The main purpose for the innovation of the Television is to entertain the people. The technology of Television was gone through several generations after the innovation of first Cathode Ray Tube Television. The latest model of television now available in the market is called, Plasma Television (one of the famous model of HDTV) which eliminated the use of cathode ray tube to develop the picture on the screen of the television. The elimination of the cathode ray tube dramatically reduced the size of the television which gave the unique style to the plasma television.
The idea of developing a plasma technology monitors was first started in University of Illinois in 1964. In 1960’s, the University of Illinois used regular televisions as computer monitors for their in-house computer network. At that time they have televisions with cathode ray tube, which is fine for video and broadcasts but bad for displaying computer graphics. So Donald Bitzer,Gene Slottow, and Robert Willson were researched plasma displays as an alternative to the cathode-ray tube-based television sets being used. The very first prototype for a plasma display monitor was invented in July 1964 at the University of Illinois by professors Donald Bitzer and Gene Slottow, and then graduate student Robert Wilson. After that television broadcast companies invested to develop plasma television as an alternative to the cathode ray tube televisions. However, it was not until after the arrival of digital and other technologies that successful plasma televisions became possible. In the mean time, liquid crystal display television was developed which has the flat panel display. However the successful plasma television was developed finally due to the efforts of Larry Weber who developed sixty inch plasma display for Matsushita and bearing the Panasonic label with necessary resolution and thickness for HDTV [Bellis, 2007].
Working and Technology of Plasma TV:
Figure 1 [Plasma displays,2007]
The vast majority of televisions we see in homes have been build around the same technology called the cathode ray tube. In a cathode ray television a gun will be there to fire a beam of electrons (they are negatively-charged particles from a cathode) in side a large glass tube so it is called cathode ray television. The electrons from the tube are used to excite phosphor atoms along the screen, which causes the phosphor atoms to light up. Finally the image is produced on the screen by lighting up different areas of the phosphor coating with different colors at different intensities. Even though the cathode ray tube produces crisp, vibrant images they have some draw backs. The main draw back is they very bulky and the size of television increases if we increase width of the screen.
To overcome from these drawbacks the alternative flat panel plasma display was invented which have wide screens when comparing with CRT televisions, but they are 6 inches (15 cm) thick. In Plasma technology the operation of cathode ray tube is replaced by fluorescent lights to form an image. The central element of fluorescent light is plasma, a gas made up of free-flowing ions and electrons. In the normal conditions these ions and electrons are stable. After switch on the power the current across plasma region makes these particles as unstable. So collisions will occur in the plasma region to excite the gas atoms, usually xenon and neon gas is used in plasma displays. These gas atoms emit light photons when they are excited but mostly ultraviolet light photons are released from these gas atoms. Ultra violet light is invisible to human eye but it is used to excite visible light photons. In order to form an image the television lights up thousands of tiny dots (also called as pixels) based on the information in a video signal. Here each pixel is made up of three fluorescent lights a red light, a green light, and a blue light. The plasma display varies the intensities of different lights to produce different colors on the screen just like CRT television.
The main advantage of plasma display technology is that you can produce a very wide screen using extremely thin materials. And because each pixel is lit individually, the image is very bright and looks good from almost every angle. The image quality isn't quite up to the standards of the best cathode ray tube sets, but it certainly meets most people's expectations.
The biggest drawback of this technology has been the price. However, falling prices and advances in technology mean that the plasma display may soon edge out the old CRT televisions [Harris, 2007].
Personal and global impact of plasma television technology:
After I had completed my high-school I was looking to chose a major to do my under graduation in India. In the summer holidays I went to a showroom with my family members to buy a television. In the showroom I have seen different models of televisions (CRT televisions, LCD televisions and Plasma televisions with different wide screens). When I started comparing the performance of each model I found huge difference between each of them. Particularly when I had seen all televisions from different angles I found that performance of plasma is best out of them and as a young person I like the design and style of it. At that moment I realized the importance of innovation towards getting best out of each technology. Not only that I had started learning about all electronic devices, later I found that electronics field is very interesting to learn so finally I had decided to study electrical and electronics engineering for my under graduation.
