Difference between plasma and LCD?

Question

Please desperate house husband

Answer 1

As with anything else, there is a definite trade-off proposition regarding these two choices. You might get lucky and be in a situation where your environment (for instance, high altitude) may make your choice a bit easier. Here are the pros and cons of each:

Plasma Television Advantages
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For Plasma televisions, the advantages over LCD are: Better contrast ratio, better ability to render deep blacks, more color depth, better motion tracking (response time), and more availability in very large screen sizes, defined as screens larger than 50 inches.

Plasma Television Disadvantages
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However, the disadvantages of Plasma include: more susceptible to burn-in (due to technology improvements in the past couple of years, this has improved dramatically but it still exists), more heat generation (they run HOT and can easily overheat a room), requires more power consumption (higher electricity bills), heavier weight, and more delicate to ship, does not perform as well at higher altitudes (I have a friend that can attest to this), and shorter display life span.

Just recently, they are finding ways to reduce the amount of heat generated and reduce the power consumption via re-calibration of the plasma units. Several retailers are sending some of their best representatives to training classes on how to accomplish this. In theory, reducing the heat generated and power consumption will help increase the life span, but this has yet to be determined. I personally haven't been trained on how to do this, but if I were to purchase a plasma, I'd investigate this process.

LCD Television Advantages
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LCD television advantages include no burn-in susceptibility, cooler running, less screen glare, more functional at high altitudes, longer display life and looks better in brightly lit rooms. In fact, if you plan on putting your new television in a room with lots of windows, you'll be better off with LCD unless you want to always keep the curtains closed.

Also, LCD televisions have made great strides with regard to native pixel resolution, with a growing number of sets offering a full 1080p (1920x1080) display capability at affordable price levels in screen sizes ranging from 37-inches and up. The number of Plasmas offering 1080p native pixel resolution are still few and far between and are generally more expensive in comparison to their LCD counterparts.

One factor to consider in favor of LCD over Plasma (at least for the near future) is that if you are planning to purchase a Blu-ray Disc, HD-DVD, or Upscaling DVD Player, LCD may be a more cost-effective option as you can get a 1080p LCD set from 37-to-42-inches at a lower price than and 42-inch size Plasma set that has 1080p resolution.

One other factor to consider is that LCD televisions are typically lighter (when comparing same screen sizes) than their Plasma counterparts, making wall installation easier.

LCD Television Disadvantages
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LCD televisions do have drawbacks in several areas vs. Plasma televisions: Lower contrast ratio, not as good rendering deep blacks, not as good at tracking motion (although this is improving), and not as common in large screen sizes above 42-inches (although the number is growing).

Also, although LCD televisions do not suffer from burn-in susceptibility, it is possible that individual pixels on LCD televisions can burn out, causing small, visible, black or white dots to appear on the screen. Individual pixels cannot be repaired; the whole screen would need to be replaced at that point, if the individual pixel burnout becomes annoying to you. Finally, LCD televisions are more expensive than equivalent-sized Plasmas in the 50+ inch category.

So remember, 20 something inches to 42 inches, LCD is cheaper. Move beyond 50 inches and Plasma becomes cheaper.

The Mercury Issue
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Also, one argument that Plasma Television manufacturers are making about LCD Televisions is that they use mercury as part of the chemical makeup of the florescent lighting used to illuminate the screen surface.

However, this is a red herring with regards to choosing a Plasma Television over an LCD Television. In LCD sets, the amount of Mercury used is not only small, it never comes in contact with the user. Also, keep in mind that most common high-efficiency florescent lamps also use Mercury.

Mercury is one of the Earth's elements; its existence in nature is a part of natural processes and has both beneficial and non-beneficial uses, just as most other elements and chemical compounds. You are probably in more danger eating Fish, which may contain traces of Mercury, a couple of times a week than watching, touching, or using an LCD TV. Also, with the development of LED lighting sources, which is Mercury-free, this issue will resolve itself in the years ahead.

LCD Television and HDTV Reception
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On the HDTV part of the equation, most LCD televisions already have built-in standard TV tuners (HDTV tuners must usually be added externally - but more are showing up as a standard feature), while many Plasmas are just monitors-only and may require both external standard and HDTV tuners to receive television signals (although more are beginning to include either NTSC and/or both HDTV tuners). This is definitely a point to check when making your buying decision as it will affect your budget.

