath and with an insight that could only come from a man who had twice shot his own Porsche said, “I own the car. The car doesn’t own me!”
This is the story that comes to mind every time that I think of plasma TVs. Well… not the story as much as the lesson learned; you own your material goods, however ridiculously expensive they may be — the objects don’t own you.
Therein lies the rub with plasma. There is no doubt that plasma TVs deliver an image that says “WOW.” And, without intending to open a huge debate over the “look of film vs. video”, I love that bright vivid image. However, every time my eyes wander towards plasma, my head screams “BURN-IN.” Oh it’s true that manufacturers have made strides in that department. The newest plasmas are less susceptible to burn-in issues.
So why does it happen? Much like with CRTs it’s the phosphors that cause the burn-in. Let’s take a look:
While the technology that powers the phosphors in CRTs and plasmas might be different, the end result is still the same – that image that you see from a plasma TV is the result of a special coating of phosphors being lit.
With CRTs we saw that an electron gun shot a ray onto the inside of the tube. Plasma TVs, on the other hand, are broken down into tiny little flat cells where the number of cells corresponds to three times the number of pixels on the TV, one cell for each color component (red, green, or blue) of the pixel.
So where does the plasma come in?
Fear not – plasma TVs do, in fact, use gas. In each of those cells you will find plasma (xenon and neon). Electricity is used to cause collisions within the cells. These collisions cause light photons to be released. Unfortunately, the light photons aren’t visible to the human eye. Here is where the phosphors come into play. The light photons from the collisions pulse to excite the phosphors which coat the cell. When the phosphors return to an unexcited state they produce visible light. By controlling how quickly the phosphors are pulsed (much like the DLP mirrors), the TV controls how brightly each cell is lit. This happens for each of the sub-pixels. The mind then blends the three cells together to form one properly lit pixel.
So why is there burn-in?
The problem is that the phosphors, over time, will begin to fade and develop a “memory.” This means that if you continually pulse the same cells (without pulsing others in approximately the same way), your TV will begin to have images that are always there. For instance, nearly all plasma TVs are widescreen. However, the majority of programming these days is still 4:3. Suddenly you’re presented with Sophie’s choice. Do you watch all your standard def shows in the land of fat people? Or do you risk killing your TV? How long can you play the same video game without risking a permanent “Health Status” bar?
My paranoia notwithstanding, is burn-in really the problem that it once was?
Well, it certainly doesn’t happen as often as it once did. This is true for a variety of reasons. First, both consumers and manufacturers are much better informed than they once were. Consumers are generally aware that pausing their TiVos and leaving for a Vegas weekend would be a bad thing. (In that case what happened on your TV would stay on your TV.) Set-top box and game console manufacturers have also become more conscientious about using screen-savers. For instance, the Xbox will auto-dim the screen after a set amount of time.
Additionally, manufacturers are continually improving phosphor technology. By introducing more stable phosphors, the life-spans of plasmas are increasing and burn-in is becoming less of a concern.
So why should people buy plasma TVs?
That’s simple: they look great and they’re thin. If you like an ultra-vivid display, plasma will make your jaw drop. View it from just about any angle and it’s still going to sing. There is also no denying that it’s sexy. It’s sleek. It’s hip, and if you’re looking for something in the 42-inch range, it’s reasonably priced.
Why shouldn’t people buy plasma TVs?
There are three main reasons why people resist plasmas. First, large plasmas 50-inch, 60-inch, etc. can be quite expensive compared to projection based technologies where adding size is relatively inexpensive. Second, some people don’t want to think about how they should be treating their TVs. Finally, purists can find the picture a bit garish.
The most important thing to remember, though, is that there are two types of people in this world: those who can afford 60-inch plasma TVs and those who criticize them for their “dangerous burn-in”!
Until next week – save my seat!
Posted Mar 24, 2005, 8:20 PM ET by Peter Rojas
Every Thursday Stephen Speicher contributes The Clicker, a weekly column on television and technology:
LG Plasma TV
As my father trained his trusty Red Rider on his arch nemesis, the raccoon, he dreamt of a trash-day without the unpleasant chore of recollecting the family’s scattered refuse from the lawn. Having been assured that the pellet wouldn’t kill the little vermin and that shooting it would only cause it to seek a new trash venue, he was quite comfortable with his decision to sting the critter.
