Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Plasma vs LCD

Plasma or LCD, what is your choice?
Perhaps the table below can help you to understand further on the differences between these two.


Plasma

LCD

General

Screen sizes

42-65+ inches

5-65+ inches

Cabinet depth

3+ inches

3+ inches

Power consumption

Slightly less-efficient per square inch

Slightly more-efficient per square inch

Off-angle viewing

Excellent from all angles

Image fades slightly when seen from extreme angles from sides or from above or below

Reflectivity of screen

Glass screens can reflect lots of light, so may be an issue in very bright rooms. Some models have glare-reducing screens that are more- or less-effective

Matte plastic screens usually reflect less light. Some models have screens that are actually more reflective than plasma

Features

PC connectivity

Less common but still included on many models

More common than with plasma

Other features

Varies per model

Varies per model

Picture quality

Motion blur caused by display

Negligible

Difficult to discern on most models, although subject to more blurring than plasma. 120Hz models less-subject to motion blur

Black-level performance (depth of "black" displayed)

Varies, although excellent on many models.

Varies, although generally worse than plasma on many models, and better than plasma on best models

Color saturation

Varies, although generally a bit better than LCD due to black level and off-angle advantages

Varies, although the best models can equal the best plasmas

Resolution

Typically 720p, up to 1080p on high-end models. The benefits of 1080p are not obvious at screen sizes below 50 inches to the majority of viewers.

Typically 720p, but 1080p is more common than plasma at more price and size points. The benefits of 1080p are not obvious at screen sizes below 50 inches to the majority of viewers

Durability

Burn-in (faint after-images left on-screen)

Possible with still images left on-screen with very bright settings for hours, although new models much less susceptible, and most burn-in is temporary and goes away after watching moving images

May occur in extreme situations (very bright still images left on-screen for days) but much less likely than with plasma or even standard tube TVs.

Lifespan (hours until fades to half-brightness)

Typically 60,000 hours, or about 20 years if used 8 hours per day.

Typically 60,000 hours, or about 20 years if used 8 hours per day.

Program type

HDTV

Excellent

Excellent for HDTV-compatible models.

Standard-definition TV

Dependent mostly on screen size. The smaller the screen, the better standard-def usually looks

Dependent mostly on screen size. The smaller the screen, the better standard-def usually looks

DVD Movies

Excellent given a model with good black-level performance

Very good, although models with worse black-level performance are less desirable

Games

Excellent for most users, although burn-in might deter gamers who leave screens paused for hours or overnight

Excellent, although motion blur might deter the most sensitive gamers

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