Plasma TVs are one of this year's hottest electronic products. Here's a FAQ that explains what a plasma TV is and where you can get one at the lowest price.

What is plasma TV?

A plasma TV is a television with a screen that's composed of hundreds-of-thousands of tiny gas-filled, colored cells. When electricity passes through the cells they light up and produce a TV picture.

What are the benefits of plasma TV?

The benefits of plasma TV are:

* Lifelike picture - Plasma TVs produce a picture that's so realistic you think you're watching a scene through a window.

* Slim design - Plasma TVs can be placed virtually anywhere in a room and can even be hung on a wall.

* Flat screen - Plasma TVs have a flat screen so there's none of the distortion you get with curved screen TVs.

* Large size - Plasma TVs are available in sizes ranging from 37" up to 84."

* Widescreen design - Plasma TVs are made in widescreen format so they're compatible with widescreen DVDs and HDTV.

* Side-angle viewing - Unlike projection TVs, plasma TVs can be watched from any angle without the picture fading.

* Multi-broadcastf formats - Plasma TVs are compatible with HDTV, DTV, XGA, SVGA, and VGA broadcast signals.

How long do plasma TVs last?

Older plasma TVs had a screen life of 30,000 hours or less. The newer plasma TVs have a screen life of 60,000 hours.

Where can I get a plasma TV at a cheap price?

My advice is to take a trip to your local electronics store or discount store so you can check out plasma TVs in person. Then, when you find a model you like, go online and check out prices at a comparison shopping website. These sites give you prices from various retailers for anything you can think of.

The comparison site I use gives me prices from both online and offline retailers. It also gives me expert product reviews, reviews by consumers who own the products, and even reviews of the stores that carry the products so I know if the store I'm dealing with is reputable and will give me good service.

I recently purchased a flat screen TV through one of the retailers I found on this site that was $150 cheaper than the same TV I found at my local Wal-Mart. I also saved $85 on taxes (you don't have to pay sales tax on online sites that don't have a store in your state), and the shipping was free.

I've saved thousands of dollars on big-ticket items I've purchased online and, thanks to this site's store ratings, have never had a problem.

Visit the http://TheSatelliteTVGuide.com to get more information, to compare prices, and to get consumer ratings for plasma TVs or LCD TVs.

The author, Brian Stevens, is the senior editor for TheSatelliteTVGuide.com and has written extensively on plasma TVs.