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It's hard to believe that it has been six years since I conducted the first Video Systems Plasma Roundup. During that time, there have been tremendous changes in technology and price. Consider that in 1997: the typical 42in. plasma cost anywhere from $10,000 to $15,000; only two companies were even showing 50in. plasma (one has since left the business); 60in. and larger plasma was a pipe dream; large TFT LCD monitors didn't exist; support for HDTV rates was nearly nonexistent; and DVI was just a "paper" standard.
Today, plasma monitors are everywhere and have even created a new business opportunity - digital signage. Prices have plummeted due to oversupply and a recession, and there are more companies privately labeling plasma screens than you can shake a stick at.
More important, TFT LCD monitors are coming into their own with the 30in. barrier broken in 2001 and the 40in. barrier demolished last fall. That means you will have two different technologies to choose from in screen sizes up to 42in. But that doesn't mean that LCD and plasma performance will be equal when all things are considered.
For this year's roundup, I received five plasma monitors, two of which were actually integrated plasma TVs with NTSC tuners. None of them has a screen size larger than 46in., and three entrants featured Wide VGA (852480) pixel resolution, a category where there have been dramatic price drops of late. In the LCD arena, I had a single high-resolution TFT LCD panel.
In a new twist, I finally upgraded my desktop PC to include an nVidia GeForce4 display card, which allows me to send out both analog RGB and DVI signals at the same time. Five of the displays in this review came equipped with DVI inputs, and I was anxious to see how each monitor would support standard DVI scan rates. I also tested these panels for compatibility with DTV (480p, 720p, and 1080i) signals connected through the DVI port.
Surveying the field
The smallest monitor in the roundup was Philips' 32FD9954 ($4,499), a 32in. widescreen plasma design. This compact monitor also works as an integrated TV by adding the FTR9964 A/V switcher, which incorporates an NTSC tuner and a bunch of switches for video and audio...