A Comparison of LCD vs. Plasma TVs

The #1 question surrounding the ever-changing flat-panel TV landscape is “Which is Better, LCD or Plasma?”

LCD and Plasma are actually two competing technologies. Both yield crystal-clear images with eye-popping color, as well as a sexy 3-1/2" depth. Until a couple of years ago, the choice between them would depend almost exclusively on screen size. LCD TVs went from 13" to 40", with Plasmas starting at 42” and above. But now that LCDs are available in sizes up to 52" and beyond, the choice has become more difficult.

LCD and Plasma technologies are very different in the way each delivers the image to the screen. LCD TVs work by applying voltage to liquid crystal-filled cells sandwiched between two sheets of glass that twist to an exact degree to filter white light by a lamp behind the screen. LCDs produce color by subtracting – in other words, they block out specific colors from the spectrum of white light until the right color is achieved. The intensity of the light passing through the liquid crystal is what allows the display to show all of the color gradations.

Plasma TVs consist of hundreds of thousands of pixel cells that allow electric pulses to “excite” natural gases, which glow and produce light. Each pixel is like a microscopic fluorescent light bulb, and is separated by black ribs.

Picture Quality

1st Area of Comparison: Contrast/Black Level

This is perhaps the largest difference in a comparison of picture quality between the two technologies.

Contrast Ratio measures the blackest blacks to the whitest whites. The higher the Contrast Ratio, the more difference there is between blacks and whites. This can be a very deceiving spec, however, because it’s very possible to have a high Contrast Ratio without having any real black-y blacks just by being able to reproduce the whites and bright areas well. This can be achieved by starting with a higher white level to help illustrate the high Contrast Ratio specification. The added brightness will help the TV deal with bright rooms.

LCD TVs generally have high contrast levels, allowing them to withstand the brightness in many rooms. Because their pixels are separated by dark or black “ribs,” Plasma TVs have better black levels than LCD TVs. Black levels also drop off consistently with LCD TVs when watching images off axis (that is, not directly in front of the screen.)

ADVANTAGE: Plasma

2nd Area of Comparison: Color Accuracy

The pixels in Plasma TVs contain the red, green and blue primary colors, which work together to create over 16 million colors—every one in the spectrum, in fact. LCD TVs reproduce color by subtracting colors from white light. This makes it very difficult to maintain high color accuracy.

Because of the inherent brightness that LCD’s need in order to look color-accurate, the colors can appear oversaturated (greens may look over-green and reds may look a bit too warm, for example), as compared to Plasma.

Much of this comparison really depends on room light. Because the naturalness and color quality of Plasma will be better in rooms with lower to normal lighting, it’s important to know in advance how the room will be used when deciding between LCD and Plasma.

ADVANTAGE: Plasma

3rd Area of Difference: Viewing Angles

Most homes will not have viewing angle issues. Today’s flat panel displays allow for off-axis viewing, even better than do traditional TVs. LCDs work best with angles up to about 90 to 100 degrees. After that, black levels diminish, making the picture appear washed out.We’ve all experienced this when using a laptop PC with an LCD screen; tilt the top too far back or forwards and you have a hard time viewing.

Plasmas can produce much wider angels than LCDs (170 degrees), since each pixel produces its own light, versus LCDs’ bulb being spread across the screen.

ADVANTAGE: Plasma

4th Area of Comparison: Response Time

This refers to a display’s ability to reproduce fast-moving images accurately, as well as adaptability when changing from light scenes to dark ones, and vice-versa. The lower the response time, the more quickly the TV reacts to new information, which can range from .5 to 12 milliseconds, with the latter being the slowest. Plasmas range from .5 to about 6 milliseconds. LCDs lag behind with responses ranging from 4 to as much as 12 milliseconds.

ADVANTAGE: Plasma

5th Area of Comparison: Screen Burn-in

Burn-in occurs when static images like a TV logo on the screen become permanently etched into the display. This is not an issue with LCD TVs. Plasma TVs, however, are prone to screen burn-in, but the better quality, name brand manufacturers have addressed this issue by including some enhancements like motion adaptive anti-burn-in technology to eliminate or greatly minimize the chance of burn-in.

ADVANTAGE: LCD

Functional Applications

6th Area of Comparison: Computer & Gaming Use

If a screen is more prone to burn-in, you’ll see it more with computer and gaming use.

LCDs display static computer images extremely well, with no flicker or screen burn-in. Since LCDs generally have more pixels per square inch than plasmas, they offer superb clarity for displaying large amounts of data like a spreadsheet, for example.

Video games also perform well on LCDs for these reasons. Plasmas have improved with regard to anti burn-in, but certain types of images still cause burn-in on plasma screens.

ADVANTAGE: LCD

Bob Krasne is the President of Westchester Audio Video Design Center, showroom located at 88 Purchase St., in Rye. Westchester AV provides high-quality customized solutions for residential home entertainment systems, including flat panel TV, in-home cinemas & smart home control integration. Visit www.westchesterav.com or call 921-0099.

back to articles page