We are living in a world that society and technology is changing so rapidly with new innovation. Truthfully, people always want the new things, the newest car, newest furniture, and television most importantly with the newest technology. This is the main reason for the huge success of plasma television. The plasma television is something new and a technology that has been appraised to be the future of television. A plasma television can easily change the look in a living room from old-fashioned to modern. If a person entered into a room where there is a plasma TV hang on a wall, the first thing that people can easily guess is that the owner of that house should be rich, because the Plasma televisions are not cheap and not everyone can afford in these days. So Plasma television is also included in the list of status symbols of our modern society. By having at least a piece of new technology, people feel like they have made a connection with our modern world not only that it is much more luxurious and it gives a tiny satisfaction to the people that they have not been left behind the modern technology.
The professional high quality Plasma TV displays have been designed to provide an advanced solution in the world of corporate displays, shopping malls, sports centers, airports, rail stations in fact anywhere television and data information has to be displayed clearly and reliably. The slim rounded Italian design is incredibly thin and light and includes many new features both electronically and structurally[Plasma Monitors, 2007].
Advantages of Plasma television:
When comparing the Plasma television with other televisions it has more advantages than disadvantages.
High Resolution:
Plasma television has the high resolution when comparing the conventional televisions and they are also capable of displaying full HDTV and DTV signals as well as XGA, SVGA and VGA signals from a computer. For example, a plasma display with a 1366 x 768 native resolution can display images from 1080i and 720p HDTV resolution, as well as 480i and 480p DVD video signals.
No Scan Lines
The CRT televisions use an electron beam to scan the picture tube from top to bottom at regular intervals, lighting the phosphors to create the image. With standard (NTSC) TV, visible scan lines can be seen. This problem was solved with the innovation of Plasma technology because screens have no scan lines due to the fact that each and every pixel cell has its own transistor electrode. This creates a smooth, evenly lit image across the entire surface of the display. Most current plasma displays also include built-in line doubling to improve image quality from low resolution analog video signals.
Exceptional color accuracy:
The improvement in digital video processing and Plasma panel display, televisions can display billions of colors to make bright shades which produces the realistic video. Plasma televisions are best color reproduction of any flat panel display technology and they are simply incomparable with other televisions.
Slim, Space-saving Design
The main reason for the huge success of the Plasma display monitor is its slim and Space-saving Design. They are only a few inches in depth, providing installation options never before possible. Depth is usually measured at around 3.5 inches on 42" displays and 4" for 50" screens. In addition to table stand mounting, they can be hung on a wall or from a ceiling, allowing you to enjoy big-screen impact from a component that doesn't dominate floor space. So the Plasma display monitors provide flexibility when comparing with conventional Televisions [Intoduction to Plasma Display Technology, 2007].
Disadvantages:
Compared to other television technologies, Plasma TVs do generally have a shorter life span, and there is no option to repair a burnt out tube or backlight. Most Plasma TVs have a life span of 20,000-30,000 hours based on manufacturer's estimates. The conventional displays are better in the case of brightness when comparing with plasma technology. The price also one of the factors that affect the plasma displays in the market place [The Disadvantages of Plasma Television, 2007].
Conclusion:
Plasma televisions have very less disadvantages when comparing with the other conventional televisions. Flat panel televisions are glowing in the spotlight of flat world. They are used as centerpieces in storefront windows, video game demonstration screens and miniature movie screens showing the latest blockbusters out on video. At the consumer level, they are the cat’s meow – loved for their performance and envied for their elegance. They are on the cutting edge of technology. Because of their small size, they have the capability of dominating the TV electronics market for the next generation. And, their prices are falling [Torres, 2007]. Because of these reasons I can say that Plasma televisions will replace the conventional televisions that we are seeing everywhere in the society.
