Plasma vs. LCD TV—The Winner is Obvious (To Us, At Least)

We like to think of ourselves are LCD people. As far as TV formats are concerned, we believe that LCD is miles ahead of the competition. But don’t get us wrong. It is not as if plasma televisions are a bad investment. Not at all. However, when it comes to LCD vs. plasma TV, LCD simply has a couple advantages that plasma televisions do not display.
In your search for the ultimate television set, you may have some questions. Your primary question may be: which TV is better LCD TVs or plasma TVs. When it comes to plasma vs. LCD TV, it is very difficult to come to a definitive conclusion to which is a simply a better television set. Each set has its own benefits and disadvantages.

What To Know About Plasma TV?
Plasma TVs heavily rely on the fluorescent light bulb. A plasma flat screen display consists of cells. Inside each cell are two glass panels separated by a narrow gap. These gaps are injected with neon-xenon gas and sealed in plasma form. The gas is electrically charged when the plasma TV set is in use. The gas strikes red, green, and blue phosphors. This is what creates the TV image.

Advantages: Plasma TVs can be mounted to the wall or even the ceiling. They are available in very large sizes (42 inches to 84 inches) and make excellent centerpieces to a living room or entertainment room. Also, plasma has twice the resolution of a traditional CRT TV. Its viewing angles are also unbeatable.

Disadvantages: Because plasma TVs use the burning of phosphors to produce an image, they can suffer from the same drawbacks of traditional TVs, such as high heat generation and screen burn-in. (Burn-in occurs when an image is left on the television screen for too long. Once burn-in has taken place, you will always see an outline of the burnt-in image on your TV, no matter what you are watching. An example of when a burn-in incident can occur is when TV stations’ have their logos as constant still images on the screen.) Also, plasma TVs tend to be very expensive.

What to Know About LCD TVs?
A LCD flat screen TV consists of primarily two transparent, glass-like materials, which are polarized, and “glued” together. One of the plates is coated with a polymer that holds the individual liquid crystals. Electric current is then passed through individual crystals. This allows the crystals to pass or block light to create images. Unlike plasma TVs, an external light source is needed.

Advantages: LCD TVs are not susceptible to burn-in and usually is less expensive than plasma televisions. LCD TVs also run cooler than plasma TVs, therefore, minimizing the need for noisy fan cooling. Many LCD sets can double as a PC monitors, as well. When it comes to longevity for LCD vs. plasma TV, LCD TVs can last up to 60,000 hours, whereas plasma TVs, on average, last 30,000 to 40,000 hours.

Disadvantages: Just like plasma TVs, LCD flat screen TVs have some disadvantages, as well. For example, LCD TVs have lower contrast ratios than plasmas, because they have a harder time reproducing deep black and dark grays. Their screen also tend to be thicker than plasma screens. Also, most LCD screens are only available up to 50 inches. However, Sharp does manufacture a LCD set that is 65 inches.

As far as plasma vs. LCD TV is concerned, we believe the easy winner is LCD TVs. We know that others disagree and say that plasmas win the battle. To them we say, “Wanna throw down? Let’s see what you got?”

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