Greenly - Green Blog

At the recent 2009 Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Panasonic showed off its upcoming line of Plasma televisions that will be incorporating a new technology called Neo PDP.  This technology cuts the power consumption of plasma televisions in half.

How  Does Neo PDP Work?

Plasma TV is an “emissive” display — the panel is actually self-lighting.  The Plasma TV screen is made up of a thin layer of pixels.  Each pixel is made up of 3 gas-filled sub-pixels, one for red, green and blue.  When an electric current is sent to each sub-pixel, the gas inside (mixture of neon and xenon) ionizes, turning to plasma.  This plasma emits high-frequency UV rays, which stimulate the pixel’s phosphors, making them glow the desired color.

Neo PDP technology increases the luminous efficiency of plasma televisions, meaning it takes less electric current to cause that gas inside the pixels to ionize and turn into plasma.

Panasonic's new Neo PDP Plasma TV's are an insanely thin 0.33" and use 50% less energy

The team at Panasonic says they were able to come up with this greenovation by doing 3 things:

1. Developed new materials for the luminescent substance
2. Developed a new cell design technology that augments discharge efficiency
3. Developed a new drive technology that would significantly reduce current power transmission loss

Panasonic Neo PDP Plasma In The Wild

To see video of the actual new plasma sets in the wild, check out this video below from the CES show floor.  Gives a great sense of just how thin these TV’s really will be.  The true picture frame TV may finally arrive in 2009 —and cut your energy bill in half at the same time!