Sep 23, Plasma vs LCD TV Technology - A Detailed Comparative Guide (1): Price and Size

Intro: 'Screen SIZE' and 'PRICE' represent the two most basic issues one should look at before any other consideration when buying a TV.

Available budget will determine the available buying options, while the desired screen size may eventually determine the technology to opt for.

These two basic considerations are also interrelated in that price increases as the screen size increases.

Interesting is that when comparing plasma vs LCD, the increase in price with screen size varies from one display technology to another. What may be prohibitively expensive for one, may turn out to be rather inexpensive for the other. 

Up to the recent past, the issue of 'Plasma vs LCD TV' would only arise in the 40-inch to 50-inch screen size range, in that collision between LCD and plasma TVs used to occur only within these screen sizes.

This is no longer the case; both plasma TVs and LCD televisions are coming out larger than ever.

In January 2008, Panasonic unveiled the world's largest plasma, a 150-inch Life Wall TV, an ultra-high resolution display sporting a 2160 x 4096 pixel count! This was Panasonic response to the world's largest LCD - a 108-inch LCD display presented by Sharp during CES2007. And things did not stop there!

It seems that if you were to compare plasma vs LCD, display panel size does not represent a limitation to either technology. Rather, the real major problem for display panel makers is to produce the required giant-size glass substrate. At the same time, one cannot but remark that LCD production calls for more technological challenges. Producing a 100-inch ultra-high definition LCD display panel with 4096 x 2160 pixel resolution without defects implies that the production process should ensure that the more than twenty-six million transistors etched onto the surface of the LCD glass substrate are all fully functional and without defects!

Both plasma and LCD TVs are readily available in screen sizes up to around 65" screens. But with LCD TVs, anything above 60-inch diagonal is too expensive for most home theater budgets. The interesting 65-inch Samsung UN65C6500 has an online price of $4,000 - almost a $1,000 less expensive than 2009 pricing; but it is still pretty expensive.

Move further up to the slightly larger 70-inch model from Sony, the Sony BRAVIA KDL-70XBR7 and expect to pay some $20,000 for a model of this size!

At the big-end of the scale, LCDs become significantly more affordable as long as one remains within the 55-inch size. Sets such as the top-of-the line LG 55-inch 55LE8500 full LED array with local dimming LED TV is selling at just over $2,200. Interesting is that this is possibly the most affordable premium 55-inch LED TV; it has been rated by major review sites as among the best irrespective of brand. Partly the reason is the use of full array local dimming LED technology. But similar pricing also applies to sets such as the 60-inch KDL-60EX700 ($2,450) edge-lit LED TV from Sony and the Samsung UN55C8000 55-Inch 3D LED HDTV (2,850) with precision dimming. The latter LED backlight technology from Samsung introduces some form of local dimming with edge-lit LED backlight; but despite the name, it is far from being as precise as full array local dimming technology.

It is true that at this HDTV size category, you are getting less screen estate. But when considering the big difference in price between 52/55-inch and the larger 60-inch plus LCD models, present pricing renders 52-inch/55-inch LCDs as the most affordable and cost-effective LCD HDTVs within the real  'big screen TV' domain.

The situation with plasma televisions at the larger end is slightly different. You have more choice than with LCDs and this at a substantially lower price.

Interesting products include the latest Panasonic VIERA 50-inch TC-P50G25 and 54-inch TC-P54G25; these premium plasma TVs are selling online at $1,400 and $1,000 respect, and are among the HDTVs most in demand by home theater enthusiasts and videophiles looking for the best picture at a more affordable price.

But equally affordable are Samsung's massive 58-inch PN58C590 ($1,690) and the 63-inch PN63C590 ($2,500), as well as the latest LG high-end 60-inch 60PK750 ($1,460) and the LG flagship, the 60-inch 60PK950, which at $2,150 is one of the most affordable really big screen TVs for the home theater.

Comparing like with like in terms of features and picture performance, these prices render the bigger plasma TVs even more affordable than corresponding 55-inch premium LCDs. Just take the 55-inch LG LE8500 LED TVs; its 60-inch plasma TV counterpart from the same TV maker, the LG 60PK950 is selling at a slightly cheaper price.

But things within this plasma vs LCD TV debate take a totally different direction at the smaller end of the scale. For anything smaller than 42-inch, your only choice is LCD. While during 2008, we have seen a number of 37-inch and even 32-inch plasma TV sets, it seems that plasma TV makers have realized that when it comes to plasma vs LCD TVs, plasma's real edge over LCD arises at the larger screen size of the spectrum rather than at the medium-to-small screen category.

