Businesses are rapidly adoptinglarge high definition TVs and monitors for advertising, video conferencing,conference rooms, entertainment and information display, among other uses. Wetalked with a number of audio visual consultants, system integrators,distributors, vendors and customers and found there was confusion andmisunderstanding as to what is better ? LCD or Plasma for large screen use forvarious applications. Understandable, considering the rapidly evolvingtechnologies, numerous choices, the gamut of reviews and the variousapplications these large screens are being used. We are hoping we can clarifybut research the technologies yourself and make the knowledgeable choice.

Quick Introduction to theTechnology:Plasma screens use a matrix of plasma gas cells which are charged by electricalvoltage to create a picture. LCD screens are made up of liquid crystals placedbetween two glass plates. Both technologies use a back light. Below we comparethe two technologies on features important to businesses.

LCD vs. Plasma Comparison: Size and Weight

LCDs are generally lighter andthinner as they don't contain the gas-filled chambers and heavy glass panelspresent in plasmas. Historical wisdom was that larger size screens availablewere Plasma while smaller size screens were LCDs. Today Panasonic has 103?plasma while Sharp offers 108? LCD. Smaller size Plasma screens are currentlynot available. LCD vs. Plasma? A draw for larger sizes.

LCD vs. Plasma Comparison: Picture Quality

A number of variables go intopicture quality. We will outline them and summarize the findings.

Video Resolution: High resolutionis available for both Plasma and LCD screens and resolution is usually comparablefor both technologies (1920x1080 is considered as high resolution and availablein both Plasma and LCD screens). Lower price models for both Plasma and LCDshave lower resolution and typically for 52? and 65? screens they are 1366x768in resolution or lower. Be sure that you compare apples to apples. Overall: Adraw between the two technologies.

Data Resolution: Data resolutionfor LCDs is much better than for Plasma. The number of pixels per square inchon an LCD display is typically higher than any other display technology, so LCDmonitors are especially good at displaying large amounts of data. For the samereasons, LCD TVs will also be a slightly better template for video gaming.Plasma displays produce a very jaggy image when viewing static images fromcomputer images. Users may want to consider a commercial version plasma iftheir application calls for a lot of computer use.

Color Accuracy: Plasma colorrichness and naturalness will prevail in rooms with lower to normal lightingdue to higher contrast ratio. LCD screen contrast ratio is high further withanti-glare & brightness features of LCD screens, LCDs will be better inambient light or in very brightly lit rooms. As business usually work duringthe day in ambient light, LCDs are more desirable for most businessapplications.

Viewing Angle: Plasmamanufacturers have made much of their 160? viewing angles. However with newLCDs the view angles can be up to 158?. There is not much difference betweenthe two technologies in viewing angle.

Burn-in: There has been concernswith burn-in for Plasma screens especially for static images. However, manyPlasma manufacturers have improved their anti-burn in technology.

Overall: LCD wins for mostbusiness applications especially those which have a mixture of data and video.

LCD vs. Plasma Comparison: Life of the Screen

LCDs can be operated 24x7 for50,000 hours plus ? 5+ years of continuous viewing. Plasma, on the other hand,utilizes slight electric currents to excite a combination of noble gases (i.e.,argon, neon, xenon), which glow red, blue, and/or green. This is an essentiallyactive phenomenon, so the phosphoric elements in plasma displays fade overtime. Typically half life of 30,000 hours but some manufacturers state a newhalf life of 60,000 hours. At half life, the phosphors in a plasma screen willglow half as brightly as they did when the set was new. There is no way toreplace these gases; the display simply continues to become dimmer with use. AnLCD TV will last as long as its backlight - and in many models the backlightbulbs can be replaced! Since this is nothing more than light passing through aprismatic substrate, there is essentially nothing to wear out in an LCDmonitor.

LCD vs. Plasma? LCD Wins

LCD vs. Plasma Comparison: Power consumption

Plasma TVs use more power than LCD? twice as much. Plasmas uses electricity to light each and every pixel you seeon a screen - even the dark ones. Also, note Plasma TVs get heated up quicklyand require fans to cool the TV.

However, some manufacturers pointout that the power use of a plasma TV is directly dependent on picturebrightness, whereas an LCD picture requires a constant source of illumination.The theory goes that plasma should use less power over time. But in realityplasma TVs require significantly more power to achieve the same brightnesslevel as an LCD.

LCD vs. Plasma? LCD wins

LCD vs. Plasma Comparison: Lightness and Versatility

Both types of flat-panel screenscan be wall-mounted. Plasma sets weigh a lot more than LCD screens (even thoseof comparable screen-size), so setting them up or moving around could be aproblem, especially wall mounting in new houses with stud walling. Further thebezel for LCD screens can be removed and a video wall solution can be created ?can be quite valuable for advertising and monitoring

LCD vs.Plasma? LCD Wins

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