plasma vs lcd screen pricelist

LED HDTVs (properly known as LED-backlit LCD TVs) use light emitting diodes (LEDs) as a backlight for the LCD. Some of this light is blocked by vertical or horizontal liquid crystals, creating an image. These should not be confused with actual LED or OLED TVs.

Plasma HDTVs create images using phosphors, tiny plasma containers placed between two sheets of glass. These emit ultraviolet light at colored spots of phosphor on the screen, which then glow to create the picture.

Plasma TVs tend to have deeper blacks, and stabler color over the screen"s breadth from a variety of angles, leading to smoother, more natural images than seen on LED-lit LCD screens. Plasma screens also show crisp, fast motion without blur or ghosting.

According to CNET, LED-lit LCD TVs are the brightest available. They are capable of 100 footlamberts, although this is bright enough to cause eye fatigue in a dark room. Plasmas are less bright, so they might be more difficult to see in a bright room, and will dim over time.

Plasma screens normally range from 42 inches to approximately 65 inches. Panasonic also offer some larger models, including a 152 inch TV. Plasma screens also weigh more than LED-lit LCD screens.

Plasma TVs are less energy efficient than LED-lit LCD TVs. According to Which magazine, a 42 inch screen LED-lit LCD TV will use an average of 64 watts, while an average 42 inch Plasma TV uses 195 watts.

HDTVs are generally highly reliable. LED-lit LCD TVs are considered to have a lifespan of 100,000 hours, although they have not been in use long enough to have extensive information on their long-term reliability.

According to PC World, users of Panasonic’s plasma TVs rate them highly reliable, with very few serious problems. In 2010, just 1 in 20 Panasonic users reported a major problem with their TVs. Older plasma TVs have a lifespan of 20,000 hours, although some newer TVs have up to 60,000 hours.

LED-lit LCD TVs are typically more expensive than Plasma TVs. For example, on Amazon.com a Panasonic LED-lit LCD 42 inch TV was listed for $900 while a Panasonic Plasma 42 inch TV costs $600.

LCD screen TVs are the most popular, followed by LED-backlit screens (which are also LCD screens, by the way). Plasma screens are less popular and more commonly available in larger sizes.1,274 LCD TVs

All major TV manufacturers sell LED-lit LCD TVs. Panasonic focuses its TV range on the Plasma TV, while other brands, such as LG and Samsung, only produce a few models, and some, such as Sony and Toshiba, no longer produce Plasma TVs at all.

This is a complicated topic: when choosing between LCD and plasma TVs, you"re actually selecting between two competing technologies, both of which achieve similar features (i.e., bright, crystal-clear images, super color saturated pictures) and come in similar packages (i.e., 3.5 to 5 inch depth flat screen casing). To complicate the decision-making process further, price and size are two previous considerations that are rapidly becoming non-issues as LCDs are now being made in larger sizes and at competing prices with plasma TVs.

Plasma flat screen technology consists of hundreds of thousands of individual pixel cells, which allow electric pulses (stemming from electrodes) to excite rare natural gases-usually xenon and neon-causing them to glow and produce light. This light illuminates the proper balance of red, green, or blue phosphors contained in each cell to display the proper color sequence from the light. Each pixel cell is essentially an individual microscopic florescent light bulb, receiving instruction from software contained on the rear electrostatic silicon board. Look very closely at a plasma TV and you can actually see the individual pixel cell coloration of red, green, and blue bars. You can also see the black ribs which separate each.

Whether spread across a flat-panel screen or placed in the heart of a projector, all LCD displays come from the same technological background. A matrix of thin-film transistors (TFTs) supplies voltage to liquid-crystal-filled cells sandwiched between two sheets of glass. When hit with an electrical charge, the crystals untwist to an exact degree to filter white light generated by a lamp behind the screen (for flat-panel TVs) or one projecting through a small LCD chip (for projection TVs). LCD monitors reproduce colors through a process of subtraction: They block out particular color wavelengths from the spectrum of white light until they"re left with just the right color. And, it"s the intensity of light permitted to pass through this liquid-crystal matrix that enables LCD televisions to display images chock-full of colors-or gradations of them. LED TVs are a new form of LCD Television.

As the advantages show, plasma technology has the better picture quality in normal to low room lighting conditions and are better in 4 out of 5 picture quality categories. Plasma technology will almost without exception triumph during night time viewing. LCD televisions are great for sunroom/breakfast room type environments. Also, LCD monitors are generally better for public display such as airport signage and retail store signage due to the bright room light environment. See full article on plasma vs. LCD picture quality.

LCD monitors display static images from computer or VGA sources extremely well, with full color detail, no flicker, and no screen burn-in. Moreover, the number of pixels per square inch on an LCD display is typically higher than other display technologies, so LCD monitors are especially good at displaying large amounts of data - like you would find on an Excel spreadsheet for example - with exceptional clarity and precision. LCDs are also available in many more sizes, especially the smaller sizes most often used for a computer display.

Plasma technology has increased anti burn in tactics as well as computer and static signal handling. There are still issues with each depending very much on the model and manufacturer. For example, 720p plasma televisions do not handle a computer input well and product a very jaggy image on plasma"s larger sizes.

Plasma displays get the nod here because of their excellent performance with fast-moving images and high contrast levels. There are still some 2nd tier manufacturers whose plasma product displays some phosphor lag, a dragging from brights to darks.

While the "response time" of LCD TVs has markedly improved in the last couple of years, especially with the advent of 120/240Hz displays they still suffer from a motion blur effect, where the individual pixels are just slightly out of step with the image on the screen. The high refrash rate LCD televisions can also have some undesireable effects on the picture. During fast moving sports scenes, the most discerning eyes can detect this slight motion response lag.

