The CRT televisions are now history. They have been replaced by the advanced Plasma and LCD televisions. Both these technologies have great advantages over the CRT televisions. Among the two, both has certain advantages and certain disadvantages. The below article compares the two technologies and attempts to find out the best of the two.
Plasma and LCD technology has some fundamental differences. Plasma relies on gas like charged particles. These charged particles together create a picture. A Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) screen uses a film of liquid crystal sandwiched between two glass plates. Application of slightly varied electric charge creates images.
1. Screen Size
Plasma screens of up to 65 inches are available. A Panasonic 103” plasma screen and the 102 inch-ers from LG and Samsung are the world champions. Of course this Panasonic 65” plasma is already a dream. Up to 45” LCD screens are available for consumers. A 100” LCD by LG is not so much affordable by consumers. This Sharp 45” LCD panel even has a HDTV tuner on board.
2. Picture Quality
Plasma TVs edge out LCD TVs on this factor. Picture quality is a critical factor. After all the huge amount of money spent on any TV should give the best possible quality. Plasma TVs give a picture quality which cannot be matched by the current LCD technology. The color saturation is also better with Plasma TVs.
3. Viewing Angle
Plasma screens generally have a wider viewing angle than LCD. You don’t have to stay right in front of a Plasma screen to see what is shown. That much freedom is not available with LCD screens. LCD screen doesn’t have a light source of its own, but should be projected by a fluorescent light source from behind the screen. On a plasma screen the gas molecules emit light when given some sort of controlled electric charge as input.
4. High Speed Action
If you are seeing a 100 meter dash on TV, the lag plays a critical role. Lesser the lag closer is the picture to reality. LCD TVs have lesser lag then Plasma TVs..
5. Price
Here the clear winner is Plasma TV. Given a Plasma TV and LCD TV of same size and similar other features, Plasma TVs are well cheaper then LCD TVs.
6. Resolution (more pixels per inch)
Resolutions indicate how finer things on scenes are viewed. Better the resolution, better in turn is the clarity of the scene. LCD TVs here comprehensively beat Plasma TVs.
7. Power Consumption
In current market, a Plasma or LCD TV is bought by the upper class or the upper middle class of the society. They don't really care about power consumption. But still this point is worth paying attention to. Plasma TVs consume nearly 30% more power then corresponding LCD TV.
8. Extreme Performance
If you are staying at a place of high altitude, then this factor would be very important for you. At high altitudes, the performance of Plasma TVs deteriorate due to the change in atmospheric pressure at high altitudes.
9. Shipping and Handling
Plasma TVs need special care while shipping and handling. It should be installed with care as compared to a LCD (HD)TV screen. This is because of the sensitive nature of the plasma column that needs careful handling.
10. Life of Screen
Not many of us look at this factor while buying a TV. Most of us would have not even inquire about this. The same is true for Plasma and LCD TVs. Overall, LCD TVs would score better on this parameter. Plasma TVs lose half of their quality after nearly 12 hours assuming you watch it 5-6 hours every day. 12 years is a long time; long enough for most of us to switch to the then prevalent new technology.
LCD may be the technology of the future, but as for now, especially if you are looking for a big bang of your buck, go for a Plasma TV. Today, it is the in-thing.