Lcd or plasma?. Review on Buying a New TV

These days crt tvs are a passe, giving way to the latest in technology, flat display panels.the are chic, sophisticated and carry a plethora of features.they also add a style statement to your living room  with their sleek and eyecatching design .but then, we as consumers, face the biggest dilemma, whether to go for a plasma or an lcd.my review talks of both the technologies with their supported pros and cos , which might help people narrowing down their buying options.

LCD(LIQUID CRYSTAL DISPLAYS)- Basically lcd panels have evolved from the computer screens, or laptops to be more precise. They consist of two layers of transparent material, which are polarised and are glued together .one of the layers is coated with  special polymer that holds the individual liquid crystals, which allow the crystals to pass or block the light to create images.

Lcds don't produce their own light, they have to depend on the ambient lighting to make the images look brighter.usually the backlighting is cfl, the ones we use as bulbs at homes, the latest ones are leds, which are tad expensive.lcds generate less heat, and hence have cooler running temperatures as compared to crts and plasmas.

PLASMAS, on the contrary-

Plasma television technology is based fluorescent lighting.the display itself consists of cells, called the pixels.within each cell, two glass panels are separated by a narrow gap which is filled by neon or xenon gas which is sealed during the manufacturin process.as soon as u switch on a plasma set, the gas charges up , which strikes red blue and green phospors , thus creating an excellent television image.since each pixel on a plasma emits light, they produces much vibrant images , which are so life like, it seems as if you are looking out of a window.but this process produces  more heat as compared to lcds, and hece the screen gets heated up.

ADVANTAGES OF PLASMAS OVER LCDS-

1. LARGER SCREEN SIZE AVAILABLE- since the minimum screen size of a plasma is 42 inches, we have much larger choices of screen sizes as compared to lcds.

   
   




2. BETTER CONTRAST RATIO- plasmas have contrast ratios ranging from 100000:1 to 1000000:1.as compared to lcds, which have dynamic contrasts from 10000:1 to 60000:1 maximum.

   
   

MOTION TRACKING WITH 100HZ- plasmas generally have this latest technology which deals well with the fast moving scenes by creating extra frames and intelligently inserting them between scenes so as to create seamless viewing, whereas lcds suffer from motion lag, which is the ghost effect in a fast moving scene, which may result in eye fatigue.

3.DEEPER COLOR SATURATION-colors produced on a plasma screen are very life like.black levels are the deepest and whites are whiter as compared to lcds.

DISADVANTAGES OF PLASMAS(THOUGH VERY FEW)-

1.MORE HEAT GENERATION-due to the technology adopted, plasmas tend to produce more heat as compared to lcds.for me, its not an alarming issue.

2.BURNING OF PIXELS-this could possibly be seen in a decade old plasmas, now every plasma comes with anti burn in technology, which doesnt allow a ghost image of a channel logo to remain on the screen.

3.SHORTER DISPLAY LIFE- again , it was only with a decade old plasma.now the least life of a pdp is 60000 hrs, more than an average lcd.panasonic has  a dispay life of 100000 hours

now talking of lcds,

LCD ADVANTAGES OVER PLASMAS-

1.NO BURNING OF PIXELS-this technology is free from this issue

1. COOLER RUNNING TEMPERATURE

3.NO HIGH ALTITIUDE ISSUES , AS THEY DONT HAVE XENON GAS FILLED IN THEM.

5.LIGHTER WEIGHT- COULD BE A PLUS POINT OVER A PLASMA, BUT AGAIN THE MARGIN IS NEGLIGIBLE.

DISADVANTAGES OF AN LCD OVER PLASMA-

1.LOWER CONTRAST RATIO-lcds are still in the developing stages, there is a long way to go before u find life like images on an lcd

2.POOR IN TRACKING MOTION- lcds are the worst in tracking high motion scenes, except if u have a high end lcd incorporated with a 100hz motion picture pro technology,

3.NOT VERY COMMON IN LARGE SCREEN SIZES- people generally buy plasmas, when their requirement exceeds the screen size of 40 inches, since plasmas were made to cater the audience which wanted  large screens.

1. DEAD PIXELS-although lcds dont suffer from burn in, there is a high degree of possibility that a lcd may have a dead pixel, which might appear as a back or a apermanently lit dot on the screen.its not repairable in an lcd, the whole screen would be needed to change.plasmas gain here, as the pixels are repairable.

5.EXPENSIVE IN SCREENS OVER 46INCHES- lcds might end up being heavy on your pocket if u decide to buy one which is of a size greater than 46 inches.

now , a few buying tips for both lcds and plasmas.

1) NEVER EVR GET CARRIED AWAY BY THE LOOKS OF THE DISPLAY.HERE LOOKS CAN BE DECEPTIVE, AND I SERIOUSLY MEAN IT!. u might end up  leaving a good product just beacuse of the looks.

2)whenever in the shop, always ask the sales guy to give u the remotes of the televisions u are interested in.they have a habit to keep the sets in the best of their settings and they might even favour the one which earns them higher commission.

3)100hertz is a must(preferable).it helps enjoy fast scenes.

4) a tv looking attractive from the front , might turn out to be an eyesore of poor build quality from the back, thouh its highly disappointing, very few manufactures produce the back cabinet of metal.

5)atleast two HDMI PORTS ARE A MUST. THIS INTERFACE ALLOWS U TO TRANSFER HIGH QUALITY DATA FROM AN HD DEVICE, DIRECTLY TO UR TV WITHOUT ANY DATA LOSS.

6)INPLANE SWITCHIN PANEL(IPS) IN CASE OF LCDS IS A MUST.IT ALLOWS U TO WATCH TV FROM A 178 DEGREE ANGLE.I WAS VERY DISAPPOINTED WHEN I SAW THIS LACKING IN SONY BRAVIA S AND V SERIES.THE SCREENS REFLECTED TO MUCH OF LIGHT WHEN VIEWED FROM AN ANGLE.

7)POWER CONSUMPTION SHOULD ALSO BE CONSIDERED.RANGES FROM 180W TO 400 W .

8)RESOLUTION SHOULD BE HD READY, NOT HD COMPATIBLE.THOUGH HD BROADCAST IS  NOT HERE, ITS  STILL ROUND THE CORNER.HD READY IS 1366768 FOR LCDS, AND 1204788 FOR PLASMAS.

9)look for tvs with super black panels, which absorb light to make tv viewing comfortable.

10)convenience of the location of switches is also to be considered.

11)the panel should preferably be of a non glossy finish, though its hard to find one except for hitachi and panasonic.these surfaces develop too much of scratches over time and might give a terrible look to the tv.

12)DONT GET ATTRACTED TOWARDS THE FIGURES OF DYNAMIC CONTAST.ALWAYS ASK FOR THE NATIVE CONTRAST, ITS A 100 TIMES LOWER THAN THE FORMER ONE.

I am a true plasma fan, and it might have been evident through my review, but my views are still unbiased..my concluding words are that those looking for exceptional picture quality should go for plasmas, though u may not find the sales figures to be very high, as masses prefer lcd.lcds have a long way to go, though an lcd might be cost effective because u get a full hd resolution at a lesser cost, than the plasma with same resolution.Its upon u to decide. Brands to be considered for plasmas-

PANASONIC, HITACHI , PIONEER(sadly pioneer is discontinuing its tv production of the elite class of kuro displays)

for lcds-

SHARP, SONY, HITACHI, PANASONIC , SAMSUNG, LG(jazz in lg)

happy buying!