Plasma or LCD, What would you prefer?

Posted by Abdullah Mahmood on January 13, 2009 with No comments

Plasma or LCD, What would you prefer?

There is often a debate whenever you go to buy a TV for your place on whether the performance of Plasma or LCD would be a better choice if you wish for a flat screen. Different people would differ on the opinions based on their past experiences or what they would have heard from others. But in reality there is no definite answer to the issue as both Plasma screens and LCDs are great and both have their own advantages and disadvantages.

In reality, with the advancement in technology the differences between the two have been on a decline. But still you might have to make your choices depending upon your own circumstances such as time, price or even shelf space required. The following are some great points to help you with your purchasing experience.

Plasma Screens – why would you buy them?
According to most analysts Plasma screens offer better picture quality. They may be relatively close to what LCD screens might show but have the best contrast ratios. They have a wide range of qualities that offer you the in depth real picture that you might see on screen. Especially the dark ranges that offer you to see more clearly.

There are other advantages as well such as the cost factor, and the exact size that you might avail as Plasma screens tend to be cheaper than LCDs. Plasma screens have an amazing viewing angle, and the picture appears to be same, whereas LCDs are manufactured using Passive Matrix technology which require you to be at a specific viewing angle for best viewing. This problem is being resolved through active matrix systems but is more costly. Plasma screens are fast adapting to fast moving images while when using LCD TVs you might experience blurry images if they are moving above the speed of 8ms adding to instant response time.

LCD - why would you buy them?
Apparently the greatest advantage of LCDs is seen as preventing from image burns. Image burns happens when there are some images that constantly remain in place, such as the Windows logo or any other desktop background as in computers. This leaves a shadow mark of the image, distorting the quality of image on screen. This would definitely be a much intelligent option if you spend much of your time playing video games on your TV screens for hours.

LCD screens may only appear costly due to their initial costs however not many people know of the fact that they require 30-40% less power. They are light in weight, which tends to make them more convenient even if you want to mount them on walls. Plus another advantage they have over Plasma screens is that people who live on tall buildings would get better picture quality as Plasma TV's use gas, that tend to struggle at heights of about 6500 feet or above. They even have sizes smaller than 32 inches whereas Plasmas do not.

For those who think that Plasma screens have a short life, LCD and plasmas both survive upto a life of 60,000 hours.