Break that piggy bank and whip out your wallet, Christmas 2006 is going to be one of the most expensive holidays yet. Retailers have been running ads aiming to push their highest priced items out the door. Some of the commercials I've seen are geared toward consumers that like to get the biggest "WOW" factor from someone, or "You're the greatest dad in the whole wide world," or "Honey, this is the best present ever!"

So, what's the easiest way to WOW someone? Get them a 60" big screen TV. The price on television sets had dropped significantly within the last year due to competition and new technologies. Rear-Projection TV is nearly a thing of the past. If you're shopping for a TV, you need to know the difference between LCD and Plasma. Both of these television sets can look similar and are available in a flat panel to be hung on your walls, but the technology behind it is completely different. Here are the pros and cons between the two contenders:

LCD Televisions

Cons:
•  Expensive for their size: LCD HDTVs typically cost more, per inch, than plasmas.
•  Poor reproduction of blacks: Black images are among the hardest for most TVs to reproduce. LCD TVs tend to produce grays, not blacks.
•  Limited viewing angle: Resolution tends to become unclear when watching from the sides. Most LCD HDTVs have viewing angles listed in their specifications.
•  Limited brightness: LCD displays are not as bright as CRT and plasma TVs - this could be a factor in a brightly lit room.

Plasma Televisions

Pros:
•  Excellent brightness: Plasma brightness is evenly bright across the entire screen.
•  Progressive by nature: All the pixels on the screen light up simultaneously. You can have progressive HDTV sources (such as 720p) and non-HDTV sources (such as progressive-scan DVD players) displayed to full advantage on a plasma HDTV.
•  A wider viewing angle: Plasma displays have a good picture even when you're viewing from the sides.

Cons:
•  Susceptible to burn-in: Any system that uses a phosphor screen to display video can fall victim to phosphor burn-in (Ghosting of images like the NBC logo that always show up on the bottom right corner of the screen.)
•  Shorter lifespan: Any phosphor-based display systems eventually "wear out" or lose their brightness. This is a subtle and slow process, but it inevitably will happen.
•  Less-than-perfect color reproduction: Although plasma displays can produce a breathtaking array of colors, a lot of sets have the unfortunate tendency to make red colors look more orange than true red.
•  Poor reproduction of black: Most plasma does slightly better job than LCD TVs at black reproduction, but they still fall short of traditional CRTs and some projection systems.

A big screen TV isn't so much fun if you don't purchase the accessories to go with it. Metaphorically speaking, you don't go to Cedar Point and not get on their heart-pumping roller coaster rides, and you certainly wouldn't leave Las Vegas without taking pictures with Elvis Presley. So why not pick up a Playstation 3, an Xbox 360, or the new Nintendo Wii while you're in a shopping frenzy? Each of these systems has their strengths and weaknesses. The Xbox360 had been on the market for a year and had created a large online gaming community if you enjoy playing against other online players for a yearly fee. The Playstation 3 was recently released with a few games and a smaller online gaming community. Playstation 3 is a bit pricier, but some of the ad-ons that would have to be purchased separately on the Xbox360 come standard with the Playstation 3. Of these three systems, the Nintendo Wii has a friendlier price tag, but the performance will match what you've paid.

Playstation 3 has the potential to exceed the performance of Xbox360. However, we won't see it shine until game developers make use of the blue-ray disc format which will be the successor to the DVD. Overall, if you're looking for something with lots of game titles and a strong online community, go for the Xbox360. It'll take a year before the Playstation 3 catches on and by that time, you'll probably be tired of the Xbox360 and ready to invest in another system. The Nintendo Wii will have the most family friendly games and would make a nice gift without breaking your budget.

For any reason, if these gift ideas do not generate the WOWs that you expected and your spouse gets angry with you for spending the family's savings on a big screen TV and some overpriced video-game system, I would recommend purchasing a nice Lexus GX470 with a big red bow on top and have it delivered to your driveway by Christmas morning addressed to your spouse's name. That usually works out nicely except for the one left holding the bill. I and Micro Visions will not be held responsible for the advice contained herein and therefore shall be exempt from any legal or domestic issues that might arise from spending your money accordingly. If you have any questions, give me a call at 616-776-0400. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Micro Visions!