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12 Now given all of this background, let's answer some common questions
regarding the purchase of a
HIGH DEFINITION FLAT PANEL TV.
3
PLASMA
OR
LCD
?
Both have their pros and cons, but in
general the market is moving to LCD.
PLASMA panels use more energy and
run considerably hotter than LCDs
and, although this problem has been
reduced on newer panels, they have
the potential to burn in a static
image or title. They also have a finite
life, but the newest panels claim up
to 60,000 hours. That's a long time
and probably a bit exaggerated, but
even at half that number, life should
not be a concern.
...on the PLASMA vs. LCD question is this: The higher end LCDs now
perform at a level that is virtually equivalent to PLASMA, do not burn in, use
significantly less power and dissipate much less heat. They are also lighter
and easier to mount on the wall if you are going in that direction. At the
lower end of the price range, PLASMA TVs will provide higher performance
if you can control the amount of ambient light when watching them.
One final consideration is reflectivity.
PLASMA panels have a glass front and
tend to be much more reflective of
ambient light, (i.e. there is greater
potential for glare on the screen) than
LCD panels which reflect less due to the
polarized nature of the display which
causes them to diffuse reflected light
more evenly. For this reason, PLASMA
based sets will be fine in a dark home
theater environment, but may have a
problem with glare in a brightly lit room
or a room with uncovered windows.
Contrast ratio is the difference
between full white and full black.
LCDs have traditionally been
criticized in this area because an LCD
picture element is essentially a light
valve that either lets light from the
backlight through or blocks it. Since
it is impossible for the valve to
completely block all of the light,
some of the backlight sneaks through
and black levels are compromised.
Newer, higher quality LCDs implement
backlight modulation to reduce the
backlight dynamically in black areas
of the picture which significantly
increases contrast ratio.
THE
BOTTOM LINE
...
This is the first question
on most people's minds
when they contemplate
purchasing an FPTV
Unlike Plasma TVs, LCDs
are not affected by increases
or descreases in air pressure
LCDs perform consistently regardless
of the altitude at which they are
used. The same does not hold true
for plasma. The display concept
utilized by plasma TVs is a glass
substrate envelope with rare natural
gases compressed therein, above
6500 ft. Thus, at altitudes above
6,500 ft., an air pressure differential
may cause plasma displays to emit a
buzzing sound due to the lower air
pressure-similar to the buzzing of
an old neon sign. This limitation
works against Plasma displays if they
were to be used in higher altitude
locations.
Although both LCDs and Plasma should be
handled with care, plasmas need to be
handled with extra care. The main
consideration is to keep them upright.
Plasma glass is heavy and can crack if the
Plasma TV is laid face down, jarred or
dropped.
The two performance advantages
PLASMA panels have traditionally had
over LCD panels are response time
and contrast ratio. Response time is
the time it takes for a pixel to go from
off to on and back again. On older
LCD panels, slow response times
could cause trails and blurring of
rapidly moving objects, but newer
panels from tier one manufacturers
have reduced response time to levels
that eliminate these effects.
PLASMA
Glass display causes
greater potential for glare.
LCD
Polarized display diffuses
reflected light more evenly.
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