LCD vs Plasma: Deciding Which To Buy?

The whole "Plasma vs LCD" debate has been happening for a long time, but now might be a good time for us to take another look. With the new high definition TV standard, and with all the new range of HDTVs on offer, you might be unsure of which route to go down. Here I am going to take a look at both sides, so that we can get a balanced understanding of the benefits of both. To start with, we will look at how LCD screens work, followed by the benefits of LCD. Then I’m going to discuss how plasma works, and highlight the benefits of plasma. I will then end the article with a summary of the main points, to help you come to a decision about which type of TV you want to buy.

How LCD Works

LCD is short for Liquid Crystal Display. These crystals are not really liquid, but they do behave more like a liquid than a solid, and this is how they got their name. Think of them as being somewhere between a liquid and a solid. Like a solid, they can remain in one place, but they can also change shape and move, similar to a liquid.

To generate a picture, Liquid crystal display televisions utilize the same kind of polarizing technology as sunglasses. At the back of the screen is a large bright light projecting forwards. In front of the light is a horizontal polarizing filter blocking all light waves apart from horizontal ones, so that the only light getting through is the horizontal waves.

The pixels of the screen are made up of lots of tiny liquid crystals. Sitting behind every one of these pixels is a transistor which controls the flow of electricity through the crystal. Every crystal is twisted, and placed in front is a vertical polarizing filter only letting vertical light pass through. When electricity passes through the liquid crystal, it goes straight, blocking all light, but when this electrical current is switched off, the crystal will twist and let the light out vertically.

LCD: the Good
- Brilliant for displaying static pictures.
- Full color detail.
- Doesn't suffer from flicker or screen burn-in.
- Available in a large range of sizes.
- Longevity - LCD TVs can last for up to 100,000 hours!
- Very energy efficient.

LCD: the Bad
- Not as good as plasma for fast action.
- As the backlight gets older, the white balance of the LCD screen can become inaccurate.

How Does Plasma Work?

A plasma screen contains thousands of low pressure, sealed glass chambers filled with "plasma", which is a mixture of neon and xenon. Each of these chambers has behind it a set of colored phosphors: one green, one blue, and one red. When energized, the chambers of plasma generate invisible UV light which hits the various phosphors, causing them to produce visible light.

Plasma's Benefits
- Reacts well to a truly digital image source.
- Ideal for fast action scenes.
- Fantastic contrast.
- Comes in larger sizes than LCD.
- Less expensive, particularly with bigger models.

Plasma: the Bad
- Can suffer burn-in (not ideal for static images)
- Brightness of television slowly fades with as it gets older (although this happens extremely slowly, over a long time).
- Consumes more electricity than LCD.

LCD vs Plasma: Which is Right For You?

So, which do you choose? Plasma or LCD? Well, the answer to that lies in what you will mostly be using it for. If you want a screen that is very big, and is great for displaying very smooth fast action scenes at extremely high contrast, then you should go for Plasma. This is particularly the case if you’re into fast action films or if you’re game player.

However, if color, longevity and energy efficiency are more of a concern to you, and you're not really into the fast action films or the games, then LCD is a better choice. This is particularly true if you’re planning to use your TV for viewing any static images, for instance if you wanted to display photos from your camera, or if you wanted to also use your TV for browsing the internet (some LCD TVs have an internet TV mode).