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LCD vs. Plasma- Which one is right for you? By: Charlie Schmuck April 28, 2010 It’s time to delve into a well debated and sometimes heated discussion- LCD versus Plasma televisions. If you ask enough people, you will probably find yourself still confused as to which technology to buy. So here's a scenario that puts things into perspective… Your old tube TV has decided to fail, and now you must make the jump into the modern age. So which HD TV do you buy? The guy at the big store told you to buy an LCD, but your buddy swears by Plasma. So now who do you believe? And more importantly, which one is better? Here are a few things you should look for when selecting your next TV- and who wins each of these battles: 1) Sizing: If you want a TV smaller than 42” stop right here. Buy an LCD. In the consumer market, plasma TVs are not manufactured in sizes smaller than 42”. LCD wins this one. 2) Selection: There are more manufacturers of LCD TVs than there are of plasma screens. A wider selection means more competitive pricing. Of course, cheaper TVs are just that- cheap. If you are on a budget, you can find a good deal. But always remember- you get what you pay for. LCD wins again. 3) Resolution: Most of the flat screen TVs on the market are 1080p HD sets. There are a few that are 1080i, in both the LCD and plasma flavors. LCD and Plasma tie on this one. 4) Contrast: This one gets a little murky. First off LCD TVs (not the new LED TVs) Have contrast levels that rate in hundreds of thousands range. Plasma TVs have contrast rating in the low millions. The newer LED/LCD TVs also rate in the low millions. At first glance, that means these two TVs tie for contrast. But there is a secret that you may not know. LCD TVs cannot produce true black, only really, really dark shades of gray. What these means is the images of plasmas will be sharper, especially when dealing with animated films, with their black line outlines on the animation. Normal TV looks sharper with a plasma, and animated films look amazingly better. Plasma wins. 5) Refresh rate: You may have seen it on commercials. LCD and LCD/LED TVs are now advertising a new refresh rate of 240Hz. It’s supposed to most amazing thing in TVs since color came out! Except for a couple things. First, it’s not really 240Hz. To make it simple, it’s a progressive 120Hz, where the same image is scanned twice as fast. Plasma TVs operate on a 600Hz refresh rate. So, why is refresh rate important? It affects how the TV looks when there is fast motion. The best example is golf (I know, I don’t watch it either, but stay with me). When the camera follows the golf ball flying through the air, you will see a streak behind it. That is because the refresh rate is too slow, and can’t follow the speed of the ball. The higher the refresh rate, the smaller that streak becomes. When dealing with programs with a lot of motion, that refresh rate makes a huge difference. Plasma wins. 6) Glare/Diffusion: This is another murky area. First, TVs in generally don’t work well in extremely brightly lit rooms. They will wash out, have bright spots on the screen, and so on. However, LCDs and plasma can both be used effectively if you know what to expect. In direct light, a LCD screen diffuses the light, and the screen washes out. Shine a flashlight on your computer monitor (if it’s an LCD) and you will see what I am talking about. This can be fixed by moving the TV and/or light source around. Plasma’s will create glare in that same situation. The solution is the same. However, in a pretty brightly lit room, the LCD will still diffuse light and wash out. Plasma won’t, unless you have a light source pointing directly at it. Also, the higher contrast, and true black will help the plasma look better in brighter light. Plasma wins again. 7) Weight: LCDs are lighter than plasmas at the same size. It has to do with the technology, and pieces and parts inside. You can’t really change that. The new LED TV’s are even lighter than the older LCDs as well. LCD wins one. 8) Power consumption: It’s hard to give exact links and science on this one, because the manufacturers try to avoid printing this information. But, plasma TVs draw more wattage than LCDs. Again, the technology makes this so. If you are into being green, and saving on energy, LCD is the way to go, although turning off lights as you leave rooms will save you more money than switching from plasma to LCD. LCD wins. 9) 3D Performance: Before I go down this road let me make something clear. As of right now, 3D is a gimmick full of pitfalls and holes. I don’t see any reason to get excited about until 3D becomes one standard, and can truly be processed over HDMI. That being said, early reports show that plasma performs better in a 3D environment. Time will tell if that holds true, as the 3D technology changes over the next few years and becomes standardized, but it’s a start. Plasma wins- for now. The Final Score: If you were keeping track, it comes out to 4-4-1. That means that neither is better than the other right? Again, it depends on your priorities and application. On performance- plasma clearly wins. On options and flexibilty- LCD wins. So which one would I choose? That's easy. I would rather have performance over smoke and mirrors, so in this battle- Plasma is the winner. |
