LCD TV and Plasma TV are the two competing rivals in flat panel TV technology. Take a look at them from distance, they look more like twins. Both come with larger screens, thin profiles and elegant design features. They take up much less space as you can hang them on the walls just like a family portrait or on a stand in your living room. With HD Ready display and movie theater quality, both LCD and Plasma TVs are now viable alternatives to conventional CRT televisions.

LCD TV

Plasma TV

Despite these similarities, both LCD TV and plasma TV have lot many differences that result in pros and cons of each TV so it rather demands a sensible approach from you while deciding on which of these two TVs is right for you.

LCD TV screens are made up thin, flat glass panels of liquid crystals and have a fluorescent bulb right behind these liquid crystal panels. When they are inactive, liquid crystals are in twisted pattern and allow the light to pass through. However, they get untwisted and block the light, when they get electrically charged. A network of TFT transistors (one transistor for one sub-pixel (green, blue or red)) controls hundreds and thousands of pixels on a LCD panel so these pixels allow light to pass through the panel in varied quantities and produce the picture on the screen.

Pros:

• Typically, LCD TVs are much thinner than Plasma TVs thanks to the advancements made in the LCD technology. LCD panel is getting thinner and thinner (less than 3″).
• LCD TVs do not cause picture flicker so it is easier to watch LCD TV for hours together without your eyes getting strained.

Cons:

• LCD TV is not as bright as plasma TV and you may not find such deep black levels like Plasma TV produces.
• LCD screen sometimes suffer from a manufacturing defect called ‘dead pixels’. This occurs when a few defective TFT transistors cause white spots on the screen indicating these pixels have become inactive.

Plasma TV screens use rare gases like xenon and neon, filled in tiny chambers that sit between two glass panels. When these chambers get electrically charged, the ionized gases emit ultra-violet radiation which reacts with the front panel, coated with colour phosphors (green, blue and red) and the result, these colour phosphors glow and produce the final image on the screen.

Pros:

• Plasma TVs produce brighter picture with deep black levels and excellent contrast.
• Plasma screen technology allows wider viewing angels so you can sit off on either side but still get uniform picture quality.

Cons:

• Plasma screens tend to reflect in bright room conditions due to their glassy surface.
• Plasma screens can be susceptible to screen burns when brighter image is left on the screen for much longer time.

When compared with CRT TV, both LCD TV and Plasma TV are capable of producing stunning picture quality with high resolutions, true-to-life colours and better contrast. Here are the factors that determine the picture quality of LCD TV and Plasma TV.

Native resolution

LCD TV has an edge over plasma TV when it comes to high resolutions. Most LCD TVs support 720p or 1080i resolutions so picture looks much sharper on LCD TV and this means LCD TV does not require so much viewing distance and it can be used even in a small room.

Panasonic TC-32LX85 32″ LCD TV (720p resolution)

Samsung 1080p LCD TV

Colour quality

Colours look more vivid, life-like on plasma TV screens. This is due to the ability of plasma TV to achieve deep black levels while LCD TVs slightly lag behind plasma TVs, when it comes to reproduction of colours.

However, plasma TV tends to produce picture flickers so it can be a bit straining to eyes when you watch plasma screen for long hours. LCD TV does not flicker so picture looks smooth but colours can be sometimes washed out when you watch at farther angles from central axis of the screen.

(Tip: Check the viewing angle specified by the LCD TV manufacturer. Watch the TV from wide angles and check the picture quality before you buy a LCD TV.)

Aspect ratio

LCD TV and Plasma TV are designed to feature high-definition picture so they have wide screens to support 16:9 wide aspect ratio of high definition images. Wide screen format is generally suited to watching movies, so, either with LCD TV or plasma TV, you can recreate the theatrical viewing experience. Most LCD TVs and plasma TVs can handle standard definition images of 4:3 aspect ratio.

Black levels (brightness and contrast)

Typically, Plasma produces better brightness levels (up to 1300 cd/m2) and also achieves high contrast ratios up to 10,000:1. Plasma TV also creates superior, deep black levels so it presents darker scenes in a more realistic way than a LCD TV.

Panasonic TH-46PZ85U 46″ Plasma TV
With contrast ratio: 30,000:1

In comparison, LCD TVs come with brightness levels ranging between 500 and 600 cd/m2 and have a maximum contrast ratio of 3000:1 and they do not show such good contrast and black levels like plasma TV.

LCD picture looks bright and clear in well-lit room

But it is surprising to see that LCD screen looks much brighter than a plasma screen in well-lit environment. The reason is, Plasma TVs glare off more in ambient conditions due to their glossy screens. LCD screens reflect much less light and look much better in bright rooms.

LCD TVs and Plasma TVs also differ in other aspects like viewing angles, response time, longevity and power consumption etc.

Viewing angles

Plasma TVs generally have wider viewing angles than LCD TVs. Most plasma TVs allow almost 180 viewing angle and this makes it possible to get uniform picture quality irrespective of the place they are viewed from.

Most LCD TVs come with decent viewing angles. With some LCD screens, especially the older models, the deterioration of picture quality can be quite noticeable, as you move away from the central axis of the screen.

The good news is the latest LCD TVs come with improved viewing angles of 160 or more so narrow angles is no longer an issue today.

LG’s LCD TVs use S-IPS technology to eliminate shifts in colour and contrast at wide angles

Response time

Response time or screen refresh rate is a measure of time that a pixel takes to change between active and inactive states. It is measured in milliseconds.

On a LCD screen, fast actions can cause blurring of images due to the higher response time of the pixels. However, newer LCD TVs come with a response time of 8ms so smearing is barely visible to anyone.

Plasma TVs generally have faster screen refresh rate and do not suffer from this drawback.

Longevity

Generally, a plasma TV has a half-life period of 40,000 hours and by which time, its screen sheds half its luminosity and can be disposed of scrap.

LCD screen has better longevity and is supposed to last over 60,000 hours or more.

Plasma TV screens can suffer from screen burns caused by brighter images when allowed to stay on the screen for longer time. The permanent shadow of the image left by screen burns affects over-all picture quality and the pleasure of viewing. LCD screen is not affected by screen burns.

Power consumption

Plasma TVs generally consume more power than LCD TVs. LCD TVs consume less than half the power that CRT television sets use so LCD TVs conserve energy and also economical.

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