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Plasma is injecting new life into the way that we watch TV. The term “plasma” was once restricted to a description of blood cells and ionized gases. Today, “plasma” is the stuff that seems to give modern television a life of its own.

The television industry has evolved at an alarming rate over the past fifty years. Television sets have morphed from small screens with rabbit-ear antennas, to wall-sized flat screens. The media has grown as well, taking North American viewers from three main networks to countless satellite programming choices.

Buying a television used to be as simple as choosing from a few models at the local department store. Today, viewers are faced with many factors in choosing a new set. There are analog and digital sets. Some are HDTV ready while others are simply HDTV enabled. Screens can be plasma or LCD, true flat or virtual flat. The decision can be so overwhelming that it’s necessary to educate yourself about the basic elements present in modern day television sets.

Analog Television

Analog is the type of television signal that has been used over the past fifty years. Using this technology, television signals were sent and received in basic analog format. While analog televisions are the least expensive to buy and can provide decent quality, there are several drawbacks. The most prominent disadvantage to using the analog format is that the television signals are able to accommodate a limited amount of data for the screen and sound. The analog signals are also easily, and often immediately, corrupted. Even still, analog systems are still the basis of the television industry, and the service will be available for years to come. So don’t worry if you have an analog set. You’ll still be able to use it, long after other formats dominate the market.

Digital Signals

Digital TV signals allow television stations to send date that is much more dense, and includes more definition. There is also less degradation of signal. This increased level of density creates a much better quality sound and picture, particularly through DVDs.

High Definition (HDTV)

Traditional digital television has paved the way for the newer standards of high definition programming. In order to provide customers with the highest level of audio and video quality, television stations should transmit high definition television (HDTV). Your TV set should be able to receive and process the HDTV signal, and display it on a high definition-enabled screen. When all of these pieces fall into place, the results are simply stunning.

Digital television and HDTV are commonplace in today’s communications industry, but viewers cannot appreciate the pristine levels of sound and picture if they use old, outdated television sets. Thanks to recent advancements including HDTV, DVD-Video, DTV, digital satellite broadcasts and computer video, our generation truly is in the midst of a digital video revolution. Plasma display technology is one more giant leap forward in modern television technology.

Plasma television screens first entered the US market in 1999, but the concept was initially developed at the University of Illinois in July 1964. These first plasma displays were no more than points of light formed in laboratory experiments, but it was this infantile technology that brought about wondrous technologies. The plasma technology quickly evolved, and by the late 1960s it had grown to the point where scientists were able to show geometric shapes. Three decades and a great deal of advancement later, science has combined high speed digital processing, materials and advanced manufacturing technology to create the full-color plasma display screens that are widely available today.

Plasma televisions have taken technological leaps and bounds ahead of other television technologies, making them the fastest-selling ‘new’ television technology on the market. Plasma television screens provide a higher resolution compared to conventional TVs, and many new plasma televisions are capable of displaying HDTV signals. In addition to superior picture quality, plasma televisions can be wall mounted, saving valuable floor space and offering a theater-like display.

Watching HDTV television programming displayed on a plasma screen really is a unique experience. In fact, it’s like you’ll be seeing your favorite movies and television programs for the very first time.