For many years your biggest consideration when buying a television was what size screen to select. This was usually dictated by your budget and the space you had. Once those variables were determined the project was simple. Buying a TV in the current market is a much more complicated task: there are LCDs, Plasmas, and projectors to choose from. Before a purchase can be made, first one must understand what these options are and how they compare against each other.
The most substantial difference between Plasma and LCD televisions is the method for generating the picture. Plasma displays comprise hundreds of thousands of pixels, each of which can be activated separately by an electrical impulse. These pixels release gases that affect the pixels red, green and blue bands to produce most any color in the spectrum. LCD TVs use liquid crystal diodes that, when sparked by an electronic signal, can vacillate and twist to filter the required color, similar in appearance to a double helix. These cells filter out all colors except for the one that is needed from a white light that is produced by a backlight.
Until recently Plasma televisions were significantly superior from a number of perspectives. Because of the winding and unwinding motion of the cells in LCD televisions, fast moving video, especially sports and action movies, often displayed a trailing effect as the images changed and shifted. Plasmas do not exhibit this because each of their pixels is activated individually. Plasmas produce undistorted images at sharply-angled viewpoints, unlike LCDs, whose images could appear somewhat corrupted when viewed at similar angles. Plasmas also revealed much deeper colors than LCDs, with especially strong blacks.
However, as the technology has improved LCD TVs have been able to offer highly competitive models that are able to compensate for their earlier weaknesses. They have anti-blur mechanisms and are able now to produce colors with as much or nearly as much depth as Plasmas. They also have many definitive strengths. LCDs are lighter, offer a greater spectrum of screen sizes, and also have greater grayscale and white coloring.
Plasmas do have their own pitfalls. Because they contain gases, they are affected by air pressure. This means that they do not perform as well at high altitudes. LCDs, however, are not affected by this. Consequently, they are used in most airlines and are preferred in many high cities. Plasmas also experience a burn-in effect, which occurs when a still image is left on the screen for a long period of time. This can occur when a movie or videogame is left on pause for an extended duration, or if the screen is being used to transmit computer images. Depending on the length of time the image is left on the screen, the burn-in can be severe and permanent.
Much like their picture quality over time, Plasmas are slowly fading out. Each of the advantages that they previously held have been met by LCDs, and the one winning factor they had left, their significantly lower price-tag, has vanished as well.
LCDs are improving and becoming dominant in every dimension ” literally: they are now starting to offer 3D models. Moreover, they can last much longer than Plasmas. Although they tend to be rated for equal lifespans, the end of the Plasma televisions lifespan marks the point at which it is half as bright as it originally was, whereas the projected end of an LCD televisions life is marked by the point where the backlight burns out. At these points a Plasma TV will keep fading until the picture is no longer discernible, whereas the LCDs backlight can be replaced.
And unless you are giving Powerpoint presentations in multiple locations, projectors do not hold a candle to LCDs.
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