Sep 23, Plasma vs LCD TV - A Detailed Comparative Guide to Flat-panel TV Technology

This plasma vs LCD TV debate has been raging on since these two technologies first appeared on the market. Yet for the HDTV buyer, things started to get complicated some four years ago when 40 to 50-inch plasma and LCDs began selling at relatively affordable prices.Unfortunately, with the advent of LED TVs, the whole display technology equation has complicated itself to the point that for many, it is becoming almost beyond understanding.The problem with LED TVs is that few realize these are actually LCD TVs, with the only difference being the use of a LED backlight instead of the traditional CCFL found on conventional LCDs. Admittedly, this leads to a few differences like a slimmer profile and somewhat less uniform screen brightness for LED TVs. But once you know the few differences between LEDs and CCFL LCD TVs, the whole display technology selection becomes once again a plasma vs LCD.This technological dilemma arises out of the fact that both plasma TVs and LCD HDTVs represent a most compelling option for home entertainment. Both come with a slim profile - some three inches deep while the latest ultra-slim plasmas and LED LCD TVs are just an inch thick.And you can literally hang a plasma or LCD HDTV on the wall, on the ceiling, or in that case, anywhere else you feel like watching your new television!Yet there is more to complicate this plasma vs LCD TV selection process than just a similar slim-style package. Both plasma televisions and LCD TVs are capable of similar picture performance, with bright, colorful, crystal-clear pictures. In addition, with the latest energy-efficient 600Hz plasma display panels and superior 120Hz and 240Hz CCFL and LED LCDs, the difference in performance between plasma and LCD TVs is becoming more product dependent than display technology dependent.Despite these similarities, plasma and LCD display panels process the image in a completely different manner. More specifically, there is no relation what-so-ever between the different technologies driving these displays.Plasma displays use a matrix of tiny gas plasma cells that are charged by precise electrical voltages to emit light and create the picture image. In other words, each picture element in a plasma TV display acts as a miniature light source. [More information is available at How-it-Works: Plasma Display Panel.]Liquid Crystal Displays (LCD) panels work by trapping a liquid crystal solution between two sheets of polarized glass. When an electric current passes through the liquid crystals, the crystals rotate causing a change in the polarization of the light passing through. This affects the amount of light passing through the polarized glass to reach the face of the display. Unlike plasma panels, LCDs do not generate light - rather they filter or subtract light produced by a CCFL or an LED backlight - to create the image. [More on this in our guide How-it-Works: Liquid Crystal Displays.]It is not the scope of this plasma vs LCD TV article to go into details of how these different display technologies work. After all, what matters in the end is not what is going behind the display panel; more important is how these different display technologies perform as a television screen.At the same time, one cannot be remark that it is these same differences that give each display technology its strengths and weaknesses, and therefore render one more suitable than the other under a different environment. We approach this plasma vs LCD TV debate, or in that case plasma vs LCD vs LED  TVs, by looking at the three main areas of concern, namely 'price and size', 'picture issues', and 'functional' considerations. We believe this should help better bring out the main differences between these display technologies. It should also make it easier to decide where these different display technologies fit best.

To access each of these plasma vs LCD TV discussions, click on the respective link below; a summary of all issues discussed in these Plasma vs LCD TV comparative guides is given here under.

Plasma vs LCD TV: Price and Size Considerations'Screen SIZE' and 'PRICE' represent the two most basic issues one should look at before any other consideration when buying a TV.

Plasma vs LCD TV: Picture Quality MattersDiscussing issues like differences in contrast ratio, black level performance, color accuracy, viewing angle, supported picture detail, 3D, and picture quality in general.

