Plasma vs. LCD
Both Plasma and LCD TV technologies are advancing rapidly, and prices have fallen dramatically since both were introduced. Both definitely represent two of the best new television technologies and generally offer excellent picture quality. Of course, there are advantages for both Plasma and LCD TV technologies. Read on to see which we think is the winner in the six main categories.
1. Screen size
Plasma TV's used to have the advantage of offering larger screen sizes than LCD TVs. This has changed and LCD TVs are now competing with Plasma TVs in the larger screen size TVs as well. Commonly available Plasma TV screen sizes include 32-inch (81cm), 42-inch (106cm), 50-inch (127cm) and 63-inch (160cm) models. LCD TV's were limited to smaller sizes, which they now dominate the market, but now also offer larger TVs ranging from 32-inch (81cm) to 52-inch (131 cm) models. It should be noted that the technology behind LCD TV's is more flexible, allowing a wider variety of screen sizes. LCD TVs are actually thinner than Plasma TVs which works better if you want to wall mount it.
Our Winner: LCD (wider range of screen sizes - small to large)
2. Cost
Currently, Plasma TV's have the advantage over LCDs. Higher production volume allows Plasma TV's to be priced very favorably when compared to similar sized LCD TV's, especially considering screen size. Of course, both technologies are seeing fairly rapidly price decreases as manufacturing technologies and volumes improve. Currently, the manufacturers recommended prices for 42-inch (106cm) TVs are similar, with Plasma TVs ranging from $1000-$2000, while LCD TV's often range from $1000 - $2400. At the larger end of the spectrum, 50-inch and above, Plasma TVs still have the price advantage. Store prices are lower for both of course.
Our Winner: Plasma, especially for larger size TVs
3. Picture Quality
Currently, picture quality for both Plasma TV's and LCD TV's are very close. The most recent LCD TV's have caught up to Plasma TV's in regards to color saturation and brightness. Many of the most recent LCD TV's will actually perform better in regards to contrast when viewed in a very bright room - something to keep in mind if your viewing room receives a lot of ambient light. Some of the newest LCD TV's actually offer more lifelike colour display over Plasma TV's. Additionally, LCD TV's generally hold a resolution advantage over Plasma TV's, especially when comparing similar screen sizes. A greater number of LCD TV's support HDTV as a result. However, both Plasma and LCD TV's offer excellent picture quality (depending on the model of course), so buyers of both should be quite satisfied.
Our Winner: LCD
4. Contrast and Brightness
Firstly, it is good to point out what we mean by contrast ratio. Contrast ratio is the measurement of the difference in light intensity between the brightest white and the darkest black. The higher the contrast ratio the better the colour information will appear against a darker background. For example 1000:1 contrast ratio gives a better representation of colour against a darker background then a 500:1 contrast ratio. As a rough guide, a contrast ratio of 2000:1 is OK, 10000:1 is better and 20000:1 or higher is very good.
Modern plasma TV's boast contrast ratios of 30000:1 or more. Much technology goes into these plasma screens to block light being emitted from pixels which should be black. In comparison LCD displays must block the white backlight to create blacks. Unlike Plasma displays, LCD panels typically consume energy in order to create black pixels (i.e. turning pixels an opaque black to block the backlight). Any backlight passing through an LCD pixel degrades the blacks being displayed, making them appear more of a dark gray. Depending on the sophistication of the backlight blocking, LCD contrast ratios can be inferior to Plasma displays.
Within a Plasma TV, each red green and blue cell of each pixel is lit on its own, allowing for great brightness levels. Within an LCD TV, brightness is related to the intensity of the backlight.
Our Winner: Plasma
5. Longevity
Typically plasma TV's, like CRT TV's, lose their brightness over time. Fujitsu research indicates that if you watched 6 hours of TV for 14 years you could expect to lose 50% of the display's brightness. For most people, this timeline doesn't pose a problem. For an LCD TV the back-light is filtered by the liquid crystal substrate. This means there is nothing to burn out except the backlight. The backlight can (in theory) be replaced! For a plasma, the light originates from the individual pixels which cannot be replaced when it begins to lose its brightness.
Plasma TV's may come with some faulty pixels out of the box. From then, additional pixel failure after installation is quite rare. For a plasma, no circuits, switches or gates are present within each individual pixel. The electronic operations take place outside of the panel itself on a video board. This means if there is failure these components may be replaced by a qualified service expert. For LCDs dot electrodes situated on every red green and blue sub-pixel. These, by contrast, are prone to failure over the life span of the LCD TV. They cannot be individually replaced.
Lastly, burn-in does not occur in LCD TV's, which you may consider as increasing the longevity of the TV. LCD manufacturers claim 55000 to 80000 hours for LCD monitors/TV's. Plasma manufacturers claim 30000 to 35000 hours. This allows LCDs to be used quite readily in commercial environments.
Our Winner: LCD
6. Weight & Power Consumption
If you thought TV's could not get thinner, think again. LCD TV's are thinner than their plasma counterparts as well as being lighter! In regards to power consumption, again LCDs lead the way as Plasma TV's require thousands of sub pixels to be lit while LCD TV's use a fluorescent backlighting technique. In summary LCD TV's typically use around half the wattage (power) of Plasma TV's.
Our Winner: LCD