There is a reason LCD panels are the preferred visual display units for use on airplanes: LCDs aren"t affected by increases or decreases in air pressure. Their performance is consistent regardless of the altitude at which they"re utilized.

This is not the case for a plasma TV. The display element in plasma TVs is actually a glass substrate envelope with rare natural gases compressed therein. So, at high altitudes (6,500 feet and above), an air-pressure differential emerges, which causes plasma displays to emit a buzzing sound due to the lower air pressure. This noise can sound rather like the humming of an old neon sign. NEC has been effective in producing several plasma models that are rated to 9,500 feet.

LCD manufacturers claim that their displays last, on average, 100,000 hours. In fact, an LCD TV will last as long as its backlight does - and those bulbs can sometimes be replaced! Since this is nothing more than light passing through a prismatic substrate, there is essentially nothing to wear out in an LCD monitor. However, one nasty little known fact about LCD technology is that as the backlight ages it can change colors slightly (think of florescent office lighting). When this occurs the white balance of the entire LCD will be thrown for a loop and the user will need to re-calibrate, or worse, try to replace the backlighting or ditch the unit altogether. Some of the early purchasers of larger LCD screens will be learning this tidbit in a couple of years. One thing that I’ve found in this industry, it is not easy to find out whether the backlighting on LCDs can be replaced. Manufacturers are either hesitant to discuss the topic, or they just don’t know.

Plasma, on the other hand, utilizes slight electric currents to excite a combination of noble gases (i.e., argon, neon, xenon), which glow red, blue, and/or green. This is an essentially active phenomenon, so the phosphoric elements in plasma displays fade over time. Many manufacturers state a new half life of 100,000 hours, that"s just over 68 years if the TV is on 4 hours every day. While I am skeptical of this spec, I do believe strides have been made to nearly even the playing field with LCD. At half life, the phosphors in a plasma screen will glow half as brightly as they did when the set was new. There is no way to replace these gases; the display simply continues to grow dimmer with use.

LCD technology is not prone to screen "burn-in" or "ghosting" (premature aging of pixel cells) due to the nature of the technologies "twisting crystals."

With plasma displays, static images will begin to "burn-in," or permanently etch the color being displayed into the glass display element. The time it takes for this to occur depends greatly on the anti burn-in technology of the manufacturer. Recent improvements by plasma manufacturers have certainly extended the time it takes to burn in a plasma pixel cell. In the past I was concerned to place a DVD on pause 15 minutes. Now, many of the enhancements such as better green phosphor material, and motion adaptive anti burn-in technology are greatly reducing the risk of burn in. It’s gotten so much better that I don’t even worry about it anymore. In a new model plasma from any top tier manufacturer I would put "ghosting" estimates at an hour or more now (Ghosting can be "washed" out by displaying static gray material). Permanent burn-in I would put at more than 10 hours.

Both LCD and Plasma televisions are becoming more readily available in larger sizes though plasma still leads the size battle by a great margin. Pioneer and LG produce 61" plasma sizes while Panasonic has a readily available 65" model. Though it is not being imported into the U.S. yet, PanasonicSamsung has produced a gigantic plasma television of 150 inches. Though such mammoth monitors are expensive, they exhibit none of the "kinks" one might expect with such large displays. In other words, even the largest plasma displays are reliable. Large plasma displays will consume power – try 675 watts for a 65" display compared to around 330 watts for a 42" plasma although plasma manufacturers have reduced power intake and made the product more efficient, some even qualify for an energy star rating now.

ADVANTAGE: Plasma. Even though production costs and retail prices have come down for both technologies, plasma still has the edge as far as production cost and capacity go.

Not a very important issue but worth noting. Because LCDs use florescent backlighting to produce images, they require substantially less power to operate than plasma TVs do. LCD displays consume about half the power that plasma displays consume. The reason: Plasmas use a lot of electricity to light each and every pixel you see on a screen - even the dark ones. Though plasma manufacturers have improved voltage consumption requirements a plasma TV will consume around a third more power for the same size display.

Our value ratings continue to be reason that plasma TVs generally receive higher marks in our overall TV ratings. See the full Comparison Ratings Chart here.

OLED and plasma displays output their own light, which allows them to produce true blacks, whereas LCDs rely on their backlight which makes blacks look grayish in comparison unless there’s local dimming.

Plasmas were quite popular due to their incredible picture quality with true blacks, as well as a rapid response time speed. However, they also suffered from having a too reflective screen, which washed out the colors in very bright rooms.

Although LCD TVs can’t produce deep blacks like plasma TVs, they slowly replaced them as they were a lot cheaper to make and had a much thinner design.

Similar to plasmas, OLED TVs and monitors are capable of producing true blacks for life-like picture quality. Besides, they have impeccable viewing angles, meaning that the picture doesn’t shift in color and contrast when the display is viewed at skewed angles.

Modern OLED TVs have various software, such as screen savers and pixel refreshers, to deal with image retention and burn-in, while a dedicated Game Mode provides responsive gameplay with minimal input lag.

The older models were backlit by cold cathode fluorescent lamps (CCFL), but nowadays, all modern LCDs have a mini LED or LED backlight, which requires less power and also allows for the display to be even thinner.

QLED TVs, popularized by Samsung, are based on quantum dot technology, which further enhances the image quality of the display. Though the term ‘QLED’ may sound misleading, these TVs aren’t OLED, but rather regular LED TVs with a quantum-dot enhanced film layer.

While QLED displays can be brighter than OLED, many prefer the infinite contrast of the latter, and since both types of these high-end TVs cost roughly the same, OLED is usually more favorable at this time.

