Flat Screens to Go

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Welcome to the first annual Plasma and LCD Buyers Guide! The marketfor flat-screen video and computer displays kind of snuck up oneveryone, distracted as we were with microportable projectors, DLP, andLCoS imaging, quad lamp arrays, and projector networking.

But make no mistake — there is a growing interest in flat,self-contained video/data monitors, particularly in locations whereprojectors just aren't appropriate. A large number of older CRT-basedvideo and data monitors are reaching the end of their useful lives, andflat-screen imaging monitors will be replacing the vast majority ofthem.

With that in mind, I thought it was time to gather as many models aspossible into one master listing. In this article, you'll find I havebroken down the plasma and LCD monitor market into five segments— 10in. to 14in. displays, 15in. to 19in. displays, 20in. to30in. displays, 31in. to 46in. displays, and 50in. to 63in. displays.Within each segment, products are further categorized by aspect ratioand screen size. Manufacturers within a category are arrangedalphabetically, and I also listed the screen sizes in ascending orderso you can quickly sort them out.

Note that this guide is intended to be current as of Aug. 1. Thismeans that some models will just be coming to market, while others maybe on their way out. In some cases, replacement models from onemanufacturer are listed along with current models. Always check withyour dealer to be certain.

I provided several fields of data in an attempt to condense andsimplify the manufacturers' published specifications. But there arecaveats (aren't there always?) to the data fields.

For one thing, the MSRPs shown may or may not include a supportstand. Many of the smaller LCD panels — and some plasma models,too — come with support legs or stands as a stock item. Zenith's30in. LCD monitor and Pioneer's 43in. and 50in. panels come tomind.

Other models, such as Sony's 32in. and 42in. plasma monitors, offera support stand as an accessory. To the best of my knowledge, theprices shown do not include accessory stands, nor do they includespeakers — an option on most of the products listed, except whereI have noted otherwise.

Under the Imaging Matrix column, you'll see a number that representsthe native pixel resolution of the LCD or plasma monitor. The notation“NS” stands for non-square pixels, which are found on the32in. and 42in. ALiS panels (Sony, Sanyo, Fujitsu, and Philips) as wellas some of the 42in. and 43in. widescreen plasma monitors from Pioneer,Panasonic, and NEC.

Signal compatibility is listed for interlaced video(NTSC/PAL/SECAM), computer standard rates (VGA, SVGA, etc.) and DTVstandard rates (480p, 720p, and 1080i). In some cases, manufacturersprovided additional information on compatibility with NTSC 4.43, 575i,1080p/24sf, etc. I have noted these in the tables, but your particularmodel may also support these formats. Again, your dealer will have themost up-to-date spec sheets.

I'd also like to take a moment to thank all of the product managers,marketing managers, and press relations people who sorted through andorganized this data for me, then followed up with a double-check foraccuracy. They really came through in a big way, and the amount ofdetail in this guide is largely due to their efforts.

At one time, the 10in. to 14in. monitor category was pretty crowded.That was back in the days when VGA (640×480) active matrixliquid-crystal display (AM-LCD) panels were standard and SVGA was anexotic novelty. Today, XGA (1024×768) is so commonplace that mostmanufacturers have abandoned this category for bigger screens. The loneholdouts are Sharp and Zenith, and both of their panels are essentiallyNTSC TV sets for small places.

You can get a bit bigger, too. Pioneer offers the 43in. PDP-433CMXwith 1024×768 non-square resolution, and BenQ and Optoma have46in. 852×480 glass in their catalogs. According to one source,this unusual size is based on an older Mitsubishi design (yes, theyused to be in the plasma biz, too) which is now being manufactured inTaiwan.

The Rainbow Displays tiled LCD panel is a bit of an oddity. It'scurrently the largest AM-LCD monitor of any kind, and has wide VGA(852×480 pixel) native resolution. Rainbow touts it as a betteralternative to plasma, and it certainly won't be susceptible to burn-inat high brightness levels. However, it could be a bit too expensive— $10,000 can buy you two Panasonic 37in. plasma monitors or twoDaewoo/ViewSonic 42in. PDPs with wide VGA resolution.

This is the land of the big boys, and it might be bigger still ifSamsung had officially rolled out its 63in. model in time for thisbuyers guide. Fifty inches is one of the “sweet spot” sizesfor plasma in my opinion (the other is 32in., believe it or not), andit is popular for high-end home theater as well as upscale conferencerooms.

Accordingly, there is no shortage of models to choose from, eventhough to my knowledge, only five companies make plasma panels thisbig. There are 14 current offerings, which range from 1280×768 to1366×768 pixels (wide XGA variations). These are the only true HDplasma panels, as they can capture the full resolution of a1280×720p signal without compression or decimation.

Among this group are economy models from Optoma and View-Sonic, thefirst to break the $10,000 MSRP barrier and thus hit $200 per inch.Both the Sony and Panasonic panels claim compatibility with 1808p/24sf(segmented frame) for post-production work, but you may find that otherpanels in this grouping also support that format.

The 60in. and 61in. fields are a bit less crowded. Right now, theonly 60in. glass on the market comes from LG, and it also appears inwholly-owned subsidiary Zenith's two 60in. offerings. Sixty-one-inchglass all comes from the NEC factory in Japan, and is OEMed by numerouscompanies. These panels are big and aren't cheap, although I expect60in. and 61in. plasma prices to fall to about $15,000 by year'send.

To comment on this article, email the Video Systems editorialstaff at vsfeedback@primediabusiness.com.