Plasma vs LCD TV: Functional IssuesIs one display technology better than the other when it comes to issues like image retention, computer use, lifetime, bad-pixels, response time, and power requirements? Don't have the time to go through the complete plasma vs LCD TV discussion referred to above? No problem! Here is a summary of the most important conclusions. This summary list should also serve as an easy-to-follow reference when doing comparison-shopping between these two display technologies. Both technologies are playing on level ground. Still, available plasma vs LCD TV options are highly dependent on screen size.You have more choice within the plasma TV domain for screen sizes greater than 55-inch. Though production costs and retail prices have come down for both technologies, plasma still has an edge as far as production cost goes. On the other hand, at anything smaller than and including 40-inch, LCD is at present your only option.Up to not long ago, plasma was the obvious choice for all screen sizes where collision between the two technologies occurred; this is no longer the case. In general, plasma still carries a price advantage - especially with respect to LED TVs. However, plasma's price advantage becomes significant mainly at the bigger screen sizes - 54 inches and upwards, irrespective of whether you are dealing with CCFL or LED LCD TVs. At screen sizes less than and including 50-inch, the price difference starts to become less of an issue - to the point that for CCFL LCDs, it almost vanishes as one approaches the 42-inch. However, this holds true as long as you opt for a 720p HDTV. As pointed out elsewhere on this site, a 720p HDTV would yield a better deal at the 40 to 50-inch domain. Unfortunately, at these screen sizes, 720p LCD TVs are becoming almost non-existent; your only readily available 720p option is a plasma HDTV.Both technologies are extremely close in this respect in that both plasma and LCDs are capable of excellent picture quality - with bright, crisp clear images, high contrast levels, and excellent color reproduction. Yet our thumbs up in this plasma vs LCD TV analysis goes to plasma televisions. Plasma TVs still have an edge over their LCD counterparts when it comes to displaying deep blacks - thus enjoying better contrast and detail in images when dark and light content is shown simultaneously. Some may argue that the latest LED TVs with full array local dimming can exhibit similar deep blacks as the best plasmas. This is true but it is also true that LED TVs suffer from a far restricted viewing angle beyond which black levels - and hence perceived image contrast and color saturation - fall sharply. In addition, when it comes to picture quality, one cannot take the level of black on its own; equally important is the overall black level performance with different content incorporating a mix of both dark and bright areas shown simultaneously. Another issue is screen brightness uniformity, or rather the lack of it across the entire screen area when it comes to LCDs and especially LED LCD TVs.And for those interested in 3D, plasma TVs provide a better 3D experience with hardly any image cross between the images intended for the left and right eye thanks to the faster pixel response of plasma TVs.At the same time... While plasma color richness and naturalness will generally prevail in rooms with controlled low to normal light levels, LCDs will perform better in brightly lit rooms mainly due to their inherent anti-glare technology and a brighter image with respect to most plasma TVs.What used to be a clear advantage for plasma displays is becoming less important with the latest generation of CCFL-based LCD televisions. LED TVs tends to exhibit a poorer viewing angle than their CCFL counterparts though they still support a wide enough angle of view for most home entertainment applications.However, when comparing plasma vs LCD TVs, plasmas still have an edge in this respect. The tendency is that the deterioration in picture quality with off-axis viewing  - mainly in the form of a lowering in contrast and color saturation - is more accentuated with LCDs than with plasma displays.None carries any advantage with viewing distance as long as you are within normal viewing distance for your screen size. [More on viewing distance can be found in our article TV Viewing Distance guide.] Yet... When comparing plasma vs LCD TVs, the overall pixel structure in an LCD TV set tends to be less visible than the gas-cell structure in a plasma display panel. This helps LCDs render a 'smoother' picture than an equivalent size plasma display, thus making LCDs more suitable for closer viewing applications. Up to very recent, LCD televisions used to deliver more in terms of pixels per unit screen size. When comparing plasma vs LCD TV sets, it was only at the extreme larger end of the scale that plasma and LCD display resolutions met. However, things changed; both plasma televisions and LCD HDTVs are readily available with full 1080p screen resolution at screen sizes down to around 40-inch. Rather, you have better choice at 1080p than at the lower 720p resolution. In addition, 720p LCD TVs have become almost inexistent for anything above 37-inch.At the same time... While neither display technology has an advantage when it comes to resolution, yet the pixel structure in an LCD renders LCDs better where high resolution images have to be viewed at close distance - as in the case of PC generated graphics applications.LCD TVs enjoys a technological advantage; they are not prone to burn-in. In other words, you can display a bright image for any length of time without ever worrying about burn-in. Instead, LCD TVs suffer from image sticking; but in the majority of cases, this is completely reversible, and in any case, unlikely to take place under normal home use.At the same time, we have to remark that... Burn-in is no longer much of a concern with most plasma TVs as it used to be up to the recent past, especially for people with normal TV viewing requirements.Despite that plasma panels were originally developed way back in 1964 as computer displays, LCDs are better suited to display computer images. The higher resolution of the latter at smaller screen sizes renders LCDs capable of displaying detailed graphics better. In addition, their non-susceptibility to burn-in makes them better suited to display the relatively static images associated with many computer applications.This is a non-issue with either technology. Both plasma and LCD TV sets come with a quoted display panel half-lifetime of around 100,000hrs. Even if this were just 40,000hrs, it would imply more than 15 years of use at 7.5 hours a day. And this when the average household in the US replaces their TV set every 7 years! In other words, both plasma and LCD TV sets are based on extremely stable and reliable display technologies. Rather, lifetime is more dependent upon product quality and associated electronics inside the set than upon the display technology itself.Plasma televisions have a definite advantage because even though some manufactures are offering a zero bad pixel policy with their LCD TVs, yet when comparing plasma vs LCD TVs, LCD displays still have a higher tendency of developing bad pixels during use.This is another advantage in favor of Plasma - because even though LCD technology has improved to the point that this is less of an issue, LCDs still have some way to go to achieve the same level of pixel response times and complete blur-free images as phosphor-based displays. This also partly explains why plasma TVs perform better in 3D TV applications. [More on LCD TV response time can be found here: LCD Response Time.]A soft buzzing noise is typical of all plasma displays because of the way these operate; this however would be hardly audible even with the sound switched off unless you are with your ears just a few inches away from the panel. In either case, if for whatever reason, you are after is complete quite operation, LCD is the way to go.Thought power requirements of video displays are highly dependent on picture settings, LCD HDTVs carry an advantage especially as one moves towards the bigger end of the scale. It is true that the latest energy efficient plasma display panels have brought about significant improvement, but if one were to compare the latest energy efficient plasma vs LCD TVs, CCFL LCDs still consume at least 20% to 30% less power than corresponding plasma HDTVs. And LED TVs consume even less energy - typically 50% the power of corresponding  plasma TVs for the same screen size.
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