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Buying a High Definition Television

If you're in the market for a flat panel television, Here are some important facts to consider. DLP sets are excluded from the scope because they are not "true" flat panel television.

Remember, both LCD and Plasma have their pros and cons and they are competing technologies. Which one is better? Answer to this question will somewhat depend on how you are going to use it.

Picture Considerations

Picture contrast and Black levels - Plasma technology has certainly achieved quite high contrast ratios, a measure of the blackest black compared to the whitest white. Many plasma display manufacturers boast a contrast ratio of 5000:1 or higher. Plasma displays achieve such impressive black levels by using internal algorithms to block the power to particular pixels in order to render a pixel "dark" or black. While this can limit a plasma television's gray scaling, it does produce exceptionally black blacks - depending on the manufactured plasma display element (i.e. glass). Also remember, a plasma TV uses the most power when it is producing full white. As a result, some 2nd tier manufactured brands of plasma TVs have an audible buzz or whining sound when displaying white or very light color images.
LCD (liquid crystal displays), by contrast, utilize electric charges to twist and untwist liquid crystals, which causes them to block light and, hence, emit blacks. The higher the voltage passing through the liquid crystals in a given pixel, the more fully those crystals untwist and effectively block light - all of which makes these pixels darker. As opposed to plasma, LCD TVs use the most power when displaying a very dark or black image. This is a difficult process, and despite recent improvements in LCD black levels, only the best LCD televisions (like those produced by Sharp and Sony) have managed to topple the 1000:1 contrast ratio barrier.

So If you're looking for a sharper picture, plasma still beats out LCD.

Color Depth - In Plasma displays, each pixel contains red, green, and blue elements, which work in conjunction to create 16.77 million colors. Since each pixel contains all the elements needed to produce every color in the spectrum, color information is more accurately reproduced with plasma technology than it is with other display technologies.

LCD technology has nearly caught plasma in gray scaling color accuracy. Plasma continues to exhibit more richness in color information and more natural coloration. LCD TVs reproduce colors by manipulating light waves and subtracting colors from white light. This is an inherently difficult template for maintaining color accuracy and vibrancy - though most LCD displays manage quite well. While color information benefits from the higher-than-average number of pixels per square inch found in LCD televisions (especially when compared to plasmas), LCDs are simply not as impressive as plasmas with similar pixel counts. LCDs however, produce a typically brighter picture. Greens sometimes look over-green and reds can run a bit warm, but in a room with bright outdoor lighting, an LCD TV would be an obvious choice.

Computer or Video Game use - LCD flat screens display static images from computer or VGA sources extremely well, with full color detail, no flicker, and no screen "burn-in". Moreover, the number of pixels per square inch on an LCD display is typically higher than other display technologies, so LCD monitors are especially good at displaying large amounts of data - like you would find on an Excel spreadsheet - with exceptional clarity and precision. For the same reasons, LCD TVs will also be a slightly better template for video gaming.

Plasma technology has increased anti burn-in tactics as well as computer and static signal handling. There are still issues with each depending very much on the model and manufacturer. You may want to consider a commercial version plasma if your application calls for a lot of computer use.

Fast Moving Video playback - Plasma is better here because of their excellent performance with fast-moving images and high contrast levels. There are still some 2nd tier manufacturers whose plasma product displays some phosphor lag, a drag time in scenes changing from bright to dark.

While the "response time" of LCD TVs has markedly improved in the last couple of years, they still suffer from a slight "trailer" effect, where the individual pixels are just slightly out of step with the image on the screen. During fast moving sports scenes, the most discerning eyes can detect this slight motion response lag.

Longevity - LCD television manufacturers claim that their displays last, on average, 50,000 to 65,000 hours. In fact, an LCD TV will last as long as its back light does - and those bulbs can sometimes be replaced! Since this is nothing more than light passing through a prismatic substrate, there is essentially nothing to wear out in an LCD monitor. However, one nasty little known fact about LCD technology is that as the back light ages it can change colors slightly. Some of the early purchasers of larger LCD screens will be learning this tidbit in a couple of years. Also, it is not easy to find out whether the backlighting on LCDs can be replaced. Manufacturers are either hesitant to discuss the topic, or they just don't know.

Plasma, on the other hand, utilizes slight electric currents to excite a combination of noble gases (i.e., argon, neon, xenon), which glow red, blue, and/or green. This is an essentially active phenomenon, so the phosphoric elements in plasma displays fade over time. Many manufacturers state a new half life of 60,000 hours. At half life, the phosphors in a plasma screen will glow half as brightly as they did when the set was new. There is no way to replace these gases; the display simply continues to grow dimmer with use.

Screen Burn-in - LCD technology is not prone to screen "burn-in" or "ghosting" (premature aging of pixel cells) due to the nature of the technologies "twisting crystals." With plasma, static images will begin to "burn-in," or permanently etch the color being displayed into the glass display element. The time it takes for this to occur depends greatly on the anti burn-in technology of the manufacturer. Recent improvements by plasma manufacturers have certainly extended the time it takes to burn in a plasma pixel cell. Remember if you use TIVO or DVR and pause your TV a lot this could be a important consideration with some second tier Plasma TV manufacturers.

Power Consumption - Because LCDs use florescent backlighting to produce images, they require substantially less power to operate than plasmas do. LCD TVs consume about half the power that plasma displays consume. The reason: Plasmas use a lot of electricity to light each and every pixel you see on a screen - even the dark ones. Though plasma manufacturers have improved voltage consumption requirements, a plasma TV will consume around a third more power for the same size display.

Price and Resolution - LCD HDTV displays will have a higher resolution per same size comparison than plasma. A 50 inch plasma TV will have a resolution of 1366 X 768, while a 45 inch LCD displays 1920 X 1080 (1080P) resolution. Those extra pixels and the production process of LCD HDTVs cost more money to produce. Expect to pay a third as much more for a similar size LCD TV than a plasma display.

Also remember that you need to have a certain screen size to be able to view a certain resolution (say 1080p). Read the article Does viewing distance matters?. LCD sets could get really expensive beyond a certain size(60" or higher). So if you're considering a 1080p resolution set, also consider the screen size to utilize fill potential of higher resolution.