Some LED displays feature local dimming as the means to compensate for the limited contrast and grayish blacks. This feature basically dims parts of the screen that are supposed to be dark, without affecting bright areas.

In some high-end LCDs, this can do wonders for the image quality, but if the local dimming is poorly implemented, it can also cause undesired defects, such as halo and bloom.

Finally, modern OLED and LED-backlit LCD TVs offer a high screen resolution. 4K or Ultra HD makes the picture incredibly crisp and sharp in comparison to the standard 1080p HDTVs.

Generally, OLED and QD-OLED displays are better for viewing in a dark room due to their infinite contrast ratio, while mini LED LCDs are preferred for bright room viewing thanks to their stellar peak brightness.

For gaming, there are a lot of additional things to consider, such as screen size, refresh rate, resolution, panel type and variable refresh rate technology.

Prices have been basically stalled since the retail wars of the 2006 holidays, when LCD TVs, once luxury items, went almost mainstream. But prices will probably plunge again by the end of the year.

A 42-inch set selling right now for an average of $1,877 could be going for $1,175 -- a drop of more than 35% -- just in time for the winter holidays, the ISuppli industry analyst group said Tuesday. Already, at some discount and membership stores, you can find an off-brand 42-inch LCD set for under $1,000.

“I have a 20-inch LCD set across from me that was $1,500 just four years ago. Now, I could get it for $149,” said analyst Richard Doherty at Envisioneering Group. “The prices have fallen faster than any consumer electronics item in years, with the exception of DVD players.”

If the price falls as much as expected this year, the average 42-inch LCD set will cost only about $80 more than a plasma flat-screen of the same size. For years, plasma was the undisputed flat-screen king, largely because the technology was far cheaper. But now LCDs could rule -- especially among the environmentally and weight-conscious.

“LCD TVs use a lot less electricity,” Doherty said. “People who consider themselves green tend to buy LCD. And the weight of two 37-inch LCD TVs are about equal to that of one plasma set the same size.”

This year, the number of LCD screens -- each of which contains a liquid crystal gel divided into hundreds of thousands of individual pixels -- shipping from factories will reach 75.2 million, up from 52.7 million in 2006, ISuppli said. And the price of the screens to TV manufacturers is forecast to fall 17% in just the first half of the year.

“At the beginning of 2006, we were seeing 42-inch LCDs at about $3,500 or $4,000,” said Ross Rubin, an analyst at NPD Group. “But they were from just a handful of manufacturers. By the end of the year, many more manufacturers were offering LCDs and there was very aggressive retail discounting during the holidays.”

Plasma technology consists of hundreds of thousands of individual pixel cells, which allow electric pulses (stemming from electrodes) to excite rare natural gases-usually xenon and neon-causing them to glow and produce light. This light illuminates the proper balance of red, green, or blue phosphors contained in each cell to display the proper color sequence from the light. Each pixel cell is essentially an individual microscopic florescent light bulb, receiving instruction from software contained on the rear electrostatic silicon board. Look very closely at a plasma TV and you can actually see the individual pixel cell coloration of red, green, and blue bars. You can also see the black ribs which separate each.

Plasma technology has certainly achieved quite high contrast ratios, a measure of the blackest black compared to the whitest white. Many plasma display manufacturers boast a contrast ratio of 100,000:1 these days though our tests using a standardized ANSI checkerboard pattern have not proven these numbers out. Plasma TVs achieve such impressive black levels by using internal algorithms to block the power to particular pixels in order to render a pixel "dark" or black. While this can limit a plasma television"s gray scaling, it does produce exceptionally black blacks - depending on the manufactured plasma display element (i.e. glass). A plasma TV uses maximum power when it is producing full white. As a result, some 2nd tier manufactured brands of plasma TVs have an audible buzz or whining sound when displaying white or very light images.

LCD (liquid crystal diode) displays, by contrast, utilize electric charges to twist and untwist liquid crystals, which causes them to block light and, hence, emit blacks. The higher the voltage passing through the liquid crystals in a given pixel, the more fully those crystals untwist and effectively block light - all of which makes these pixels darker. As opposed to plasma, LCD TVs (and LED) use the most power when displaying a very dark or black image. This is a difficult process, and despite recent improvements in LCD black levels, only the best LED LCD televisions have managed to match plasma technology in contrast ratio. The one continual drawback here for LCD is off axis viewing, when black levels and contrast consistently drop. We call it contrast degradation in our reviews. We have noted some improvement from LCD manufacturers lately in off axis viewing contrast, especially with the higher end LED backlit LCD TVs.

ADVANTAGE: Closer than a year ago, but still Plasma. By better utilizing the LED backlit technology, LCD TV manufacturers have made great improvements in black levels and in many cases have nearly managed to match the contrast ratio of plasma TVs. However, Plasma displays still maintain an advantage on average in this category due to fading blacks when viewing LCD TVs from side angles. For scenes with a lot of dark and light images shown simultaneously - as with content originating from DVDs, video games, and NTSC TV signals - plasmas still consistently outperform LCD TVs.

In plasma displays, each pixel contains red, green, and blue elements, which work in conjunction to create 16.77 million colors. Insofar as each pixel contains all the elements needed to produce every color in the spectrum, color information was more accurately reproduced with plasma technology than it was with other display technologies. The chromaticity coordinates were more accurate on most plasma displays. Though the color saturation resulting from the pixel design of plasma displays is remarkable, LCD technology has nearly caught plasma in gray scaling color accuracy. Plasma continues to exhibit more richness in color information and more natural coloration. Today, SMPTE color coordinates in top plasma displays still normally outperform those in LCDs, which tend toward oversaturation.

