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It's no doubt that there's still a lot of confusion and misinformation when it comes to the differences between Plasma TV and LCD TV. So how do you know which technology is right for you?

Well, it's not a simple matter of Plasma TV is better, or LCD TV is better. It really depends on your circumstances and preferences. Let's talk about the differences and the pros and cons for each, as well as some of the misconceptions regarding these TVs, and hopefully that will help you in your decision making process.

Many people confuse Plasma TVs and LCD TVs because at a quick glance they look the same...they're both flat screen TVs, with a thin profile, which can be mounted on a wall. They're definitely both very cool technologies. They share other similarities, of course, such as screen resolution, input types, and a few others, but Plasma TVs and LCD TVs are totally different technologies, and there are differences that you should be aware of.

The purpose of this article isn't to explain the technical operation of Plasma TV and LCD TV, but rather to talk about the practical, real world differences that will help you in your decision making process. A very brief explanation of the basic operation, however, might help in your understanding of why the differences exist.

The pixels in a Plasma TV consist of phosphor lined cells filled with xenon and neon gas. Each pixel consists of a red, green and blue component, which combine to reproduce the full spectrum of colors. Plasma TVs are an emissive display technology, which means it's self-lighting.

LCD TVs are different in the sense that they are a transmissive display technology. Meaning the light is not produced by the LCD crystal, but rather from a light source behind the panel. A diffusion panel is used to redirect and scatter the light from behind the LCD panel. The LCD Panel itself is formed by two transparent panels with a liquid crystal solution between them. Each crystal is a like a shutter that either allow a predetermined amount of light to pass through, or block light from passing through.

So with that very basic explanation, and all of the information and misinformation out there, how do you decide which is better for you? Each technology has its pros and cons, so let's talk about those now. Keep in mind that within both technologies, there is a huge range of quality, so our comparisons will be comparing Plasma TVs and LCD TVs which are of equal quality.

What are the advantages of Plasma TV?

Probably the three most notable advantages Plasma TVs have over LCD TVs are their ability to produce very good black levels, their wide viewing angles, and a faster response time.
Better black levels mean that when you're viewing a black image, the Plasma TV reproduces closer to a true black than an LCD TV, and you'll also see better contrast in the black images. If you're viewing a dark scene in a movie, you'll notice the color on a good Plasma TV appears black, whereas on even the best LCD TV is appears to be a very dark gray or dark blue. You'll also notice more detail in the Plasma TV on dark scenes. This is because of the LCD TVs are transmissive, and when they're reproducing a black image, they're blocking the light from passing through. A tiny amount of light is able to leak through, which is why LCD TVs are not able to reproduce as good of a black level as Plasma TVs. LCDs have made big improvements in their black levels, but Plasma TV is still better in this area, full hd.

For the same reason, Plasma TVs have a wider viewing angle. This means if you're viewing the TV from the extreme side, or above or below, the Plasma TV pictures will remain bright and sharp. LCDs will display some loss of brightness and become harder to view from extreme angles, although their viewing angles have improved significantly so that this is not an issue for most people.

The response time refers to the time it takes a pixel to go from black to white, then back to black. Plasma TVs have a better response time than LCD TVs, which means that they do a better job with fast motion images, such as sports and video games. LCD TVs have been know to produce what's know as ghosting because of a slower response time. As with black levels and viewing angles, this also has significantly improved in LCD TVs as many are now rated at under 8ms, and many think it's a non-issue now. Some, however, still think complain about slight ghosting effects with LCD.

Some of the common misconceptions with Plasma TVs are that they will only last 5 years, the plasma gas leaks and needs to be replaced, and if you leave an image on the screen for a couple of hours you will burn in the screen.