- LCD vs. Plasma TVs
- CR Quick Recommendations
- Ratings
- Features
- Important features
- Complete features glossary
- Repairs & reliability
- How to choose
- HDTV types
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Important features Plasma TVs
Plasma TVs have all the usual features you expect on a higher-priced television. Like most new HDTVs, they have 16:9 wide screens. Because some TV content is still formatted for the more squarish 4:3 screen, HDTV sets have stretch and zoom modes that expand or compress an image to fill the screen better. This helps to reduce the dark bands that can appear on the sides or top and bottom of images if you watch content that isn't formatted for a wide screen.
(The picture might be distorted or cut off a bit in the process of stretching or zooming.) A film-mode feature improves the appearance of movies converted from film to video, including the majority of cinematic movies on DVD and some movies broadcast on cable, satellite, or over the air. This feature is also called 3:2 pull-down, motion compensation, or brand-specific names such as CineMotion and Film Mode.
It helps compensate for the difference in frame rates between film (24 frames per second) and video (30 frames per second) so moving images look less jerky and jagged around the edges. Progressive-scan DVD players have this feature as well. When watching DVDs, try enabling that feature first on the DVD player and then on the TV, and use whichever makes the images look smoother.
All TVs have menus with settings that enable you to adjust the video, audio, and more. With more sources for video available all the time, it's handy to have a feature that allows you to customize settings for each input, such as the one you routinely use for your cable box or DVD player. For example, you might want sharpness set to its lowest level when watching high-quality DVDs routed through the HDMI input, but a higher sharpness setting to improve standard-definition programs coming in through the component-video input.
CableCard slots on a small number of HDTVs let you use a card, provided by the cable company for a small rental fee, instead of a cable box. When the card is inserted, the TV can receive scrambled digital cable content, including high-definition programming. This eliminates the need for an extra piece of equipment and cables, but there is a downside. Current CableCards are one-way, so they don't provide an interactive program guide or video-on-demand and pay-per-view ordering. But some TVs have a built-in program guide, such as TV Guide On Screen, that displays eight days of programming in a searchable, interactive format.
Picture-in-picture (PIP) lets you watch two channels at once, one in a small box, the other a full-screen image. It's useful if you want to browse the onscreen guide while you're watching a program, or keep track of a sports event while another program is playing.
A single-tuner TV requires another device with a tuner, such as a VCR or cable box, to display two programs at once; dual-tuner models can display two programs simultaneously.
One of the most important points to consider with any TV is the number and type of inputs it has. There are several types that can handle high-definition signals: HDMI, DVI, component-video, and RF (antenna/cable).
HDMI and DVI inputs provide a digital connection to devices such as DVD players, digital-cable boxes, and satellite receivers. HDMI carries audio and video on one cable. DVI carries only video and must be used with separate audio cables; they are much less common than HDMI. The digital-to-digital connection might enhance picture quality, though that hasn't always been the case in our tests so far.
Component-video inputs are analog; they use red, green, and blue RCA jacks to carry the video and must be used with separate audio cables. Most new TVs have two component-video and two HDMI inputs; some have three or four HDMI inputs. The RF input can be used to get digital signals, including HD, from an off-air antenna.
Other analog inputs on new TVs include composite-video and S-video, which are used mostly for equipment such as VCRs. Inputs on the front or side of a set are more easily accessible than those in the rear, but are more visible.
Some plasma sets have a memory-card slot. This enables you to view still photos or videos from a digital camera. You can connect a camera or camcorder directly to the TV if it has a PictBridge, USB, or IEEE 1394/Firewire input. A VGA input lets a TV accept signals from virtually any computer; DVI inputs are compatible mostly with newer midrange computers.
A headphone jack is handy if you want to listen to TV without disturbing others. An illuminated remote is handy in a dim setting. Backlighted keys are preferred because glow-in-the-dark buttons often fade quickly.
Plasmas also have features more specific to this type of TV. Some have screensaver-type features to prevent burn-in from static images. On some models, the speakers are on both sides of the screen; on others, they're below the screen, or they can be removed and placed elsewhere. That affects the width of the set and could determine whether it will fit into an entertainment center. A few models have no speakers; they have to be used with an audio system to get sound.
