LCD TV vs. Plasma

Which is better, LCD TV or Plasma?

This is a much debated topic and a fun one.

When choosing between plasma and LCD TVs, you're actually selecting between two competing technologies, both of which achieve similar features (i.e., ,bright crystal-clear images, super color-filled pictures) and come in similar packages (i.e., 1.5 to 4 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 LCD TVs are now being made in larger sizes and at competing prices with plasma.

Despite their similarities, the two technologies are very different in the way they deliver the image to the viewer.

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.
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. The panel on an LED TV is still an LCD TV panel and operates the with the same twisting crystals matrix. The backlight is the difference - changing from flourescent to LED (light emitting diode) based backlighting.

PRICE AND VALUE

Plasma TVs have generally enjoyed lower pricing per size vs. LCD TVs. While LCDs have nearly caught up with plasma in the 42" size, plasma still dominates in the larger size ranges. When comparing comparable Tier 1 Quality LCD with Tier 1 Plasma, the larger the size, the more the price savings by purchasing plasma. In the 46" size range a plasma currently sells for a 30% to 40% discount, while a 58" plasma may yield between 40% to 50% discount savings. Resolution is no longer an issue due to the fact that most all TVs 46" and larger are full HD 1920 X 1080 (1080p) resolution