If you were to compare plasma vs LCD TV sets for available screen sizes, it is clear that both technologies are playing on level ground, with a few differences though...

You have more affordable choice when it comes to plasma televisions for screen sizes greater than 55-inch. This is partially explained by the fact that while production costs and retail prices have come down for both technologies, plasma still leads as far as production cost goes.

On the other hand, for anything smaller than 42-inch, your real way forward is LCD as plasma TVs within this screen category are no longer available.

Price is always a big issue when choosing an HDTV. In general, when comparing plasma vs LCD TV pricing, LCD televisions tend to be more expensive than their plasma counterpart - especially at screen sizes larger than 52-inch. And as we have already seen in this discussion, the price difference between these two display technologies shoots upwards as one crosses the 55-inch boundary - with LCDs becoming more expensive than their plasma counterparts.

This higher price tag generally associated with LCD TVs is the result of the production process itself. Production processes for plasma displays still support a better yield and thus carries a pricing advantage, especially at the larger screen sizes.

This contrasts heavily with LCD production process where some 30% of all manufactured panels have to be discarded because of defects leading to what are known as 'bad-pixels'. This also explains why manufactures never guarantee that an LCD display panel is completely free from bad pixels.

Recent developments in the manufacture of LCD displays have led to a substantial drop in the price of LCD panels. The latest prices of LCD HDTVs are more in line with those of plasma televisions of the same size, in particular for screen sizes less than and including 52-inch.

And at 42-inch, entry level 1080p plasma and LCD TVs are practically selling at about the same price. The popular Panasonic 42-inch TC-P42S2 is selling at just $720 while the similar featured Samsung 40-inxh LN40C530 LCD TV is selling at close to $800 - slightly more expensive but the difference is negligible.

Mind you, plasma still carries a price advantage overall and the lower pricing policy adopted by plasma TV makers for 2009/2010 has in fact further strengthened this advantage.

A TV industry market research published by firm Quixel Research shows that plasma television sales overall were up 14 percent from the first quarter of 2009 to the first quarter of 2010, compared to a 6 percent jump in LCD TVs with screens 40-inch and larger. In the first quarter of 2010, plasma represented about 20 percent of all TVs 40 inches or larger, Quixel said.

However, when comparing plasma vs LCD TVs, plasma's real price advantage at the 40 to 50-inch domain becomes significant mainly as one shifts towards the 720p HDTV category.

Lower resolution displays are cheaper to manufacture, yet while plasma 720p HDTVs are readily available, 720p LCDs at these screen sizes have almost vanished completely.

One of Samsung cheapest HDTVs for 2010, the 42-inch PN42C450 720p plasma TV is selling online at just under $540. Instead, the cheapest 40-inch Samsung LCD, the 40-inxh LN40C530, is selling online at some $100 more. And yet, other than the higher screen resolution - something that is difficult to appreciate at these screen sizes - these two HDTVs come with practically the same feature set.

Our best advice at this point is to buy with an open mind and opt for a 720p plasma HDTV if it provides the features you need. As pointed out in our plasma television sales article, a 720p television yields a far better deal at these screen sizes than corresponding 1080p HDTVs.

Do not underestimate picture detail on a 720p HDTV. While a 1080p display delivers more picture information, yet at screen size less than or equal to 50-inch, the eye would not be able to perceive the increased level of picture detail afforded by the higher pixel count of a 1080p display over than of a 720p screen when viewing takes place at the recommended viewing distance.

Unfortunately, 720p LCDs have become almost inexistent at anything bigger than 37-inch. This means that if you want to make the most out of your available budget at the 42-inch to 50-inch screen size, your only readily available option is a 720p plasma HDTV.

You see, the higher resolution associated with 1080p displays has its share in the product price - irrespective of whether this being plasma or LCD. And higher product costs afford higher price markups by both manufacturers and retailers. This explains the drive towards 1080p HDTV sets even at screen sizes where the higher resolution of a 1080p display would not yield any significant image viewing advantage for most content.

Up to less than two years ago, the plasma vs LCD price issue was non-existent as plasma was the obvious choice for all screen sizes where collision between the two technologies occurred.

This is no longer the case and the price difference between plasma and LCDs for anything up to 50-inch is generally minimal. Plasma's real price advantage at these screen sizes arises mainly as one opts for a 720p HDTVs.

On the other hand, at the larger end - 52-inch and above - plasma still leads by a good margin, with this pricing advantage becoming more pronounced as one crosses the 55-inch border.

  Next: Plasma versus LCDs (2) - Picture Matters

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