ADVANTAGE: Preference to plasma but depends upon room light, manufacturer and model. Plasma TV color richness and naturalness will prevail in rooms with lower to normal lighting - yielding a more realistic picture. LED LCD TVs perform better in very brightly lit rooms due to their inherent anti glare technology and brightness.

Plasma manufacturers have made much of their near perfect 180 degree viewing angles, which is about as good as horizontal and vertical viewing angles get. This owes to the fact that each pixel produces its own light, rather than light being spread across the screen from one central source. Hence, each pixel is more readily visible because its brightness is consistent with every other pixel on the screen. One consistent area of superiority of plasma viewing angles is demonstrated when viewing dark material content, especially DVDs. A Plasma display holds the black levels from off axis, while LCD TVs lose black level intensity/contrast more as the angle off axis increases. This usually occurs after around 45 degrees off center.

LCD TV manufacturers have done much to improve their displays" viewing angles. The substrate material on newer-generation LCD models by Sharp and Sony has helped to expand those units" viewing angles, though they still have some ground to cover before catching plasma. Expect the best LCD HDTVs to have around 120 degree viewing angles.

Generally the performance should be about the same in terms of displaying the video image provided that the resolution of the plasma or LCD TV is 1080p or higher. Some plasma TVs still have 720p resolution and this would be a drawback to a defined static image.

ADVANTAGE: LCD and LED LCD, although I would rather look at the more pleasant light of a plasma display. The LED in an LCD TV could give me a headache.

Plasma technology gets the easy nod here because of their excellent performance with fast-moving images and high contrast levels. It"s an inherent quality of the technology. Plasma manufacturers have recently started publishing a specification of 600Hz with relation to the equivalent refresh rate speed of a plasma compared to an LED or LCD TV. It"s really just for comparisons sake as each individual pixel in the plasma displays its color. There is no motion lag, drag, or blur in plasma TVs nor side to side judder when panning.

LED LCD TV manufaacturers have worked hard to overcome the motion lag/judder issue. Last years models saw the introduction of true 240Hz refresh rate (up from 120 which was up from 60). This year few models were introduced with a "manipulated" 240Hz refresh rate that is stated as 480Hz. The 120Hz change drastically improved the response time and the subsequent increases helped a little more. However, it also introduces unwanted video information by sharpening the picture background information and taking out necessary blur. This may seem like a positive, but with 90% of your viewing material, it is not. Depending upon the manufacturer, we advise turning off the 120Hz or 240Hz feature with all but live sports programming. See our full article about 120Hz/240Hz refresh rate here.

There is a reason LCD flat panels are the preferred visual display units for use on airplanes: LCD TVs aren"t affected by increases or decreases in air pressure. Their performance is consistent regardless of the altitude at which they"re utilized.

This is not the case for a plasma. The display element in plasma TVs is actually a glass substrate envelope with rare natural gases compressed therein. So, at high altitudes (6,500 feet and above), an air-pressure differential emerges, which causes plasma displays to emit a buzzing sound due to the lower air pressure. This noise can sound rather like the humming of an old neon sign.

LED LCD television manufacturers claim that their displays last, on average, 100,000 hours. LED lighting technology has indeed changed the picture life for LCD TVs. The reason is that LED lighting does not change color over time, while the older CFL flourescent syle backlighting does. When this happens in an LCD TV the white balance of the TV will be compromised. Current LCD TVs will probably last the same length of time as the LED LCD TVs, though your color quality will likely degrade. In theory an LCD TV will last as long as its backlight does. Since it involves nothing more than light passing through a prismatic substrate, there is little to wear out in an LCD TV except the backlighting. Pixels may become stuck over time. From our research, flourescent bulb backlighting in LCDs cannot be replaced cost effectively - contrary to opinion. LED backlit LCDs provide a longer lasting stability, with little to no degradation in white balance over time. One question we have with LED LCDs is how they will actually perform over time. We have not had enough time to know for sure.

Plasma TVs, on the other hand, utilize slight electric currents to excite a combination of noble gases (i.e., argon, neon, xenon), which glow red, blue, and/or green. This is an essentially active phenomenon, so the phosphoric elements in plasma displays fade over time. Many manufacturers state a new half life of 60,000 hours. While I am skeptical of this spec, I do believe strides have been made to nearly even the playing field with LCD and LED LCD. At half life, the phosphors in a plasma screen will glow half as brightly as they did when the set was new. There is no way to replace these gases; the TV simply continues to grow dimmer with use.

ADVANTAGE: LED, then Plasma, then LCD. Some manufacturers of both plasma and LED LCD state up to 100,000 hours use. At 4 hours use per day that"s 68 years of employment. Where do they get these specs??

LCD technology is not prone to screen "burn-in" or "ghosting" (premature aging of pixel cells) due to the nature of the technologies "twisting crystals."

With plasma, static images will begin to "burn-in," or permanently etch the color being displayed into the glass display element. The time it takes for this to occur depends greatly on the anti burn-in technology of the manufacturer. Recent improvements by plasma manufacturers have certainly extended the time it takes to burn in a plasma pixel cell. In the past I was concerned to place a DVD on pause 15 minutes. Now, many of the enhancements such as improved green phosphor material, oscillating pixels, and motion adaptive anti burn-in technology are greatly reducing the risk of burn in. It"s gotten so much better that I don"t even worry about it anymore. In a new model plasma from any top tier manufacturer I would put "ghosting" estimates at hours of use (Ghosting can be "washed" out by displaying static gray material or full screen images). Permanent burn-in I would put at more than 10 hours.