The raccoon began to move left to right and so too did the barrel of my father’s “gun.” My father tracked the nasty critter with the skill of a marksman. Finally it was time. Slowly and between heartbeats he gently squeezed the trigger. The compressed air let loose and spit the small pellet towards the wily beast. “TING!” Ting? He had just heard the all-to-familiar sound of a BB hitting metal. He bowed his head in disbelief. “Oh no – not again,” he thought.
His suspicions were confirmed. The great hunter had not, in fact, shot the raccoon. Instead, for the second time in 7 days, he had shot his brand-new sports car. I, being young and clueless, laughed and laughed. My father took a deep breath and with an insight that could only come from a man who had twice shot his own Porsche said, “I own the car. The car doesn’t own me!”
This is the story that comes to mind every time that I think of plasma TVs. Well… not the story as much as the lesson learned; you own your material goods, however ridiculously expensive they may be — the objects don’t own you.
Therein lies the rub with plasma. There is no doubt that plasma TVs deliver an image that says “WOW.” And, without intending to open a huge debate over the “look of film vs. video”, I love that bright vivid image. However, every time my eyes wander towards plasma, my head screams “BURN-IN.” Oh it’s true that manufacturers have made strides in that department. The newest plasmas are less susceptible to burn-in issues.
So why does it happen? Much like with CRTs it’s the phosphors that cause the burn-in. Let’s take a look:
While the technology that powers the phosphors in CRTs and plasmas might be different, the end result is still the same – that image that you see from a plasma TV is the result of a special coating of phosphors being lit.
With CRTs we saw that an electron gun shot a ray onto the inside of the tube. Plasma TVs, on the other hand, are broken down into tiny little flat cells where the number of cells corresponds to three times the number of pixels on the TV, one cell for each color component (red, green, or blue) of the pixel.
So where does the plasma come in?
Fear not – plasma TVs do, in fact, use gas. In each of those cells you will find plasma (xenon and neon). Electricity is used to cause collisions within the cells. These collisions cause light photons to be released. Unfortunately, the light photons aren’t visible to the human eye. Here is where the phosphors come into play. The light photons from the collisions pulse to excite the phosphors which coat the cell. When the phosphors return to an unexcited state they produce visible light. By controlling how quickly the phosphors are pulsed (much like the DLP mirrors), the TV controls how brightly each cell is lit. This happens for each of the sub-pixels. The mind then blends the three cells together to form one properly lit pixel.
So why is there burn-in?
The problem is that the phosphors, over time, will begin to fade and develop a “memory.” This means that if you continually pulse the same cells (without pulsing others in approximately the same way), your TV will begin to have images that are always there. For instance, nearly all plasma TVs are widescreen. However, the majority of programming these days is still 4:3. Suddenly you’re presented with Sophie’s choice. Do you watch all your standard def shows in the land of fat people? Or do you risk killing your TV? How long can you play the same video game without risking a permanent “Health Status” bar?
My paranoia notwithstanding, is burn-in really the problem that it once was?
Well, it certainly doesn’t happen as often as it once did. This is true for a variety of reasons. First, both consumers and manufacturers are much better informed than they once were. Consumers are generally aware that pausing their TiVos and leaving for a Vegas weekend would be a bad thing. (In that case what happened on your TV would stay on your TV.) Set-top box and game console manufacturers have also become more conscientious about using screen-savers. For instance, the Xbox will auto-dim the screen after a set amount of time.
Additionally, manufacturers are continually improving phosphor technology. By introducing more stable phosphors, the life-spans of plasmas are increasing and burn-in is becoming less of a concern.
So why should people buy plasma TVs?
That’s simple: they look great and they’re thin. If you like an ultra-vivid display, plasma will make your jaw drop. View it from just about any angle and it’s still going to sing. There is also no denying that it’s sexy. It’s sleek. It’s hip, and if you’re looking for something in the 42-inch range, it’s reasonably priced.
Why shouldn’t people buy plasma TVs?
There are three main reasons why people resist plasmas. First, large plasmas 50-inch, 60-inch, etc. can be quite expensive compared to projection based technologies where adding size is relatively inexpensive. Second, some people don’t want to think about how they should be treating their TVs. Finally, purists can find the picture a bit garish.
The most important thing to remember, though, is that there are two types of people in this world: those who can afford 60-inch plasma TVs and those who criticize them for their “dangerous burn-in”!
Until next week – save my seat!