On last night’s show, Claudia from Sausalito wanted to know about plasma TV screens—what they were, and if it was too soon to buy. A good techie explanation of How Plasma Displays Work (from HowStuffWorks.com).
In my opinion though, it is too soon to buy. A better choice is either a rear-projection screen or a flat-screen TV using an LCD panel. The plasma displays have several problems that result in what I find to be an unpleasing image. First, they are not generally high-resolution—they do not provide the full HDTV resolution. Their color reproduction is also not quite as full as you will find from a CRT-based television. Many of the better LCD television screens, though, are as thin as plasma displays, but offer higher resolution and better color.