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Plasma and LCD Flat Panel Advice
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The "Kissin' Cousins" - Plasma and LCD Flat Panel Displays
From all outward appearances Plasma and LCDs are very much related - like first cousins so to speak. They are both slim and lightweight, have bright images with rich color reproduction and both can be hung on a wall much like a picture, artwork or a decorative mirror. Also they are both rather expensive compared to conventional televisions. However the technology associated with each type of image display is what sets them apart and makes the differences in their images.
Plasma TV displays have many thousands of very tiny gas-filled cels that when electrically charged illuminate a phosphor coating to get their color much like the pixels on a conventional television. Plasma screens are thin and light enough (although not real light) to be hung on a wall like a picture frame. Plasma display images allow a wide viewing angle, are very bright which enables them to be viewed with moderate ambient lighting present and have exceptional color depth and image detail.
Disadvantages of Plasma Technology
Plasmas, like CRTs and LCDs are also susceptible to burn-in of static images. Also the life-span of a plasma set relies upon its little "gaslights" longevity. At about 30,000 hours or so a plasma TV will lose nearly half of its brightness. That is only about five years of moderate use with an average of six hours a day. Therefore if you get a Plasma you may want to reserve it for special events and keep a regular tube set around for everyday viewing.
Another issue with Plasma TVs is that they produce a bit more heat than LCDs. Plasmas "little light bulbs" burn hotter than the florescent illumination lamps found on many LCDs -- giving a slight nod to LCDs in that category.
As noted an LCD flat panel display is a cousin - of sorts - to a plasma display. LCD displays are also bright with very good color reproduction and image detail. Likewise they are light and very thin and can also be hung on a wall like a picture frame. Here's where the plasma and LCD flat panel display family tree branches diverge - LCD displays do not rely on little gaslights to illuminate and produce the image but rather are electrically charged red, green and blue colored liquid crystals which form the pixels that are illuminated from behind much like the screen on a laptop computer. Liquid Crystal Displays are susceptible to image burn-in much like a conventional CRT tube TV so you do not want to leave a static image on an LCD to too long of a period - such as using it for video games. LCDs do not have quite the color depth nor contrast ratio of plasmas nor are they available in as large of a display as plasmas. Therefore when comparing plasma and LCD flat panel displays - the advantage there goes to the plasmas.
A further note about plasma TVs over fireplaces
It seems a trend of late is to hang plasma TVs over fireplaces. It's not a practice I would advise as there is a considerable amount of heat (and smoke/soot from wood burning units) produced and that all rises upward. I don't know of any official study on the subject but logic dictates that additional heat is not good for an electrical device -- especially one that is already as hot as a plasma TV. Therefore if you want to have your video display over your fireplace and you are choosing between a plasma and LCD flat panel TV perhaps you should opt for an LCD over it's "hot blooded cousin" the plasma.
Related Pages
Sony's SXRD TVs
SED TVs from Toshiba and Canon
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