Both plasma and LCD TVs are becoming more readily available in larger sizes though plasma still leads the size battle by a great margin. Pioneer and LG produce 61" plasma sizes while Panasonic has a readily available 65" model. Though it is not being imported into the U.S. yet, Samsung has produced a gigantic plasma of 100 inches. Though such mammoth monitors are expensive, they exhibit none of the "kinks" one might expect with such large displays. In other words, even the largest plasma displays are reliable. Large plasma displays will consume power - try 675 watts for a 65 "display compared to around 330 watts for a 42" plasma.

ADVANTAGE: Plasma, though the playing field is leveling. Even though production costs and retail prices have come down for both technologies, plasma still has the edge as far as production cost and capacity go..

Plasma HDTV sets just keep getting cheaper and cheaper. According to a Wall Street Journal article, the average cost of a 50-inch plasma is $300 less than the average cost of a 50-inch LCD. One reason is improved manufacturing technology. Paul Gagnon, an analyst at DisplaySearch, observes that "plasma manufacturers continue to wring out price improvements."

But cheaper manufacturing costs don"t always translate into lower price tags. Another essential factor is serious competition--and the struggle for sales between plasma TVs and LCD TVs has plasma producers feeling plenty of pressure.

Last year, according to DisplaySearch, North American consumers purchased about 10 million 40- and 50-inch LCD TVs versus about 3.8 million plasma sets of the same sizes. (You may have seen an even more imbalanced statistic--30 million LCDs versus 4 million plasmas--but those numbers don"t reflect true head-to-head popularity: Most HDTVs sold have screen diagonals of less than 40 inches, which is the smallest size in which plasmas are available.)

Both Pioneer and Vizio stopped making plasma TVs this year, leaving only LG, Panasonic, and Samsung in the business. And as the sagging prices suggest, business for plasma display panels hasn"t been good.

Last month, Panasonic reduced the list price on its 46-inch plasma models by $200. And today consumers can choose between two 50-inch models (the Samsung PN50B450 and the Panasonic TC-P50C1) that go for a street price of $900. Not bad if you"re in the hunt for a large-screen HDTV.

"LCD has dramatically improved image quality," notes iSuppli analyst Riddhi Patel, and this has put the two technologies "pretty much on par in terms of performance."

Though Joe Kane of Digital Video Essentials believes that high-end plasmas produce a superior image, he says that the quality advantage vanishes in the budget category. In Kane"s opinion, $5000 plasmas outperform similarly priced LCDs, but "inexpensive plasmas don"t look very good."

LCDs have other advantages in the marketplace, though in some instances those advantages are more a matter of perception than of reality. Since LCDs can display a brighter picture, they look better than plasmas in a showroom"s bright ambient lighting. This has nothing to do with how suitable the set will be for home use, but it"s a huge sales advantage.

Meanwhile, plasma displays continue to battle consumer misconceptions. Some prospective buyers worry about plasma burn-in-once a serious problem for plasma technology, but a rare occurrence today.

"The perception that burn-in is still an issue plagues the plasma category to this day," says DisplaySearch"s Gagnon. Not that the problem has been entirely eradicated. Imaging Science"s Silver believes that "LCD will always have the advantage" in avoiding burn-in. He advises gamers and others who are likely to have a static image onscreen for many hours at a time to avoid plasma sets.

Another popular criticism of plasmas is that they use more electricity than LCDs. This is true, but--depending on what you watch--the difference in consumption may not be very great. Whereas an LCD TV uses the same amount of power to create a dark image as to create a bright one, a plasma TV uses less for the dark image. As a result, the plasma will use more power on the first 117 minutes of Lawrence of Arabiathan on all 117 minutes of Blade Runner. So if your tastes run to film noir, a plasma set may not impose much of an energy penalty. (Like plasmas, LCDs with LED backlighting use less power for dark images than for light ones--and they also use less power all around.)

Patel of iSuppli sees a prospect of short-term success, if manufacturers can continue to keep plasma prices lower than LCD prices. "Plasma"s focus will shift to 50-inch and larger sizes, where LCDs are still more expensive," he says. "Plasma will still have an advantage there for a couple of years."

Buying a TV and wondering what type of display tech is better? We’ve got the lowdown for you in this LCD vs Plasma buying guide. These two technologies produce images through vastly different processes, and each comes with a different set of pros and cons. So before we dive head first into which type of screen is better and why, it’s helpful to understand the technology behind each type of screen. Don’t worry, it’s not as complex as you might think.

Plasma displays work in an entirely different way. Instead of using a backlight and a set of filters to illuminate pixels on the screen, images on a plasma TVs are created by ionized gas (plasma) that lights up when you run an electrical current through it. The easiest way to undertand it is by thinking of each individual subpixel on the TV as a tiny neon light, or perhaps a miniature version of the florescent tubes you might be sitting under right now. The pixels that make up a plasma display are almost exactly the same technology, just on a much smaller scale.

For those of you who care to understand the science behind it all, here’s how the magic happens: An electrode applies an electrical current to a small cell filled with a noble gas mixture (usually neon and xenon). This excites the gas, ionizing it and transforming it into a plasma. This plasma emits ultraviolet light – which we can’t see – but when the UV light hits a phosphor coating that lines each cell, it causes the phosphor to glow and put out light that we can see. Depending on which particular phosphor the cell is coated with, it will create a red, green, or blue glow. Just like with LCD displays, each cluster of red green and blue subpixels makes up one pixel on the screen (see header image).

