It will not be long before flat-panel TVs completely replace the tubes as the televisions of choice. A flat TV can be hung on your wall, above your mantle, or even on the ceiling. The two major types of flat-panel television technology you can currently choose from are the plasma and LCD. If you are currently in the market for one of these televisions, take a few moments to read about them as there some differences you should know about before making your decision.
Burn-in is by far one of the most debated issues when it comes to comparing plasma and LCD TVs. Plasma displays are certainly prone to burn-in. This occurs on the screen if an image is left for too long, resulting in a ghost of the image that is permanently burned on the screen. This is the reason that many people use screen savers on their PCs as this issue can happen on computer monitors as well. Some brands of plasma TVs are more prone than others for burn-in. Generally, all plasma screens are prone to suffer from burn-in, especially during their first 200 hours of use.
Fortunately, there have been some new improvements in plasma display technology that have extended the time it takes to burn in a plasma pixel cell. Using improved phosphor materials, and other anti burn-in technologies have greatly reduced the risk of burn-in. Also keeping the brightness and contrast levels closer to the low end of the scale will help reduce any potential burn-in risks. So if comparing plasma to LCD on this issue in particular, keep in mind that LCD TVs are not prone to screen burn-in at all.The lifespan is also a very important aspect of any new television you buy. The gases used in a plasma screen have a lifespan. These screens will eventually fade over time and usage. The newer plasma TV’s can last up to 60,000 hours, however there are many models out there that may only last up to 40,000 or less depending on when it was manufactured. LCD displays have an expected lifespan of 50,000 to 60,000 hours. For either LCD or plasma, their life expectancy is far greater than the CRT TV sets that typically lasted about 20,000 hours. In other words, both plasma and LCD technology make use of very stable and reliable display devices.
The picture quality of an LCD TV has suffered in the past from poor black levels, but the newest models have improved greatly in this area. The LCD TVs are not able to achieve a true black because there will always some light leaking through the pixels. The color saturation of an LCD is also generally inferior to plasma. This is also a result of the problem achieving a completely blacken, or turned off pixel.The viewing angle is another issue where the LCD falls short compared to plasma. On most LCD TVs, there can be some brightness and color shifting seen if you are watching from any angle besides the ‘sweet’ spot right in front of the TV. On the other hand, plasmas generally look equally good from any angle, even the very wide angles.An area where the LCD holds an advantage over plasma is with the power requirements. LCD televisions use a backlight to produce images and this requires much less power to operate than the plasma. The actual power requirements of an LCD display will depend mainly on the technology used for the backlight. However, LCD TVs generally use about 40 to 50 percent less power than plasma displays having the same screen size.
After looking at a few pros and cons of each of these technologies, there is still the big question of which one is really better. The answer of course depends more on your own personal preferences rather than there being a clear winner. LCD TVs may be a little bit better in some picture quality areas for its size. However, plasma TVs come in bigger sizes, so if you want to go big, you should be going for plasma. After reading reviews and checking the specs, you still need to see them in person to decide which one you like the best
Burn-in is by far one of the most debated issues when it comes to comparing plasma and LCD TVs. Plasma displays are certainly prone to burn-in. This occurs on the screen if an image is left for too long, resulting in a ghost of the image that is permanently burned on the screen. This is the reason that many people use screen savers on their PCs as this issue can happen on computer monitors as well. Some brands of plasma TVs are more prone than others for burn-in. Generally, all plasma screens are prone to suffer from burn-in, especially during their first 200 hours of use.
Fortunately, there have been some new improvements in plasma display technology that have extended the time it takes to burn in a plasma pixel cell. Using improved phosphor materials, and other anti burn-in technologies have greatly reduced the risk of burn-in. Also keeping the brightness and contrast levels closer to the low end of the scale will help reduce any potential burn-in risks. So if comparing plasma to LCD on this issue in particular, keep in mind that LCD TVs are not prone to screen burn-in at all.The lifespan is also a very important aspect of any new television you buy. The gases used in a plasma screen have a lifespan. These screens will eventually fade over time and usage. The newer plasma TV’s can last up to 60,000 hours, however there are many models out there that may only last up to 40,000 or less depending on when it was manufactured. LCD displays have an expected lifespan of 50,000 to 60,000 hours. For either LCD or plasma, their life expectancy is far greater than the CRT TV sets that typically lasted about 20,000 hours. In other words, both plasma and LCD technology make use of very stable and reliable display devices.
The picture quality of an LCD TV has suffered in the past from poor black levels, but the newest models have improved greatly in this area. The LCD TVs are not able to achieve a true black because there will always some light leaking through the pixels. The color saturation of an LCD is also generally inferior to plasma. This is also a result of the problem achieving a completely blacken, or turned off pixel.The viewing angle is another issue where the LCD falls short compared to plasma. On most LCD TVs, there can be some brightness and color shifting seen if you are watching from any angle besides the ‘sweet’ spot right in front of the TV. On the other hand, plasmas generally look equally good from any angle, even the very wide angles.An area where the LCD holds an advantage over plasma is with the power requirements. LCD televisions use a backlight to produce images and this requires much less power to operate than the plasma. The actual power requirements of an LCD display will depend mainly on the technology used for the backlight. However, LCD TVs generally use about 40 to 50 percent less power than plasma displays having the same screen size.
After looking at a few pros and cons of each of these technologies, there is still the big question of which one is really better. The answer of course depends more on your own personal preferences rather than there being a clear winner. LCD TVs may be a little bit better in some picture quality areas for its size. However, plasma TVs come in bigger sizes, so if you want to go big, you should be going for plasma. After reading reviews and checking the specs, you still need to see them in person to decide which one you like the best
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