In your experience, what are the pros and cons of plasma and LCD screen TVs?

Answer 1

I recently bought a traditional cathode-ray (CRT) widescreen TV instead of an LCD or plasma. Having compared them side-by-side, the picture on the CRT just seemed more natural to me. The LCDs have become much, much better than 5 years ago, but I still think they have a little bit of catching up left to do before they match the quality of a CRT (I know this is a bit subjective, because the sales assistants thought the LCD looked better.)

Another problem with today's LCD and plasma TVs is that nearly all of the new ones are HD-ready. This gives a slightly worse picture when viewing today's non-HD broadcasts, because all the display lines are interpolated.

Answer 2

panasonic got an indepent consumer to do the findings.

basically they ask what do you perfer, 85% said lcd.
they where then shown 2 different tvs ( 1 plasma 1 lcd explaining differences ) after this they ask the same question. Guess what 65% said plasma was better.

it all depends on how much the buyer wants to spend, how big they want to go ( bear in mind that the majority of tv sold are 32", which plasmas dont do ) what they watch ( if sport, fast moving then plasma doesn't have " ghousting ".

I what say that when i've explained all this to my customers, no matter what tv they go for, having to explain " pixels, and dead pixels iso law etc ". All of them agree that the technogly and progress should not let this happen.

LCD pro:-
better defined picture ( espically on the sony v series and above )

slightly long live span ( but even with plasma you would upgrade before it broke ).

CON:- lagging, ghousting

No hard screen to protect it.

Plasma pro:-

Ideal for fasting shots.

better contrast ration

brighter coulours

Bigger sizes

con:-

Urban myth that surround them

smallest is only 37" ( panasonic )

Hope this helps wg

Answer 3

I can only tell you my experience. I bought a 42" Samsung Plasma and I can see the difference in contrast from my friend's LCD. To me it seems a bit sharper.

Now the burn-in issue is something I was VERY worried about as I play games. I haven't had any burn-in, yet after playing game I can see a bit of the HUD from the game on the screen. Playing TV wipes it away. My Samsung actually has a display mode to wipe it away as well. So burn-in is not much of a concern anymore.

I seriously don't think you can go wrong with either one. I think DLP is a great technology as well. All 3 types deliver exceptional pictures.

Answer 4

LCD is an older technology than plasma, having been used on computers for some time, so you would think LCD TVs would be more advanced than plasma.

the picture is better on a plasma though, but as others have pointed out, the 'burn in' picture is something you can do without.
overall the LCD gives you a better value I think.

Answer 5

We just bought a 42" samsung plasma HDTV. The cost was reasonable ($1100.00 @ Wal-Mart) We love it the picture is awesome. The whole plasma image burn-in thing scared me so we were leaning towards LCD but I have learned that the burn-in was a problem when plasma's 1st came out but is no longer an issue. There really is not a huge diff between the two. Plasmas do come in bigger sizes but that's about it.

Answer 6

Plasmas still come in bigger sizes. 60 inch plasmas are quite common now, Panasonic even has a 100 inch monster. LCDs stop at 46 inch. The other thing that plasma still has over LCD is its ability to generate a true black, and believe me, the black is the most important part for producing a good looking image. Without a solid black it doesnt matter how good the resolution the image will look pasty. My parents have a very expensive high def LCD, and my cheapo standard def plasma still looks much better than theres just because it can do a really nice black. Their monitor is three times the resolution of mine but at normal viewing distance my plasma is just nicer to watch.

Answer 7

Let's make this short and straight to the point.

Plasmas
- Pros
Cheaper per size compared to LCDs, a lot better Contrast Ratio
- Cons
"Burn In Prone" (But Plasma Manufacturers said they are working on eliminating it) and Shorter lifespan.

LCDs
- Pros
Longer Lifespan
- Cons
Expensive especially if you reach the 50+" range. Not as much contrast ratio.

I own a high end Sony LCD, at that range blackness levels (contrast ratios) of plasmas and LCDs are almost non distinguishable even if they are compared side by side.

Answer 8

the black level is darker on plasma and i think has a more natural picture like a crt set.
a lcd set picture will fade as your viewing angle moves either side from centre. on the plus side lcd will be cheaper for the same size counterpart.

Answer 9

Pros : It gives you a Picture to watch, just like ANY other TV does.....

Cons : It costs MORE than any other TV to repair......

I still choose a Projection CRT TV....because they are not expensive in ANY department.....
AND you can get TRUE 1080i resolution for $900.
TRY the HITACHI 51F59 Projection TV.....It's just as bright and just as dark, just as sharp and just as HI DEF (or more) than ANY LCD OR DLP.....
Life Expectancy is about 12 to 18 years.......
Cost to repair.....about $300 in the LIFE of the TV......
Can't say that about ANY LCD or PLASMA TV.....

Answer 10

LCD

LCD TVs offer the widest number of screen size options

Liquid crystal display (LCD) screens come to life when light from behind the screen is shone through the screen's matrix of tiny coloured liquid crystal cells. Signals control each cell, letting varying amounts of colour through, and a picture is built up.
Pros:

* Screen-sizes LCD offers the widest number of options, from small portable sets to huge 40-inch plus screens.
* HD ready Most new LCD sets have the minimum requirements to display superior quality high-definition pictures
* Power Compared to plasma, LCD TVs consume far less energy. On average a 32-inch screen consumes 110 watts of power, a 40-inch about 180 watts.
* Wall mounting Space saving LCD TVs can be mounted on the wall. However, wall mounting kits usually cost extra.

Cons:

* Picture quality When watching standard definition broadcasts or DVDs LCD TVs often suffer from a whole host of digital side-effects such as ghosting, smearing and picture-judder. Our tests show that most flat-panel TVs fail to rival the best conventional CRT TVs when viewing standard definition material. But with the best CRTs no longer available our current LCD Best Buys are decent alternatives.
* Black levels Many LCD sets don't do black well, so darker pictures can look washed out.
* Viewing Angles Compared to Plasma TVs the picture can fade more rapidly when viewed from acute angles

Plasma tv

Great screen-size for that home-cinema experience

A plasma display is an array of tiny gas cells sandwiched between two sheets of glass. Each cell acts like a mini fluorescent tube, emitting ultraviolet light which then strikes red, green and blue spots on the screen. These spots glow to build a picture.

Pros:

* Screen-size Huge 37-inch and 42-inch screen sizes are the norm - great for that home-cinema experience.
* Wall mounting Space saving plasma TVs can be mounted on the wall. However, wall mounting kits usually cost extra and the bigger the screen the greater the cost.
* HD ready Most new plasma TVs are HD ready and have the minimum requirements to display superior quality high-definition pictures.
* Viewing angles Compared to LCD both the horizontal and vertical viewing angles are better on Plasma TVs.

Cons:

* Picture quality When watching standard definition broadcasts plasma TVs often suffer from a whole host of digital side-effects such as ghosting, smearing and picture-judder. Our tests show that most flat-panel TVs fail to rival the best conventional CRT TVs when viewing standard definition material. But with the best CRTs no longer available our current plasma Best Buys are decent alternatives.
* Power consumption Plasma TVs are power hungry and consume far more energy than rival TV technologies (see 'Use less electricity' for some energy saving tips). A 42-inch screen consumes on average 250 watts of power.
* Weight Plasma sets weigh a lot more than LCD TVs (even those of comparable screen-size), so setting them up or moving around could prove problematical.
* Cost Prices are falling but plasma is still usually the most expensive flat-panel option.