Due to the fact that plasma displays have the ability to completely turn off individual pixels, they boast far better black levels than LCD displays. Although LCD tech has improved over the years, the panels still aren’t that great at blocking out light completely, which makes it really hard for them to achieve true blackness on dark scenes. This is especially true of CCFL-backlit LCD screens. Some LED-backlit LCD TVs with local dimming can achieve black levels comparable to those of plasma TVs, but they’re generally much more expensive.

Because of the way they’re designed, plasma TV’s are also better at controlling the relative level of brightness of each red, blue, or green subpixel, so they typically produce greater contrast, more realistically textured images, and richer colors than their LCD counterparts.

Plasma displays also tend to have much better viewing angles than LCD TVs, mostly because the polarizing filters on LCD panels tend to cut out light that isn’t traveling straight forward. Since plasma displays don’t rely on filters to manage the light you see, their pictures can be enjoyed from a relatively wide angle without losing any integrity. Some higher end LCD TV’s incorporate technology to improve viewing angle, but most still aren’t on par with plasma displays.

When images move quickly across a screen, sometimes the pixels on an LCD panel can’t turn on and off fast enough, which results in what we call motion blur. Plasma screens generally don’t have this problem because the florescent phosphor coating in each subpixel stops glowing just a few nanoseconds after the electrode turns off, but LCD screens take a bit longer. This is because the crystals that control the flow of light (ie, shutters) take some extra time to open and close. That being said, however, many newer LCD screens feature refresh rates of 12oHz or faster, which effectively cuts out the problem of motion blur. Lower-end models might still have this drawback though, so be sure to check refresh rates before you buy anything.

If you’ve done even a small amount of research on plasma screens, there’s a good chance you’ve come across a thing called burn-in. This refers to an image that persists on the screen even after the image that created it is long gone  – kinda like when somebody shines a flashlight in your face and you can still see streaks when you close your eyes. Burn-in works in the same way, but on your TV. If something bright stays on a plasma screen for too long (like CNN’s ticker or the Discovery Channel logo) it can sometimes leave a visible ghost behind after the image has gone away. This was a big problem in early plasma displays, but burn-in has largely been eradicated now that manufacturers have devised ways to cycle power to the phosphors and keep them from staying lit for too long. Still, it’s probably not a good idea to leave a static image on your screen for days on end.

Plasma TV’s are much more power-hungry than their LCD counterparts. Generally speaking, a CCFL-backlit LCD screen consumes about half the power of a plasma screen of the same size, and an LED-backlit LCD screen uses even less power than that. Depending on the cost of electricity where you live, you might want to factor in power costs if you’re thinking about buying a plasma TV.

Despite all the advances plasma technology has seen over the years, it still can’t match the brightness enjoyed by LED or CCFL-backlit LCD screens. This makes LCD TVs a better option for rooms with lots of light – especially since plasma TVs almost always have glossy, reflective screens.

So which type of TV should you go with? It depends on a few different factors, but if you’re looking for the best picture at the lowest price, definitely go with a plasma TV. Plasma sets cost roughly as much as your typical CCFL-backlit LCD TV, but offer a picture that’s on par with or better than some of the best, most expensive LED TV’s on the market.

However, if your home theater setup is in a room that’s got a lot of windows and ambient light pouring in, or you just have to have the thinnest TV on your block, you might want to opt for an LCD TV. So long as it’s within your budget, we recommend buying an LED-backlit or edgelit LCD TV – they’re thinner, prettier, and more energy-efficient than their CCFL cousins, but also more expensive. CCFL-backlit LCD TVs should only be a last resort – avoid them if at all possible.

The latest plasma and LCD TVs are thinner and lighter, but not nearly as durable as the big honking cathode ray tube TVs or even the first generations of plasmas introduced in the late 1990s, metro area technicians say.

“The timeframe within which they usually fail seems to have changed,” said Haz Murib, manager of AAAA TVs and Electronics in Centennial. “It seems like they happen within five years, whereas with older TVs, it used to happen usually between five and 10 years.”

Repair technicians say the growing use of cheaper components is one reason prices on flat-panel TVs — LCDs and plasmas — have drastically dropped in recent years.

In the fourth quarter of 2009, a 32-inch LCD TV sold for an average price of $511, down from $1,566 in 2005, according to market research firm iSuppli. The average price is expected to fall to $374 in the fourth quarter of this year.

“Panasonic makes capacitors, but they don’t use their own capacitors,” said Eagle Wehner, owner of Eagle Vision TV Repair in Englewood. “They use cheaper parts in their TVs.”

“Our plasmas are (built) to last 100,000 hours, at which point they achieve half brightness, something discernible only if you have a new set for side-by-side comparison,” said Jeff Samuels, a spokesman for Panasonic. “Lower prices are the result of continual R&D engineers constantly working to build better, less expensive sets.”

“For the newer technology, if you get five to six years out of it before something fails, that actually is very good,” Gonzales said. “In the past, the big-screen TVs went 10 to 15 years.”

Despite the shorter life spans, flat-panel sets now represent the vast majority of TV sales. Nearly 34 million LCD and plasma TVs are expected to be sold this year, up from 13.4 million in 2006, according to the Consumer Electronics Association.

MUMBAI: A Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) or a plasma TV has become a must have for every household. More so because of the ‘me-too’ vanity factor than anything else. With prices reducing every few months, its becoming affordable too. But, the point is that buying an LCD/Plasma TV is very different from buying a normal TV set.

LCD and Plasma screens may look similar but the underlying technologies are very different and so are their strengths and weaknesses. Both carry higher prices than their bulkier brethren the cathode ray tube TVs, as well. But still, there are differences between plasma and LCD TVs that you should consider before purchasing.

