Plasma vs LCD

Bulky CRTs are long gone and the television market is now ruled by two titans: Plasma TV and LCD TV.  Both Plasma and LCD are flat, good looking and can be hung on a wall like an ordinary picture frame.  Choosing the best TV for you could be daunting as both have high quality pictures.  However, there are a lot of factors that separate the two.  Take note that we are referring to CCFL (Cold Cathode Fluorescent) LCD TVs here and not the LED Backlit one.  We made a similar comparison on our LCD vs LED page. Here is our take on the Plasma vs LCD debate.

THE TV

First, let us get to know each type of display.  Plasma TV utilizes, unsurprisingly, plasma which Physics books tell us is the fourth state of matter.  It is an electrically charged gas created by ionizing a molecule through very high temperature.  Plasma’s electrical properties allow it to be controlled via electronic means.  In Plasma TVs, the gas is contained within a cell and a single TV contains hundreds of thousands of these cells.  Passing current through the cells will make the plasma inside it glow or dim.  The light coming from the cell strikes phosphors (red, green and blue) and an image is formed.  A cell operates similarly to fluorescent light.  Actually, you can say that a Plasma TV is made up of a multitude of micro fluorescent light bulbs.

LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) does not use phosphors and relies solely on the ability of liquid crystals to modulate light.  A liquid crystal is a state of matter that has properties midway between a liquid and a crystal.  A liquid crystal can either pass or block light depending on the amount of current that is passed through it.  An LCD panel on LCD TVs is made up of two polarized layers, one of which contains liquid crystals.  External light is always necessary for LCD displays because they cannot produce their own light.

THE PICTURE QUALITY

Picture quality is the most important property of a display.  It is a very broad term and to say that a display has good picture quality means it’s great in several factors.  The first factor would be the contrast ratio.  It is the difference between the maximum black levels and the maximum white level.  A Samsung Plasma TV easily reaches a contrast ratio of 2,000,000 to 1.  On the other hand, the LCD TV of the same brand only has a contrast ratio of 150,000.  The examples we are citing here are models PN50C450B1D (Plasma) and LN46C650 (LCD) which both have the same release years (2010).

The great disparity between the Plasma and LCD in terms of contrast levels can be directly linked to their respective algorithms.  A Plasma TV’s algorithm involves blocking the current to a particular cell to render black.  Since its cell operates like a fluorescent bulb, absence of power will simply turn it off.  A LCD TV meanwhile, uses power to emit black.  Remember that a liquid crystal modulates light depending on the amount of current that passes through it.  Because of this, a slight variation in power can affect the black level of the LCD TV.  This results to inconsistencies in its black levels.  Through the years the contrast levels of LCD TVs have greatly improved.  However this was matched by the improvements on the contrast level of Plasma TVs.

The next factor is color accuracy.  This is where LCD ALMOST catches up with Plasma.  Again, the slight difference lies in how each produces colors.  For an LCD, colors are produced through the use of filters.  These color-filters act similar to a prism wherein the white light from the backlit source is scattered to create a full spectrum.  This is difficult to achieve at very high accuracy due to the imperfection of the filters.  Colors are created in a Plasma TV by lighting up a combination of the red, green and blue phosphors.  The variation between the two though in terms of color accuracy is hardly noticed except when placed in different environments.  The richness in color of a Plasma TV prevails in rooms with minimal lighting while the LCD TV looks better in a room with bright lights.

Another factor is image uniformity.  This refers to both the smoothness of the image displayed on the screen and the uniformity of the brightness of the image.  In this area Plasma enjoys a clear advantage over LCD. T he backlight diffuser of LCDs is the culprit of this as it can never spread brightness uniformly across the display.  The cells on the Plasma TV create their own light, thus a more uniform brightness.  In a similar manner, Plasma easily smooths out noisy videos as well as shadow gradations.

The Plasma TV clearly overshadows the LCD TV in all factors of picture quality presented.  Manufacturers though are striving hard to improve the LCD TV because of the simple reason that it is more economical.  But for now, Plasma TV is still the king in terms of picture quality.

EDGE: PLASMA TV

THE PRICE

Price tags are one of the most important factors when it comes to HDTV.  We will be using a single brand, Samsung, to simplify our comparison.  A Samsung 50-inch HD Plasma TV is priced at $1,100.  A larger one (60-inch) can be bought for $2,500.  A similarly sized Samsung LCD TV can be bought at $800 and other models of similar size can go as high as $1,700.

Those are one-time expenses but what about the monthly bill?  For a Samsung 52 inch LCD TV (LN52A650), the average power consumption can reach 220 Watts.  That means the LCD TV will make you spend around $32 to $49 per year assuming you use it for 5 hours a day and electricity costs 11 cents per kilowatt hour.

A Samsung 50 inch Plasma TV (PN50A650) consumes 380 watts of power.  At a similar computation above, a user will be typically paying $75 to $85 per year for electric consumption.  Other brands will yield different numbers but all of their Plasma models consume more power.   This is true because a Plasma TV produces more heat due to its use of phosphors.  For its cheaper selling price and lower power consumption, we give this one to the LCD TV.

EDGE: LCD TV

THE EXPERIENCE

In here we will talk about the life span of each TV and other things worth mentioning.  There is no definite answer as to which of the two can last longer as both present similar numbers at 100,000 hours.  An LCD TV’s life will last as long as its backlight.  It is said that the backlights can be replaced but manufacturers have yet to confirm this.  If this is true, then your LCD can last more than the said number of hours.  LCD TVs are not prone to wear and tear because light simply passes over a prism and there are no gases involved.

Speaking of gases, the plasma inside the Plasma TV will eventually fade out in time.  Manufacturers are concerned of the half-life of the gases (neon, xenon, argon) and they have been working to extend this further.  Nevertheless the current half-life is still 100,000 hours and that is quite long.  But unlike in LCD, there is no chance to replace the gases once they fade.  Thus, if one considers the extension of life via parts replacement, the LCD has a slight edge.

Wondering why airplanes use LCDs for their display?  t’s not because they are cost cutting but because they don’t have a choice.  Since a Plasma TV contains gases, it can get ugly at very high altitudes.  The lower air pressure above causes the Plasma TV to emit a disturbing hum.  This is hardly the case for an LCD TV which is not affected by air pressure.

Another concern for Plasma TVs is the so called screen “burn in”.  It is characterized by a permanent color spot on the display like it was etched.  This occurs when the TV displays a still picture for a very long period of time.  This is common to all displays with phosphors including grandpa CRTs.  Several improvements have been made to battle this but it is still present.  LCDs will not experience this problem simply because it does not have phosphors.  This is the reason why we don’t see Plasma computer monitors that often because leaving it on (which we commonly do) for a very long time will surely yield an ugly spot.

Plasma TV is clearly defeated in this combat.  Although the LCD only has a slight advantage on the lifespan department, Plasma is marred by the air pressure and burn-in issues.

EDGE: LCD TV

Summary of Specs

PLASMA vs LCD – THE VERDICT

It was tough to decide in such a close battle but in the Plasma vs LCD debate we give this one to the LCD TV.  Although the Plasma TV is better in terms of picture quality, it is matched with a higher price.  The Plasma TV also consumes more power which, in today’s economic environment, is not very practical.  The disposable nature of a Plasma TV is also a concern as well as its burn-in problems.  Meanwhile the LCD TV is slowly gaining ground against the Plasma TV in terms of picture quality.  Its use is also not limited to being just a part of a home entertainment system as it can be safely used in an aircraft and as a computer monitor.

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