LCD or Plasma TV?

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LCD or Plasma TV?

Published by sam - 29/09/07 - 03:09:38 am

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Can’t decide between LCD and plasma? The lines are blurring, but subtle differences can tilt your decision either way.

Nowadays, buying a widescreen, flat panel television is no longer prohibitive. Sure, it’s still a relatively big-ticket item that requires considerable pleading to your significant other, but with falling prices and installment payments, flat screen TVs have become a reasonable luxury.

There are, of course, other alternatives such as rear projection TVs and front projectors, but flat screens are really the more popular choices for a modest home theater. Flat-panel televisions are lighter, thinner, and getting bigger and bigger. And here, you have just two choices: LCD (liquid crystal diode) or plasma.

It’s really a toss-up, as differences between the two continue to blur. However, there are subtle disparities that can determine your buying decision. Here’s how they stack up:

Comparison	Plasma	LCD	Advantage	But…
Typical screen size	Ranges from 37 inches to 63 inches	Ranges from 23 inches to 47 inches	Plasma	LCD will soon be available for up to 65 inches
Thickness	As thin as 3 inches deep	As thin as 2 inches deep	LCD	Just a bit
Viewing angle	Up to 175°	Up to 160°	Plasma	Who would want to watch at those angles?
Weight	Fairly heavy and may need additional support for mounting	Weighs less and can be easily mounted	LCD	It’s only an issue if you need to mount it on a wall or ceiling
Resolution	Lesser pixels per screen size	Higher resolution	LCD	It’s just about the same at bigger sizes
Brightness and contrast	Higher brightness and contrast levels and superior at low or normal lighting	Lower contrast levels, but looks better in brightly-lit rooms with their anti-glare technology	Plasma	Most consumers can’t tell the difference, and some models have matched plasma’s contrast ratio
True blacks	Creates impressively deeper blacks because it can completely turn off the pixels	Difficult to produce deep blacks (more like dark gray) as there’s always some light leaking through the pixels	Plasma	LCD is getting better
Refresh rates	As fast as CRT televisions	Good enough, but has some artifacts or blur effect	Plasma	It’s hardly noticeable for smaller sizes, and practically extinct on new models
Burn-in	Slight potential for burn-in produced by static images like a network logo, creating an after-image ghost stuck on the screen	None, but can have a retained pixel charge which may also produce ghosting	LCD	Newer plasma models are using technologies such as screensavers and pixel orbiting that fix burn-in
Product lifespan	Reported half life (before dimming to half brightness) of 30,000 to 60,000 hours	Average half life of 50,000 to 65,000 hours	LCD	Even just 30,000 hours is equivalent to around 14 years, by which time you’ve long replaced your set
Durability	Very fragile	Much more durable than plasmas	LCD	Once delivered and installed, that’s it
Power consumption	Power hungry	Consumes 30-40% less power	LCD	At bigger sizes, LCD costs more up front
Price	More affordable for much larger sizes	More expensive price-to-size ratio	Plasma	LCD continues to drop in price and is already at the same level at the smaller end

So, it boils down to this: If you want the biggest screen size at the best price, or if you’re a stickler with contrast and black levels, choose plasma. A plasma TV is at its best when you’re watching a high quality video source in the dark. But most of the time, we’ll be watching mediocre-quality videos at any time of the day.

If you want the thinnest, lightest, and highest-resolution flat screen that is easy and cheap to maintain, go LCD. Vince concludes, “LCD is a better all-around TV, good for your PC, your DVD player, your gaming console. You may lose color accuracy, smoother motion, and contrast. But it makes up for it in brightness and detail. And for that, LCD performs better.”

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September 29, 2007 | Personal Finance |

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