Thursday, March 13, 2008 Plasma Or LCD? How To Buy The Right Flat Screen For Youby Rob Viccars on Thu, Mar, 13, 2008 10:08 PM So you've just moved into your new home and you're thinking "a flat-screen TV would look great over the fireplace." Besides being an excellent space saver, flat-screen TVs look cool and produce amazing images when paired with an HDTV source. However, once you've decided to buy a new TV, the most common question is LCD or plasma?
Before we tackle that question, the first thing you should do is decide on screen size and that really depends on the size of your room. If you sit between 5 and 10 feet away from the TV then you could pretty comfortably consider between 42" and 50".
As far as LCD or plasma, the general rule is below 42" go with LCD and at 50" go with plasma. Between 42" and 50" you could go either way, but my personal opinion is to stick with plasma.
Although LCDs are catching up, plasma displays are generally better with fast action, such as sports. Plasma is also a better option if you want rich colours and deep blacks. On LCD TVs the blacks can look a little grey because a bit of light bleeds through the pixels. Plasmas are also a bit cheaper, especially as screen size increases. Plasma displays offer better viewing angles, as the picture on an LCD can appear a bit washed out if you're not sitting directly in front of it.
On the other hand, LCD's consume less power, and weigh a bit less than plasmas. LCD might be the way to go if your room is very bright, or you watch a lot of TV in the daytime. If you play a lot of video games or if you are planning on hooking your computer up to your television, LCD is your best bet.
Burn-in used to be an issue with older plasma displays, but it is a problem that has virtually been eliminated in more recent sets. Although a static image may remain on the screen temporarily, it should disappear shortly. Most modern plasmas also come with a screensaver option which allows you to 'clean' the pixels on your display.
If you want to read more about the differences between plasma and LCD, here are links to two excellent articles. The first, from one of my favourite technology websites, Digital Home Canada outlines five reasons to choose plasma or LCD. The second article from audio visual experts, Crutchfield Advisors, weighs the pros and cons of both TVs. |
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