Sampo 42-inch Flat Plasma Monitor
September 2001
Import Technology at a Domestic Price Tag
by Grant Clauser
Plasma TVs, the thin, flat TVs that can be hung on walls like picture frames, are about the coolest-looking high-tech home theater product to come along in years. But if you think they're only available to the grossly wealthy, you're wrong. Several manufacturers have progressed the technology far enough along to be able to price models at much less than the cost of a new Honda. Notable among those is Sampo, a Taiwan-based consumer electronics company. Well-known in its own hood, Sampo has recently begun exporting its high-tech lifestyle to the U.S.
The product we were lucky enough to get our hands on was the 42-inch PME-42V3 widescreen monitor that slides in at under $9,000. Framed in a smoky gray with a slim base, the 6-inch-deep monitor weights in at only 83 pounds, about 100 pounds lighter than a rear-projection CRT TV of the same size.
Plasma display monitors have gained a lot of popularity primarily due to their flexibility. Their thin size and lightweight construction allow for creative placement in the home or business. Wall mounting is popular with plasmas, but they look equally at home on a small table or custom-designed stand. Plasma is also application-flexible. Though home theaters are where most people make use of them, they also can be used as PC monitors for multimedia applications and presentations. And, of course, video games are great on a big screen. Plasmas are becoming very popular with TV stations. Virtually any newscaster, weather reporter or talk-show host can be seen with a plasma monitor behind his or her shoulder.
Plasma monitor technology is a far leap from traditional TVs. Instead of one large cathode ray beaming electrons on a phosphor screen, plasma monitors are covered with many small cells (in this case 852 x 480) which make up the pixels of an image. In each cell are gases which, when excited, light up red, green and blue phosphors. By varying the intensity of the gases behind the phosphors, different brightness and colors can be created. Because the glowing phosphor itself creates the light, no backlighting is required as in LCD displays. Also, they have a much wider viewing angle than rear projection TVs.
The Sampo PME-42V3 monitor includes a good assortment of connections for home and business uses. For video, there's S-Video, composite and a set of component inputs (Y, Pb, Br) in the form of BNC connections. A three-jack component cable with RCA jacks on one end and BNC on the other is supplied, so you won't have to hunt for a DVD player with BNC connections. Horizontal- and vertical-sync BNC jacks are also provided next to the component jacks in case you want to hook it up via RGB/HV. An RGB connection goes out to a PC. A USB port and an RS-232 verify that this display was designed with a computer in mind. Finally, a Digital Video Interface (DVI) connection is included, though I can't think of much currently available to hook up there. The inclusion is interesting and may help to future-proof the monitor if DVI becomes accepted as the de facto standard of digital TV connection. Audio inputs for each video input power the built-in rear speakers. The speakers aren't visible from the front, a nice touch since most people should opt to use their own speakers and A/V receiver anyway for better sound.
by Grant Clauser
Plasma TVs, the thin, flat TVs that can be hung on walls like picture frames, are about the coolest-looking high-tech home theater product to come along in years. But if you think they're only available to the grossly wealthy, you're wrong. Several manufacturers have progressed the technology far enough along to be able to price models at much less than the cost of a new Honda. Notable among those is Sampo, a Taiwan-based consumer electronics company. Well-known in its own hood, Sampo has recently begun exporting its high-tech lifestyle to the U.S.
The product we were lucky enough to get our hands on was the 42-inch PME-42V3 widescreen monitor that slides in at under $9,000. Framed in a smoky gray with a slim base, the 6-inch-deep monitor weights in at only 83 pounds, about 100 pounds lighter than a rear-projection CRT TV of the same size.
Plasma display monitors have gained a lot of popularity primarily due to their flexibility. Their thin size and lightweight construction allow for creative placement in the home or business. Wall mounting is popular with plasmas, but they look equally at home on a small table or custom-designed stand. Plasma is also application-flexible. Though home theaters are where most people make use of them, they also can be used as PC monitors for multimedia applications and presentations. And, of course, video games are great on a big screen. Plasmas are becoming very popular with TV stations. Virtually any newscaster, weather reporter or talk-show host can be seen with a plasma monitor behind his or her shoulder.
Plasma monitor technology is a far leap from traditional TVs. Instead of one large cathode ray beaming electrons on a phosphor screen, plasma monitors are covered with many small cells (in this case 852 x 480) which make up the pixels of an image. In each cell are gases which, when excited, light up red, green and blue phosphors. By varying the intensity of the gases behind the phosphors, different brightness and colors can be created. Because the glowing phosphor itself creates the light, no backlighting is required as in LCD displays. Also, they have a much wider viewing angle than rear projection TVs.
The Sampo PME-42V3 monitor includes a good assortment of connections for home and business uses. For video, there's S-Video, composite and a set of component inputs (Y, Pb, Br) in the form of BNC connections. A three-jack component cable with RCA jacks on one end and BNC on the other is supplied, so you won't have to hunt for a DVD player with BNC connections. Horizontal- and vertical-sync BNC jacks are also provided next to the component jacks in case you want to hook it up via RGB/HV. An RGB connection goes out to a PC. A USB port and an RS-232 verify that this display was designed with a computer in mind. Finally, a Digital Video Interface (DVI) connection is included, though I can't think of much currently available to hook up there. The inclusion is interesting and may help to future-proof the monitor if DVI becomes accepted as the de facto standard of digital TV connection. Audio inputs for each video input power the built-in rear speakers. The speakers aren't visible from the front, a nice touch since most people should opt to use their own speakers and A/V receiver anyway for better sound.