Now, here we could give you the perfect scientific definition of the two, but the simplest way to distinguish between the two is that a Plasma TV has a glass shield over its main screen while an LCD does not have this. All plasma displays are wide-screen designs, meaning they have a 16:9 ratio of screen width to screen height (also referred to as aspect ratio), which is the standard for HDTV and very close to the ratio used for most modern movies.

This makes them more rectangular than the traditional, almost square 4:3 displays. LCD TV are those that that uses liquid crystal technology for their visual output.

If you are planning to buy a TV below 40 inches, then you are better off buying a LCD TV but if you are going in for a TV above this size, you would be better off buying a 42-inch plasma which comes in the same price band. Our research from electronic store chains showed that the most sold TV sets are the 30 inches followed by 40 inches. You don’t get a plasma in 30 inches. Plasma TVs start at 40 inches upwards.

If you are looking at buying a 40-inch TV and beyond, then what would you opt for? Having said this, you get what you pay for in a plasma TV, which means you should not expect the same quality from a Rs 1.5 lakh 42-inch TV as you get in a much higher priced 50-inch TV. The budget model will usually have lower contrast and poorer reproduction of black and dark grays, yielding a picture with less punch and detail.

On the other hand, LCDs tend to be a lot similar to your average CTVs. LCDs are often thicker than plasmas. This makes narrower viewing angle difficult to watch on such a TV. It does not matter when it comes to sound as both the LCD and Plasma TVs have a poor sound output, which means that you have to be ready to shell out more for a surround sound system for that theatre like experience.

As per our research, Hitachi and Sharp, though relatively unknown brands among Indian consumer, are actually few good brands you can trust while buying LCD and Plasma TVs. And when you are buying top brands, price should the last concern. But just for the record, a 32-inch LCD would cost you about Rs 32,000 while a Hitachi costs Rs 65,000. This is the minimum you would have to pay for a LCD. The starting range for a Plasma — a 40 inch — costs anywhere in the range of Rs 1-1.5 lakh.

Generally with LCDs 8 milli seconds is the standard response time. Anything higher is not a wise buy. Traditionally as compared to Plasma TVs they are known to have a slower response time, which can sometimes cause blurring of fast-moving action, such as in sports or news tickers at the bottom of your screens. Another good way to test your TV would be what we call ‘the human test’.

If true to life images such as a human face appears closer to reality only then a TV is said to be good. If the image is even slightly brownish or pinkish, then the TV is colour infused (a tactic practised to hide the quality of parts that make your TV. Also while this may not be a big problem with LCDs, Plasma TVs tend to have a peculiar problem called ‘screen burn’.

That means, when a static image is left on the screen for a long time (a station logo or a text banner, for example), it may not completely disappear when the image changes. Now, however, most models use pixel-shifting strategies that continually move the image on the screen in imperceptibly tiny increments to help prevent burn-ins. It is advisable to check whether your plasma has this anti-burn technology.

Despite great progress, LCDs still tend to have lower contrast ratios than plasmas, primarily because they have a harder time reproducing deep black and dark grays. Generally, there are 1888 shades between your normal white and black. The gray scale in plasma TVs is higher than that in LCDs. In terms of colour, they tend to vary from maker to maker.

The minimum colour scale available is about 64 million colours while Samsung offers the maximum possible palette of 7.8 billion colours. Even users in countries like UK and France think that plasma TV delivers superior colours than LCDs. Moreover, when you walk in to buy a TV, always ask the sales assistant to ensure that both the LCDs and Plasma TVs are receiving the same source of signal. Also try viewing different types of content like movies, sports, etc to tell you difference between contrast ratios, colour quality, etc.

Yet another differentiating factor between the LCDs and Plasma TVs is their working life. Plasma TVs are known to have lesser life span between the two models. The maximum that a plasma TV would work is about 60,000 hours. Even if you watch TV 24x7, 365 days in a year, it would run for some six and a half years. With technology changing so fast, your TV set would be obsolete by then.

Consumers are cheering their good fortune, watching prices for big flat-screen TVs tumble while makers slug it out to decide which display standard will become dominant--liquid crystal or plasma.

"Plasma display makers will do their best to cut costs and fend them off, but LCD makers are investing aggressively to go after the big-inch TVs and should be able to grab a good slice of that market, especially at 40 inches and just above," Hisakazu Torii, director of TV market research at DisplaySearch.

Companies such as Japan"s Matsushita Electric Industrial and South Korea"s LG Electronics have preferred to use plasma screens for 40-inch or larger TV sets since they are easier to mass produce at larger sizes, giving plasma a cost advantage over LCDs.

Plasma TV sets use tiny pockets of gases to display images, while LCDs use crystals sandwiched between glass. LCDs last longer than plasma screens but are not as bright, while

But prices for big LCD TVs will also come down sharply this year, as massive production ramp-ups are enabling LCD manufacturers to cut their own costs.

"LCD panel prices will show a moderate fall in the first half on demand ahead of the World Cup soccer tournament, but the price fall will accelerate in the second half, given ramp-up plans at makers such as LG.Philips LCD and Sharp," said Lee Min-hee, an analyst at CJ Investment & Securities.

One company that sells both standards, Samsung Electronics, currently prices its high-definition 42-inch plasma TV set around $2,600 while its 40-inch LCD TV set can be bought for less than $2,800.

DisplaySearch predicts LCD sets will account for 50 percent of the 40-44 inch flat TV market by 2009, compared with 6 percent in 2005, while plasma"s share will fall to 49 percent in 2009 from 71 percent.

"We are still selling plasma, a few products, but our focus is purely on LCD," Fujio Nishida, president of Sony"s European operations, said at the Reuters summit in Paris. "The future is LCD. That"s our decision."

