Confused about Plasma vs LCD?
Check Out Our Flat Screens Buying
Guide. Compare LCD To Plasma Screens
To Help You Decide Which Is Better For
You
Are you looking on purchasing a flat screen television but
getting confused by all the choices out there? There are
several issues you need to look at to simplify your
decision-making process. The big question many people are
asking is:
LCD vs Plasma Which Is Better ?
To help you decide on the display that works best for you,
let me compare LCD to plasma screens:
Viewing Angle:
A plasma tv has a larger viewing angle
than an LCD flat panel television. What that means is that
when you have many people over and they are all sitting
around the tv, the people sitting at either side will have
the same clear, sharp view as the people sitting
directly facing the tv. On the other hand, the picture
quality on the LCD tv will begin to deteriorate slightly
when viewing at sharp angles.
Burn-in effect:
Plasma tvs are susceptible to screen burn-in while it's
not an issue with LCDs. A screen burn-in is when you notice
a slight imprint of a static image that was displayed
on a screen for a while and now you can see remnants of
it. Although it's rare, it does occur.
Black Color:
Both flat panel televisions provide excellent
color; however, plasma tvs display blacks more accurately
resulting in a better contrast. So when a movie has dark
scenes in it, let's say for example showing the night sky;
on a plasma, you will see a true rich dark black color. On
the LCD, it will look more like a dark grey color.
Light & Reflection:
An LCD tv emits more light and has less glare than its
plasma counterpart making it a better choice for
brightly lit rooms.
Life Span:
On average, an LCD display will last a little bit
longer than a plasma flat panel (roughly 60,000 hours
vs 50,000). Assuming an average viewing time of 8 hours a
day, that's about 20 years versus 17 years. In reality,
who really owns a tv more than say 7 years?
Price:
In general, an LCD screen will cost more compared to the
same size plasma screen.
Power Usage:
LCD uses roughly 30% less power than a Plasma tv.
Motion:
A plasma tv has a faster refresh rate than an LCD
television. What that means is that during fast moving action
scenes, the plasma will render those scenes more smoothly
than an LCD display will.
Altitude:
For some reason, currently, plasma tvs don't work at
higher elevation. No problem with the LCDs.
Bottom Line:
When you're asking yourself LCD vs plasma which
is better especially when it comes to setting up a
home theater system in your house, I would
say generally a plasma television - especially when
considering any size greater than 42". The only
exception would be if you're planning on getting
something smaller than say 42” or you will be placing it in
a brightly lit room – then I would recommend an LCD
tv.
Now to help you decide on a particular make and
model make sure to check out our Home Theater Reviews section
for information on the top rated and best reviewed plasma and
LCD TVs on the market today.
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