Television technology is advancing fast and there is a new winner every few years. Up until not long ago it was the plasma TV then it was switched to LCD and these days talking about OLED started. So which one is better?
Like many other technologies different television technologies have advantages and disadvantages so choosing the right one for you largely depends on what your needs are and what is important to you.
First lets quickly describe what is the difference between plasma and LCD. Both plasma and LCD televisions look flat and slick and sometimes it is hard to tell which one is which. The difference is in the technology used to create the picture on the flat screen. Plasma TV uses a matrix of cells each cell is responsible for creating one pixel on the screen. The cells are filled with plasma gas that when exposed to electrical charge creates a visible color and intensity. Setting the correct electrical charge for each pixel results in a complete picture. LCD screens on the other hand are very popular in laptop computers and use liquid crystal material that is placed between two flat glass plates. Electrical charge is then applied which in return stimulate the crystals to generate color and intensity.
So technology aside what does the different materials used mean to the television viewer? One noticeable difference is the price. LCD technology is more expensive. Plasma TV would be cheaper than the same size LCD TV. For many years LCD televisions were too expensive for most buyers and if you wanted an LCD television you had to compromise on a lower size. These days however LCD prices went down and television sets like the Samsung LN22A650 are affordable for most buyers.
So which one looks better? The answer is not clear. Plasma screens have an advantage in displaying the color black which results in better contrast for many dark pictures and darker scenes in movies. LCD screens on the other hand seem to provide a move vivid color experience making colors look more rich and alive. Pasma screens also have better viewing angles than LCD although for most normal home users this is not important as they are not going to watch neither screens from an extreme wide angle.
LCD screens do have some advantages. For example it is easier to achieve higher pixel density with LCD and thus many LCD screens provide better resolution. This is less important for watching movies and more important if you are planning to connect your computer to your television.
So which one to buy? It is hard to tell. One rule of thumb to use is based on the screen size. If you are going for a real big TV above the fifty inches mark than plasma is probably a good choice assuming you do care about the television price. If you are buying a small television set than the price difference between the two is very small and LCD is the better choice as it can provide higher resolution which is important for smaller screens.