LCD or Plasma -
which should I buy?

Which kind should I buy?

What's it to be? LCD or Plasma? When it comes down to it, as to what sort of flat panel TV to spend your money on, it's really up to you. As you might expect, both have their advantages and disadvantages.
Here's the easy info.

Plasma TVs

For Plasma TVs, the practical advantages over LCD, are: a larger screen size, their availability, better contrast ratio, better ability to show deep blacks, and better motion tracking. But there are some points not in favour of Plasma. These include: more susceptible to burn-in (on the screen), more heat generation, does not perform as well at higher altitudes, and shorter display life span.

LCD TVs

However, LCD TVs advantages include no burn-in susceptibility, cooler running, applicable at high altitudes, and longer display life (although Plasma screen life is improving).

There are some points to remember about LCD TVs in several areas (when comparing to Plasma TVs): lower contrast ratio, not as good rendering deep blacks, not as good at tracking motion, not as generally available in large screen sizes above 36-inches, and, although LCD TVs do not suffer from burn-in, it is possible that individual pixels on an LCD TVs can still burn out, causing small, visible, black or white dots to appear on the screen. Individual pixels can't be repaired, the whole screen would need to be replaced, if the individual pixel burnout becomes difficult for you to live with.

Cost

Lastly, the price gap. Plasma TVs are more expensive than the equivalent sized LCD TVs. Choosing LCD or Plasma should become easier since prices for both are falling, which means the gap will narrow.

Features

Turning to the features side of the equation: most LCD TVs already have built-in standard TV tuners (HDTV tuners must normally be added externally - however, more are now made with this as a standard feature), while many Plasmas are just monitors only and may need to have both external standard and HDTV tuners to receive TV signals. This is certainly something to confirm when making your buying decision as it will affect what you can afford.

Take a close look

It certainly is worth going to a shop to really take a good and careful look at several Plasma and LCD TVs and then compare the performance based on the above points. You can narrow down your choices to one or two of both kinds. Make your decision on LCD or Plasma based on which will give you the most pleasing image (and connection flexibility) for your money.

Flat Panel Plasma and LCD TVs are great and practical choices for home cinema and (with prices coming down and features and quality continuing to go up) both kinds are rapidly becoming even better and better value.

________________________________________________________________

Plasma HDTV High Definition television or HDTV as it is popularly called, will do for TV viewing what digital music has done for the music listening experience.

You're vewing LCD or Plasma - click here to go to Homepage