What's the Difference Between Lcd and Plasma Tv's?

Whats the difference with LCD screens and Plasma screens. and which one is better to buy? and last longer?

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Plasma television technology is based loosely on the fluorescent light bulb. The display itself consists of cells. Within each cell two glass panels are separated by a narrow gap in which neon-xenon gas is injected and sealed in plasma form during the manufacturing process. The gas is electrically charged at specific intervals when the Plasma set is in use. The charged gas then strikes red, green, and blue phosphors, thus creating a television image. Each group of red, green, and blue phosphors is called a pixel (picture element).

Although Plasma television technology eliminate the need for the bulky picture tube and electron beam scanning of traditional televisions, because it still employs the burning of phosphors to generate an image, Plasma televisions still suffer from some of the drawbacks of traditional televisions, such as heat generation and screen-burn of static images.

LCD televisions, on the other hand, use a different technology .

Basically, LCD panels are made of two layers of transparent material, which are polarized, and are "glued" together. One of the layers is coated with a special polymer that holds the individual liquid crystals. Current is then passed through individual crystals, which allow the crystals to pass or block light to create images. LCD crystals do not produce their own light, so an external light source, such as florescent bulb is needed for the image created by the LCD to become visible to the viewer.

Unlike standard CRT and Plasma televisions, since there are no phosphors that light up, less power is need for operation and the light source in an LCD television generates less heat than a Plasma or traditional television. Also, because of the nature of LCD technology, there is no radiation emitted from the screen itself.

Plasma vs LCD

The ADVANTAGES of Plasma over LCD are:

1. Larger screen size availability.

2. Better contrast ratio and ability to render deeper blacks.

3. Better color accuracy and saturation.

4. Better motion tracking (little or no motion lag in fast moving images).

The DISADVANTAGES of Plasma vs LCD include:

1. Plasma TVs are more susceptible to burn-in of static images.

2. Plasma TVs generate more heat than LCDs, due to the need to light of phosphors to create the images.

3. Does not perform as well at higher altitudes.

4. Shorter display life span (about 30,000 hours or 8 hrs of viewing a day for 9 years) than LCD. However, screen life span is improving to as high as 60,000 hours due to technology improvements.

LCD television ADVANTAGES over Plasma include:

1. No burn-in of static images.

2. Cooler running temperature.

3. No high altitude use issues.

4. Increased image brightness over Plasma.

5. Longer display life (about 60,000 hours – at which time all you may need to do is replace the light source, not the entire set). This can vary according other environmental and use factors.

6. Lighter weight (when comparing same screen sizes) than Plasma counterparts.

DISADVANTAGES of LCD vs Plasma televisions include:

1. Lower contrast ratio, not as good rendering deep blacks.

2. Not as good at tracking motion (fast moving objects may exhibit lag artifacts) – However, this is improving with the recent implementation of 120Hz screen refresh rates in higher-end LCD sets.

3. Not as common in large screen sizes above 42-inches as Plasma. However, the number is growing fast, with 46 and 47-inch screen sizes becoming more common, and some LCD sets having a screen size as large as 65-inches now available to the general public.

4. Although LCD televisions do not suffer from burn-in susceptibility, it is possible that individual pixels on an LCD televisions can burn out, causing small, visible, black or white dots to appear on the screen. Individual pixels cannot be repaired, the whole screen would need to be replaced at that point, if the individual pixel burnout becomes annoying to you.

5. LCD televisions are typically more expensive than equivalent-sized Plasma televisions (although this is changing), especially when comparing EDTV Plasmas to HDTV-LCD Televisions.

LCD :

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Plasma :
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }

- Plasma uses gas plasma cells charged by precise electrical voltages to create a picture.

– LCD screens (liquid crystal display) are in layman's terms sandwiches made up of liquid crystal pushed in the space between two glass plates. Images are created by varying the amount of electrical charge applied to the crystals

The final decision as to what type of flat panel television to purchase (LCD or Plasma) is really up to you here are pros & cons of each for your decision

Pros of Plasma
- Better contrast ratio
- better ability to render deep blacks, more color depth,
- better motion tracking (response time)
- more availability in very large screen sizes.

Cons of Plasma
- more susceptible to burn-in (although this is not as much of a factor now, due to technology improvements in the past few years)
- more heat generation (as well as more power consumption)
- screen glare in brightly lit rooms
- heavier weight, and more delicate to ship.
Good brand that I would recommend for Plasma is Panasonic or Samsung
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Pros of LCD
- LCD television advantages include no burn-in susceptibility
- cooler running
- less screen glare, more functional at high altitudes
- longer display life (although improvements are being made in Plasma screen life)
- looks better in brightly lit rooms
- less power consumption than Plasma.
Cons of LCD
- Lower contrast ratio
- not as good rendering deep blacks
- not as good at tracking motion (although this is improving, especially with the implementation of 120Hz refresh rates (and some now offer 240Hz) on higher-end models).
Good brand for LCD that I would recommend is Samsung or Sony
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Plasma- screen size – 42"-65", viewing angle – Excellent, picture

contrast - Very Good to Excellent, video motion – Excellent, color

gamut – Excellent, power cosumption – Good

Pros: excellent contrast and black levels, effortless motion, rich

colors
Cons: vulnerable to "burn-in" although it's less of an issue for

newer models; screen tends to reflect room lights

LCD with standard fluorescent backlight- screen size – 19"-70",

viewing angle – Good to Very Good, picture contrast – Good to

Excellent, video motion – Good to Excellent, color gamut – Very

Good, power consumption – Very Good

Pros: panels weigh less than plasma and use less energy; burn-in

not an issue
Cons: picture slightly less natural and "filmlike" than top plasmas

LCD with LED backlight- screen size – 32"-60", viewing angle –

Good to Very Good, picture contrast – Very Good to Excellent,

video motion – Good to Excellent, color gamut – Excellent, power

consumption – Excellent

Pros: panels use the least energy and weigh less than plasma;

burn-in not an issue
Cons: picture slightly less natural and "filmlike" than top plasmas

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