Plasma faults

Although the price of plasma televisions has dropped
significantly over the past few years it is still a
somewhat expensive buy. With this in mind care should
be taken when choosing a set.

There are poorer quality sets on offer and one might
be tempted to save cash but at the expense of quality.

Some cheaper sets have fewer picture controls than
their more expensive counterparts. Whereas on the more
expensive sets you can adjust the picture color to
your exact taste, the cheaper sets have a bluish caste
whilst others had a ‘washed out’ look.

One pointer to look out for is the HDMI input. This
means that audio and video can be input on a single
cable and cuts out the clutter of trailing wires -
don’t you just hate that? Cheaper models may not have
this.

Although extremely thin - usually no more than four
inches - plasma TVs are still relatively heavy and
will probably need a technician to hang them on the
wall - or ceiling mount them. Surely this is not the
job for the amateur do-it-yourself merchant who could
end up with a very expensive mistake in pieces on the
floor!

The temptation to buy a huge screen is overwhelming
especially when confronted by the superb displays at
the store. However, note that sitting distances from
the screen are recommended by the manufacturer. The
ideal distance is about 10 to 14 feet for the 42 inch
models but of course it is up to personal taste.