|
Outward
appearances are definitely deceiving when it comes to LCD and
Plasma televisions. Although both types of televisions are flat
and thin, they employ different technology in an attempt to
deliver similar results.
Plasma TV Overview
Plasma television technology
is based loosely on the fluorescent light bulb. The display
itself consists of cells. Within each cell two glass panels are
separated by a narrow gap in which neon-xenon gas is injected
and sealed in plasma form during the manufacturing process. The
gas is electrically charged at specific intervals when the
Plasma set is in use. The charged gas then strikes red, green,
and blue phosphors, thus creating a television image. Each group
of red, green, and blue phosphors is called a pixel (picture
element).
Although Plasma television
technology eliminate the need for the bulky picture tube and
electron beam scanning of traditional televisions, it still
employs the burning of phosphors to generate an image, Plasma
televisions still suffer from some of the drawbacks of
traditional televisions, such as heat generation and screen-burn
of static images, although burn-in is not the big issue it once
was.
LCD TV Overview
LCD televisions, on the other
hand, use a different technology.
Basically, LCD panels are made
of two layers of transparent material, which are polarized, and glued together. One of the layers is coated with
a special polymer that holds the individual liquid crystals.
Current is passed through individual crystals, which allow
the crystals to pass or block light to create images. LCD
crystals do not produce their own light, so an external light
source, such as florescent bulb is needed for the image created
by the LCD to become visible.
Unlike standard CRT and Plasma
televisions, there are no phosphors that light up so less power is
need for operation, it
also generates less heat than a Plasma or traditional
television. Because of the nature of LCD technology, there
is no radiation emitted from the screen itself.
Plasma vs LCD
The ADVANTAGES of Plasma over
LCD are: Better
contrast ratio and ability to render deeper blacks.
Better color accuracy and
saturation. Better
motion tracking (little or no motion lag in fast moving images).
The DISADVANTAGES of Plasma vs
LCD include: Plasma
TVs generate more heat than LCDs, due to the need to light of
phosphors to create the images. Does
not perform as well at higher altitudes. Shorter
display life span (about 30,000 hours or 8 hrs of viewing a day
for 9 years) than LCD. However, screen life span is improving to
as high as 60,000 hours. due to technology improvements.
LCD television ADVANTAGES over
Plasma include: No
burn-in of static images. Cooler
running temperature. No
high altitude use issues. Increased
image brightness over Plasma. Longer
display life (about 60,000 hours - at which time all you may
need to do is replace the light source, not the entire set).
This can vary according other environmental and use factors.
Lighter weight (when comparing
same screen sizes) than Plasma counterparts.
DISADVANTAGES of LCD vs Plasma
televisions include: Lower
contrast ratio, not as good rendering deep blacks.
Not as good at tracking motion
(fast moving objects may exhibit lag artifacts) - However, this
is improving. Not
as common in large screen sizes above 42-inches as Plasma.
However, the number is growing fast, with some LCD sets having a
screen size as large as 103 inches. Although
LCD televisions do not suffer from burn-in susceptibility, it is
possible that individual pixels on an LCD televisions can burn
out, causing small, visible, black or white dots to appear on
the screen. Individual pixels cannot be repaired, the whole
screen would need to be replaced at that point, if the
individual pixel burnout becomes annoying to you.
LCD televisions are typically
more expensive than equivalent-sized Plasma televisions
(although this is changing).
When you visit our showroom
our video experts will demonstrate the features of both LCD or Plasma
flat panel Screens. |
