Just recently I heard the news that the key makers of Plasma TV´s have banded together to fight the rising popularity of LCD TV´s. It is fairly unprecedented move but understandable when you consider that LCD has taken over the market for TV´s smaller than 40inches and are now starting to encroach on the market for larger screens. I thought with Christmas around the corner and a new TV being on many wish lists that it would be an idea to take an objective view as to which technology would be best to unwrap on the big day.
There isn´t enough space in this article to go in to the actual working of the technologies used in both types of TV so we´ll leave that for another week. For today though I thought it would be best to have simple bullet points simply explaining the advantages and disadvantages of each.
Screen Size - Plasma TV´s still currently have the advantage when it comes to the larger screens although as mentioned above this is quickly changing. It is possible that LCD´s will even surpass Plasma before too long due to the fact they use plastic screens as opposed to Plasmas which use glass - As you can imagine it becomes difficult to produce flat glass in sizes required by the largest of screens.
Contrast - Plasma TV does tend to offer better contrast due to an ability to display deeper blacks than LCD. With regards to the contrast changing when viewed at an angle Plasma traditionally has been able to claim a greater viewing angle however just recently the LCD technology has improved. This means that with either unit you will be able to view the screen at a large angle without losing picture quality.
Screen Refresh Rates - Plasma has the slight edge as they refresh about as well as the traditional CRT TV´s. LCD technology on the other hand was traditionally designed to display data on computer screens so only just recently have impressive refresh rates ideal for viewing fast moving video been achieved.
Burn-in effect - This used to be a real problem for Plasma displays as static images left on the screen would actually permanently burn in and leave a ghost image. With the latest technology manufacturers have addressed this issue so on this point neither LCD nor Plasma should suffer this effect.
Product Life Span - Even with fairly intensive use both Plasma and LCD screens should last over a decade before the lamp (Plasma) or backlight (LCD) fails so this really isn´t an issue in either case.
Physical Attributes - LCD TV´s are considerably lighter and slightly thinner than their Plasma counterparts - this isn´t really an issue to worry about though unless you´re thinking of wall mounting your TV. Plasma TV´s also tend to run a lot hotter than LCD and so again, when wall mounting they will require more planning as to suitable location and ventilation. As a side issue it is interesting to note that Plasma TV´s also use more power than their LCD counterparts.
That pretty much covers all the bases and so as a very broad conclusion we can say that if you´re looking for a large screen with high picture quality then Plasma TV might still be the way to go. The LCD technology is perfect for those that want a lighter, more cost effective TV especially when we talk about sizes under around the 40" mark. I would like to point out at this point that I am not a TV specialist so please do check the above for accuracy before making an expensive purchase!
Computer Articles 2007
