LCD vs Plasma

Now this is the question on everybody’s lips when thinking of buying a Flat Screen TV:
“What should i buy? LCD TV or Plasma TV? Which one of them is better: LCD TV or Plasma TV?”
This is a pretty difficult question considering we are trying to decide after all which technology is better .Two different technology, competing technology which achieve similar features with different ways of bringing image to the viewer. In this article we are going to try to examine each technology with pros and cons, and in the end draw some conclusions, in such way that these conclusions will help you decide which type is better for your one’s needs. Let’s think about this just like a contest: LCD vs Plasma!

Technology:

Plasma technology: Look very closely at a plasma screen: you will notice each pixel with his cell coloration of red, blue and green bars. This technology consists of thousands of individual pixel cells that allow electric pulses to excite gases the most common ones are xenon and neon, there for producing light.

LCD technology: a liquid crystal display (LCD) consists of monochrome pixels filled with liquid crystals positioned in front of a light source (backlight).

What effect does this technologies have on picture quality?

If you ask the experts in the field they will say that Plasma TV has a slight advantage over LCD TV, but this will seem not relevant for the untrained eye.The Plasma TV performs better when the light is dim, but the LCD TV performs better when the lights are on. Plasma has more “alive” colors witch makes a great movie experience while the qualities of LCD are better appreciated by gamers.
So if you want to rent a DVD form your local DVD rent store, pop some microwaves popcorn and enjoy a lovely night with your girlfriend then you should probably own a Plasma TV. If you want to hang out with the guys in your living room and play an action-role game you should probably go for the LCD TV.

VIEWING ANGLES

Plasma TV has generally a viewing angle around 160°, witch is very good both vertically and horizontally. This is because every pixel produces it’s own light different form LCD TVs witch have pixels filed with liquid crystals arrayed in front of a light source. You can expect the best LCD HDTV to have a viewing angle between 130°-140°.Here Plasma has the advantage.

Discovering HDTV

In this section LCD TV is the winner because it has a better resolution meaning that a LCD TV can actually show more pixels then Plasma TV on the same amount of screen.When watching HDTV you need a minimum resolution of 1280×720 pixels to observe the benefits of this technology. Advantage LCD: HDTV is the new technology and more and more users experience with it. When purchasing a Plasma or LCD TV keep in mind that resolution is a key factor.

LIFESPAN

Both LCD TV and Plasma TV manufactures claim that their displays last around 60.000 hours. The only difference is that Plasma TV manufactures estimate between 30.000 – 60.000 hours and LCD TV manufactures estimate about 60.000+ hours until the image starts to fade. So this section is decided by the numbers and the advantage is clearly for the LCD TV. Another advantage that the LCD TV has over Plasma in this section is thatwhen the image will start to fade and the white balance goes “crazy” you can always re-calibrate, or worst, change the backlight. On a Plasma TV, when the color starts to fade…it’s all going down the hill, there is no way back. The gases found in the Plasma TV (i.e., argon, xenon, neon) cannot be replaced.

High Altitude

This is not a decisive factor but since we are pointing out pros and cons and this is an article that isn’t named LCD and Plasma, it’s named LCD vs Plasma i thought it’s worth mentioning.
So, did you notice that in airplanes you only see LCD flat panels? Well it’s a reason for this, as you probably guess:), LCD TVs aren’t affected by the high altitude. This is not what it can be said by a Plasma TV because, as we talked before in this article, this technology it’s based on gases .At an altitude higher then 6.500 feet, under the influence of air-pressure, Plasma screens start to emit a buzzing sound. I’ve heard that NEC had produced models that can behave normally as high as 9.500 feet.

Next we will talk about 2 things that users like to do:

1. Watch Sports!

If you are a sports fan then you should really pay attention. This section is decided by response time and refresh rate. The response time is the minimum time necessary to change a pixel’s color or brightness. Refresh rate is how fast the screen refreshes.In this section of LCD vs Plasma, the one that has the edge it’s Plasma TV for having a smaller response rate and a higher refresh rate opposite to the LCD TV.
This it’s best seen in a football mach when you begin to notice that the traveling ball has a “tail”.
But if you were planning of getting a LCD TV and this section made you change your mind we can tell you that newer models of LCD are designed to keep up with Plasma TV’s.

2.Play video-games

More and more people start to use their Plasma or LCD TV as monitors for the obviously reasons. This is a delight especially to console fans! Imagine playing with a Play Station 3, an XBOX 360 or a Nintendo WII on a 60 inch+ TV. Beets the hell out of playing on a CRT doesn’t it? The LCD TV it’s preferred by gamers because it can perform good in a dark room as well as in a lighted place.

POWER CONSUMPTION

There is no doubt in this one LCD TV clearly is the winner. It consumes half the power that the Plasma display consumes. That’s because a plasma screen needs power to light every pixel and LCD only needs power for the backlight.

Comfortableness

One thing is for sure: both LCD and Plasma are more comfortable then the old tube televisions. A big plus is that you can mount them on the wall, ceiling…; you can mount them wherever you want. Nowadays, comfort, it’s a factor that really need’s to be taken in consideration. There are two things that make the LCD TV more comfortable: he is lighter and thinner.

LCD vs Plasma Price and Resolution

This is a huge factor in deciding in your journey of becoming a flat screen owner (LCD or Plasma). The truth is that LCD TV’s are more expensive. That’s because the production cost is higher. But keep in mind the pros of a LCD TV: let’s say you want to buy a 50 inch Plasma TV, it will have a resolution of 1366 X 768 while if you buy a 45 inch LCD TV it will have a resolution of 1920 X 1080 (1080P). It looks like a few extra pixels cost more:). It’s up to you to decide if it’s worth it.

At the end where going to try to synthesize all the information above in a handy chart.

The bottom line: is that no one can tell you what to buy. What you need to do is study this article and decide which TV is better to fulfill your needs and that is the one you need to purchase.