Plasma televisions offer a crisp clear image with their fluorescent lamp technology that utilizes small cells containing electrically charged gas. They differ from LCD displays through their glass screens and deeper colors. A 42 inch plasma TV can boast deeper blacks and brighter whites than a competing LCD display which originally displayed a grey as its darkest pigment, compromising the integrity of the image. The glass material makes the TV susceptible to glair in well lit rooms, but several manufacturers, such as Panasonic, have since corrected this issue by coating the glass screen with an anti-glare material.
Many plasma TVs, such as those manufactured by Samsung, offer several input points for many types of media. They contain HD and USB ports, which allow the user to display media from devices such as cameras and external hard drives. These ports also support DVD or Blu-ray players along with a variety of other video and audio players. Plasma TVs also allow audio output through a variety of sound system speakers and are capable of accommodating a 5.1 surround system for cinema quality picture and sound.
The display settings of a plasma television are customizable. Among other settings, the picture display’s brightness and contrast settings can be manipulated. However, plasmas also offer automatically set display modes that can be set for different media types, such as watching films, which have a darker display setting or viewing an activity that requires a higher contrast, such as live programs. The display can usually be adjusted to accommodate any desired viewing specifications.