In terms of home entertainment, the days of big, chunky tube televisions are becoming a distant memory. The only option now, it seems, is a slim-line flat panel TV, offering the ultimate in performance and aesthetics within the room in which it is placed.

Now that flat screen TVs monopolize the home entertainment market, the only choices really left to be made are what type of flat screen TV and which manufacturer or model to choose. When selecting the type of flat screen TV to choose, there are three main options: Plasma, LCD and LED.

Plasma televisions were the first of the three technologies to truly reach the mass market. Plasma TVs incorporate technology that sees gases trapped between two panes of glass electronically turn into plasma and emit ultraviolet light, stimulating phosphors to ultimately display light from the screen. This technology was revolutionary during its mass production in the late 1990s and spawned a huge popularity in plasma televisions that led to their dominance of the market until about 2006.

Plasma TVs, like all flat screen options, are slim and can be mounted on the wall. Plasmas are capable of producing the highest level of black levels, with excellent color reproduction and superior viewing angles compared to their LCD and LED competitors.

The nature of the technology used in plasma televisions opens it up to the potential for something known as burn-in, which is the permanent etching of images on the screen due to being displayed statically for too long. This was a major problem; particularly with early plasma TV models, although modern burn-in reduction features have lessened their impact.

Despite the initial dominance of the market, the analysis from 2006 has reflected the overtake of plasma televisions by LCD televisions.

LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) TVs use a technology that sees a complex network of millions of LCD shutters open and close to emit the correct amount of light generated by Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamps (CCFLs) that illuminate the LCD pixels. This technology is capable of producing higher resolution (1080p compared to 720p) than similarly sized plasma TVs, although the fact that some light always filters through the pixels means that LCD TVs can’t. can achieve black levels or color saturation. of your Plasma alternatives.

The rise to power of LCD TVs starting in 2006 is seen to be due in large part to a large-scale reduction in price and continued support from major manufacturers such as Sony, Samsung, and LG. Despite their lower black levels and narrower viewing angles, the higher resolution of LCD TVs has made them a force to be reckoned with in the flat-panel TV market.

Attempting to overthrow that dominance is the rise of LED (light-emitting diode) televisions. Using tiny light-emitting diodes instead of the CCFLs found in LCD TVs, LED TVs are available in conventional backlit versions as well as the latest edge-lit LED TVs.

The introduction of LED edge lighting technology has enabled the manufacture of ultra-slim line LED TV models, achieving a flat screen TV like no other on the market, with the slimmest model measuring just 29.1mm wide. .

As a latecomer to the battle for flat-panel TV supremacy, LED TVs are still offered at relatively expensive prices and are not yet available in the wide range of sizes beyond 40″ as more established plasma options. and LCDs.

However, with their advanced technology, LED TVs can produce the high black levels of plasma TVs without fear of burn-in, while outputting the high resolutions of LED TVs. Including the best aspects of Plasma and LED TVs, without their drawbacks, makes LED TVs the preferred flat screen TV choice; however, that choice will have to come at a higher price for now.