My HDTV
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I own a version of LCoS rear projection -- Sony SXRD. Had I not bought this set, I would've chosen to go with LCD simply because my living room has very large windows and has tons of natural light, which would cause a lot of screen glare on a Plasma. This room also tends to get rather warm, so I wouldn't want a Plasma helping things along.

Sure, you can turn up the A/C (although most homes in Alaska don't have A/C), but then that would result in more electricity to keep the room cooler PLUS the added electricity from the Plasma. This room just isn't conducive to a Plasma.

Answer 2

PHYSICS ANSWER:

Plasma is the 4th state of matter, basically a super heated gas with a consistent electrical charge so it responds to magnetic or electical fields.

Plasma TVs therefore use plasma as individual pixels since plasma responds to electrical fields.

LCD stands for "Liquid Crystal display" and is basically a silicon crystalian paste which changes color in the presence of a magnetic field. The Liquid crystals are presed between 2 sheets of clear glass or plastic which has fine wires pressed into it. The wires alter the color of a specific region of the liquid crystals. Multiple layers of the liquid crystals are put together to produce the multiple colors.
A light shown BEHIND the liquid crystals allows the image to be seen.

Generally speaking.. due to their backlight, LCDs can not produce the really dark blacks that Plasma can, so some video purists complain that their contrast is not as good.

Plasmas don't need a light behind them to be seen since the plasma itself is glowing and thus generating light....for this reason Plasmas can display more convincing blacks and higher contrast.
Unfortunately, older plasma displays can suffer from burn-in where the plasma gets polarized and displays a faded residual image called "ghosting"

In reality, both have come along way since they were first developed and thus are almost dead even.

LCDs have been around since the 60s and in wrist watches since the 70s/80s

Plasma is often times cheaper in larger sizes above 50 inches because creating LARGE LCD panels without defects is harder to do.

To the average person.. there is no difference, just buy what's cheaper.

Answer 3

There are various ways in which a flat panel plasma TV can be distinguished from a plasma TV. The screen size of a plasma TV is 32 to 63 inches and a LCD TV screen ranges somewhere between 13 and 45 inches. However, the larger size of both types of TV is expensive and is not affordable for a normal consumer.

LCD TV has an advantage over plasma TV by a small margin. LCD TV has a viewing angle of 175 degrees and plasma has up to 160 degrees. Plasma TV requires more planning at the time of installation as it utilizes more power and becomes easily hot as compared to the LCD TV. They generally need a professional for installation. LCD TV can easily be installed without any hassles by the end user like we do for a traditional TV.

Plasma TV has better contrasts and brightness than LCD. LCD does not reflect much light that helps it to maintain its brightness in a fully-lit room. Plasma TV has a different glass surface that reflects light and, in turn, reduces the contrast and brightness of the image. Plasma TV is very delicate so it is very difficult to install and transport. LCD TV is stronger than the Plasma TV.

On the one hand, Plasma TV is heavy and requires extra support to be mounted on a wall. On the other hand, LCD's has less weight. Plasma TV is 3 inches deep, whereas LCD TV is 2 inches deep. LCD TV is a better option at high altitudes.

Plasma TV may not give a clear display at higher altitudes because the gas compressed within each pixel may have to labor really hard to give a clear performance.

However, the performance of LCD TV is not affected by the high altitudes. Plasma TV requires an expensive shipping cost as it is quite fragile and needs special care. LCD TV is durable and needs low shipping costs.

Answer 4

plasmas arent that good. lcds are the best. plasmas have lesser life than lcd. plasmas also dont have that much of a good quality of viewing let me tell you that. my parents have a 42" lcd and we were asking what the difference of the plasma and lcd was and this is the difference. hope this helps! =]

Answer 5

Plasma uses more energy than a LCD(liquid crystal definition)

Answer 6

LCD is "liquid crystal display" i can't really elaborate on that, but they really suck because most of the time, when you are a different angles, the colors change. Plasma, on the other hand has billions of little electrons with different colors and charges, during each frame of the show,(within a billionth of a second) different charges go to different parts of the screen bringing forward the differet colors.

Answer 7

plasma is made by kind a gas burning so the brigther the movie the more electricity consumed, but lcd is made by liquid crystal so it not affected.
ldc is much cheaper than plaama

Answer 8

If you're thinking of buying one or the other...go for the LCD. It lasts longer, a bit cheaper...plus its still a great picture. I've had my LCD for about a yr now. 32" wide screen. Terrific!

Answer 9

Plasma is flat all the way with no back. LCD is flat screen with a back on it

Answer 10

Plasma is intravenous.
LCD is a CD in Spanish: "El CD"