Plasma vs. LCD

Now that CES is over, it's time to hit the mailbag.  If my email inbox is a barometer of market readiness, there's a lot of consumer confusion around LCD and plasma.  Here's a primer:

Both LCD and plasma have advantages and disadvantages. The simple answer is that - due to manufacturing constraints - for smaller sized screens you're limited to LCD and for larger screens you'll only find plasma. If you're in the middle, then keep these guidelines in mind:

LCD

• LCD is currently a lot more expensive on a per inch basis. This doesn't mean it's better, just that it's more expensive to manufacture.
• There are LCDs with 1920x1080p resolution on the market. Plasmas currently top out at lower (but still HDTV) resolutions. It won't stay that way for long - Samsung and LG have shown 1080p plasmas - and on real world material, the added resolution doesn't always make much of a difference. But if you want a 1080p flat panel display, LCD is it for now.
• Both LCD and plasma displays are blazingly bright. But LCD is typically even brighter than plasma and thus is better in a bright, sunlit environment than plasma.
• LCD isn't as subject to burn-in as plasma, so it's better for watching CNBC, playing video games, or watching a lot of 4:3 (square) programming on a 16:9 (wide) screen.
• LCDs can be used in high altitudes where many plasmas have problems. If you live in Denver or the Himalayas, don't buy a plasma over the Internet - make sure you see and hear it locally - plasmas whine at high altitude.
• LCDs are less expensive to operate as they use less electricity.

Plasma

• Today's plasmas are better than LCD in contrast and black level performance. However, in this respect, both plasma and LCD pale in comparison (literally) to CRT TVs and the newest DLP rear projection units.
• Today's plasmas are slightly better than LCD in color fidelity.
• Due to their lower native resolution, the cheaper EDTV plasmas often do a better job displaying regular NTSC cable or satellite TV than HDTV plasmas or LCD.
• Plasmas do not need to be "recharged." New plasmas should last at least as long as your traditional CRT TV, though they may lose some brightness well down the road.

-avi

Comments

[michelle stone]

so how long does it take to get screen burn or burn in for plasmas. i am looking at both but would like to know which one is worth the money. kind of like more bang for the buck. i am not looking to give up my first born either. plz get back to me on this.
thank you
michelle

[Avi Greengart]

5/11/06 - This post is showing up at the top of Yahoo! search results, so it's time for an update.

Michelle, most plasma sets today aim to prevent burn-in by moving the image a pixel or two without you noticing, and/or by providing "wipe" modes which put an all-white field on screen in an attempt to flush out the stuck pixels. So burn-in isn't as big an issue with typical use today as it was a few years ago. However, if you leave a plasma on for weeks on end watching CNN, it's still possible to get the logo burnt in, and if you play a video game with static images (the score or health graphics) and just leave that up for a long, long time, you'll have problems, too.

There is one type of "normal" use that could still result in a problem. If you watch only 4:3 material (square, "regular" TV) on a widescreen (rectangular) display, you risk burning in the area you're using (the middle) vs. the areas on the sides. This is the reason why on many plasmas, you simply won't get black bars on either side of the 4:3 image. Instead, many manufacturers put gray bars on either side, which don't look as good, but use the whole panel fairly evenly.

Bottom line: if you buy a modern plasma, watch at least some widescreen programming, and don't leave the TV stuck on with static images for long periods of time, burn-in won't be an issue.

-avi

[ken dilella]

i noticed motion blur while looking at dlp and lcd tv's in circuit city today. they had on a movie with a high speed car chase and the cars had to catch up to the back ground. i also noticed it watching college football at a friends house on a lcd. is this always an issue with lcd and dlp? how about plasma? does it have motion blur as well?

thanks

ken dilella