Plasma TVs have all the usual features you expect on a higher-priced television. Like most new HDTVs, they have 16:9 wide screens. Because some TV content is still formatted for the more squarish 4:3 screen, HDTV sets have stretch and zoom modes that expand or compress an image to fill the screen better. This helps to reduce the dark bands that can appear on the sides or top and bottom of images if you watch content that isn't formatted for a wide screen.
(The picture might be distorted or cut off a bit in the process of stretching or zooming.) A film-mode feature improves the appearance of movies converted from film to video, including the majority of cinematic movies on DVD and some movies broadcast on cable, satellite, or over the air. This feature is also called 3:2 pull-down, motion compensation, or brand-specific names such as CineMotion and Film Mode.
It helps compensate for the difference in frame rates between film (24 frames per second) and video (30 frames per second) so moving images look less jerky and jagged around the edges. Progressive-scan DVD players have this feature as well. When watching DVDs, try enabling that feature first on the DVD player and then on the TV, and use whichever makes the images look smoother.
All TVs have menus with settings that enable you to adjust the video, audio, and more. With more sources for video available all the time, it's handy to have a feature that allows you to customize settings for each input, such as the one you routinely use for your cable box or DVD player. For example, you might want sharpness set to its lowest level when watching high-quality DVDs routed through the HDMI input, but a higher sharpness setting to improve standard-definition programs coming in through the component-video input.
CableCard slots on a small number of HDTVs let you use a card, provided by the cable company for a small rental fee, instead of a cable box. When the card is inserted, the TV can receive scrambled digital cable content, including high-definition programming. This eliminates the need for an extra piece of equipment and cables, but there is a downside. Current CableCards are one-way, so they don't provide an interactive program guide or video-on-demand and pay-per-view ordering. But some TVs have a built-in program guide, such as TV Guide On Screen, that displays eight days of programming in a searchable, interactive format.
Picture-in-picture (PIP) lets you watch two channels at once, one in a small box, the other a full-screen image. It's useful if you want to browse the onscreen guide while you're watching a program, or keep track of a sports event while another program is playing.
A single-tuner TV requires another device with a tuner, such as a VCR or cable box, to display two programs at once; dual-tuner models can display two programs simultaneously.
One of the most important points to consider with any TV is the number and type of inputs it has. There are several types that can handle high-definition signals: HDMI, DVI, component-video, and RF (antenna/cable).
HDMI and DVI inputs provide a digital connection to devices such as DVD players, digital-cable boxes, and satellite receivers. HDMI carries audio and video on one cable. DVI carries only video and must be used with separate audio cables; they are much less common than HDMI. The digital-to-digital connection might enhance picture quality, though that hasn't always been the case in our tests so far.
Component-video inputs are analog; they use red, green, and blue RCA jacks to carry the video and must be used with separate audio cables. Most new TVs have two component-video and two HDMI inputs; some have three or four HDMI inputs. The RF input can be used to get digital signals, including HD, from an off-air antenna.
Other analog inputs on new TVs include composite-video and S-video, which are used mostly for equipment such as VCRs. Inputs on the front or side of a set are more easily accessible than those in the rear, but are more visible.
Some plasma sets have a memory-card slot. This enables you to view still photos or videos from a digital camera. You can connect a camera or camcorder directly to the TV if it has a PictBridge, USB, or IEEE 1394/Firewire input. A VGA input lets a TV accept signals from virtually any computer; DVI inputs are compatible mostly with newer midrange computers.
A headphone jack is handy if you want to listen to TV without disturbing others. An illuminated remote is handy in a dim setting. Backlighted keys are preferred because glow-in-the-dark buttons often fade quickly.
Plasmas also have features more specific to this type of TV. Some have screensaver-type features to prevent burn-in from static images. On some models, the speakers are on both sides of the screen; on others, they're below the screen, or they can be removed and placed elsewhere. That affects the width of the set and could determine whether it will fit into an entertainment center. A few models have no speakers; they have to be used with an audio system to get sound.
