Plasma vs LCD
This is a hot topic of debate amongst flat screen TV's, and everyone has an opinion of which is better. This is because there is no true answer - both LCD and Plasma TV's are great, and both offer their advantages and disadvantages. The truth is that as technology progresses, the differences between the technologies are becoming smaller and smaller. Still, you want to make a choice depending on your own circumstances. This brief article is written specifically to help you decide which type of flat screen TV you need.
Why would you buy a Plasma TV?
Their key advantage: Plasma TV's offer the best picture. While LCD's and Plasma's are both very close in this regard, plasma tv's have the best contrast ratio. This means they have a wider range of colors, especially at the darker end, which makes for a much better overall picture.
The other minor advantages of plasma TV's? Well most people are concerned about cost, and inch for inch, plasma TV's are cheaper than LCD TV's. Plasma TV's also offer a wider viewing angle; LCD TV's tend to lose their picture when you watch them at a wider angle. Also Plasma TV's have a near instant response time, or time it takes to draw the picture, where as with LCD TV's you have to make sure the response time is below 8ms or the picture may look blury when displaying fast moving video's.
Why would you buy an LCD TV?
The key advantage LCD TV's offer is the fact they do not run the risk of image burn in. Image burn in means if a part of the picture does not change often enough (for example a network logo, a video game health meter, or a windows task bar), that image may get "burnt" into your flat screen TV so you can see a shadow of it when it is not supposed to be there. Plasma TV's are prone to this. Granted, the latest generation has greatly improved to reduce this problem. However if you spend many hours on your flat panel TV playing video games, or use it as a computer monitor, then an LCD TV is the safer option.
The other minor advantages of LCD TV's is that they generally use 30-40% less power, and they are much lighter which makes it easier if you want to mount your flat screen tv on the wall. For those who live in high altitudes (above 6500 feet) LCD TV's will perform better. As Plasma TV's use gas, they tend to struggle at those kind of heights. Finally, LCD TV's come in sizes below 32 inches, where as plasma TV's are only 32 inches and above.
Some myths and common questions
Myth: LCD TV's last longer than plasma TV's. Contrary to popular belief, LCD TV's no longer out live plasma TV's; not the latest generation anyway. It is true the first generation of plasma TV's died and lost their brightness very quickly, but now, both Plasma and LCD TV's have an expected half life of 60,000 hours. That means you can watch the flat screen TV for 6 hours a day for 27 years before the TV will be reduced to half of its brightness!
Myth: Only LCD TV's get dead pixels. A dead pixel is where a dot on your flat screen TV is permanently visible because that "pixel" has stopped working. This can happen to both plasma and LCD TV's, however it is less common for plasma TV's. In either case, it is important to consider the manufacturer's policy with regard to dead pixels.
Summary
In short, when it comes to buying a flat screen TV, plasma TV's offer slightly better value than LCD TV's in terms of picture quality and cost. However if you spend many hours playing video games, or want to use your flat panel TV as a computer monitor and are worried about image burn in, then an LCD TV is the slightly better option.
As you can see there is a lot involved between LCD and plasma TV's! For more easy to understand tips on purchasing your flat screen TV, come visit us at http://www.justflatscreentv.com.
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