An HD plasma television is truly the ultimate home entertainment option for the television and movie aficionado. An HD plasma television produces higher quality pictures by receiving and displaying data in a digital format, and in addition, an HD plasma television contains more lines of image display, which means that of finer distinctions in color and a crisper picture.

Although these sets were prohibitively much more expensive when first introduced to the market, technological advances make some HD plasma televisions in the price range of the average consumer.

How the HD Plasma Television Combines two Related Concepts

Plasma televisions refer to televisions that replace the traditional cathode ray picture tube with a layer of gas sandwiched between two clear screens, eliminating much of the need for bulky electronics necessary to produce quality pictures on traditional television sets. The primary advantages of plasma televisions are the wide range of colors they display, as well as their thin profile (typically less than 4 inches) and the ability to be mounted to the wall.

On the other hand, plasma televisions have a limited life span, because the gas inside the screen, which produces pictures when it reacts with specific electrons, is subject to breakdown; some sources say most plasma televisions have about 60,000 viewable hours, after which point, picture quality is 50% or less of what it was when the set was put into use. Optimal viewing quality occurs for only about the first 2000 hours of viewing, and from then on quality starts to decrease.

High definition (HD) television refers to video images that are transmitted digitally, providing a sharper picture and more fine display. In order to view high definition television, you must own both an HD television and subscribe to an HD cable plan. In the very near future, all stations will be required to broadcast in HDTV and many do so now.

An HD Plasma television truly represents the ultimate combination of the two types of entertainment technology - a great output device (plasma TV set) and great input (HD television signal). Users can expect an HD plasma television to produce pictures of far superior quality than a standard set (even if that set is capable of receiving HDTV). Similarly, HD plasma television sets will also produce higher quality pictures using just standard cable; although optimal results will be obtained when both are combined, significant improvements will be perceptible by employing either just the plasma television or the set combined with HD cable.