However, plasma makers say their production cost-advantage and plasma"s clearer images will give them a secure place in the fast-growing market. Makers such as Samsung SDI, LG Electronics and Matsushita also plan heavy investments to add capacity, raising concerns among analysts about a potential glut.

"Eventually PDP makers will have to move their focus to above 50-inch when LCDs catch up in the 40-inch level," said Michael Min, an analyst at Korea Investment & Securities.

Self-luminous and paper-thin OLED screens produce brighter images, respond faster and consume less power. Makers expect OLED displays to replace LCDs on mobile phones starting next year and eventually to compete with LCD and plasma for the monitor and TV panel market.

That"s because the price of 40- to 42-inch LCD panels fell to $950 this month, the first time such devices have cost less than $1,000, market research firm iSuppli said Thursday.

The falling prices of panels, the most expensive component of the high-tech TVs, could bring the price of the 40- to 42-inch sets down to $2,500 by the end of the year, iSuppli predicted. The most popular size for large, flat-screen sets is 42 inches, according to makers of the generally cheaper plasma version.

Prices for smaller LCD TV sets are likely to drop this year too, iSuppli noted. For instance, the price of 30- to 32-inch LCD panels dipped to $425 this month.

Samsung, in particular, is helping drive down the price of 40- to 42-inch LCD panels, iSuppli said. The company is ramping up production at a new state-of-the-art plant that it

This statistic shows the development of the average consumer price for plasma screen and LCD TVs in Germany from 2005 to 2021. In 2021, an LCD TV sold on the German consumer market cost an average of roughly 677 euros.Read moreAverage price for plasma screen and LCD TV sets sold in Germany from 2005 to 2021(in euros)CharacteristicPlasma screenLCD TV---

gfu. (March 3, 2022). Average price for plasma screen and LCD TV sets sold in Germany from 2005 to 2021 (in euros) [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved March 08, 2023, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/462655/plasma-and-lcd-tvs-average-prices-germany/

gfu. "Average price for plasma screen and LCD TV sets sold in Germany from 2005 to 2021 (in euros)." Chart. March 3, 2022. Statista. Accessed March 08, 2023. https://www.statista.com/statistics/462655/plasma-and-lcd-tvs-average-prices-germany/

gfu. (2022). Average price for plasma screen and LCD TV sets sold in Germany from 2005 to 2021 (in euros). Statista. Statista Inc.. Accessed: March 08, 2023. https://www.statista.com/statistics/462655/plasma-and-lcd-tvs-average-prices-germany/

gfu. "Average Price for Plasma Screen and Lcd Tv Sets Sold in Germany from 2005 to 2021 (in Euros)." Statista, Statista Inc., 3 Mar 2022, https://www.statista.com/statistics/462655/plasma-and-lcd-tvs-average-prices-germany/

gfu, Average price for plasma screen and LCD TV sets sold in Germany from 2005 to 2021 (in euros) Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/462655/plasma-and-lcd-tvs-average-prices-germany/ (last visited March 08, 2023)

Average price for plasma screen and LCD TV sets sold in Germany from 2005 to 2021 (in euros) [Graph], gfu, March 3, 2022. [Online]. Available: https://www.statista.com/statistics/462655/plasma-and-lcd-tvs-average-prices-germany/

In the old days of digital television, a year or two ago, choices were simple. If the screen measured lessthan 37 inches diagonally, it would be a liquid crystal display panel. From about 37 to 50 inches, it would probably be a plasma panel. And larger sizes would be rear- or front-projection sets.

But as flat panels have grown, categories have blurred. For 60-inch, or 152- centimeter, screens, plasmas startingabout $3,000 are an alternative to projection models starting about $2,000. A bigger rivalry exists between LCD and plasma panels of about 40 inches, where prices are virtually identical. For example, the most popular plasma from LG Electronics, the 42-inch 42PC3D, sells for $2,000; and its 42-inch LCD, the 42LC2D, sells for $2,100. (Model numbers and availability may differ slightly in Europe and Asia.)

The first step in answering that is to get past antiquated stereotypes. Plasma, for instance, is still haunted by burn-in - the tendency to retain marks from images displayed on the screen for too long.

But for modern plasmas, burn-in usually disappears after a few hours of displaying other content, according to David Katzmaier, a senior editor for home video and audio at the online technology publisher CNET. In fact, plasmas are sturdier overall than they used to be. Many new screens are expected to last 60,000 hours before losing half their brightness - the standard measure of a screen"s lifetime. Modern LCDs are also rated for 60,000 hours. That is more than 23 years of watching TV seven hours a day, every day.

Although plasma displays have many advantages in providing a good viewing experience in dark places, it should also be mentioned that they are susceptible to the "scorch" effect of blurry spots that appear on the screen.

This is sandwiched between two pieces of glass. The images you see on the LCD screen are controlled by these filters, which "distort" when power is applied to allow fluorescent lights to pass through.

You may not know that LCD screens and LED screens are basically the same. This is because LCD screens use LEDs as light sources instead of traditional cold cathode fluorescent lamps (CCFLs).

LED displays are currently a favorite in the Digital Sginage world. As we mentioned earlier, they can be considered a hybrid of LCD technology, with new backlighting features, rather than classic fluorescent lamps, as they provide lighter contrast, deeper darkness, and more attractive colors.

Plasma, LCD, LED and OLED screens are different and have common elements. For example, they can provide more than 100.000 hours of operating time. Although it is difficult to compare them with each other, when each technology offers models with different characteristics and prices.

Contact the LEDLMON technical department for personalized advice based on your real needs. We will surely advise you on a customized LED advertising screen for your business.