If you want to buy a modern TV model, then you need to choose the model especially carefully, since today there are many types. Mostly buyers are interested in which TV is better: LCD or Plasma? Before deciding on the choice, one should not only compare all the advantages and disadvantages of these types of TV, but also find out. This is what we are going to talk about today.
After cathode ray tubes became something of the past, and TVs themselves became thinner and lighter, each of the production and display technologies began to try to prove that it is the best. This rivalry, in turn, has led to higher quality TVs and attempts to lower prices. However, it should be said that the latter does not always work out, since what modern device, the more in it different functions, interfaces, etc., and this automatically increases its cost, whatever one may say.
Plasma TV
Today there are not so many companies involved in the production of plasma TVs... For the first time such technology was used by Fujitsu from Japan. Modern models of monitors, panels and displays are manufactured based on their technology. To date this technology is in great demand among buyers.
Before purchasing equipment, you should figure out what is the difference between a plasma TV and a plasma panel. Plasma panel is a monitor to which you can connect DVD player or a USB flash drive to watch the video. At the same time, a TV tuner is not provided in such equipment, so if you want to buy full TV, it is better to choose the model in which it is still present.
When buying a plasma TV, choose models from well-known companies that give a guarantee for their equipment from a year. The greater the guarantee, the better device... It is also important to consider whether there is service center of this manufacturer in your city.
LCD TV
LCD displays appeared 20 years ago and quickly became popular among users. Today there are many models with a large diagonal, light weight and screen thickness. Such parameters of the TV allow, if desired, to install it using a bracket on the wall, on a special hanging shelf, to build it into furniture and walls.
Such TVs are cheaper than plasma TVs with the same dimensions. In addition, such displays often have much better color rendition and brightness than plasma models. This is due to the fact that such TVs have a fairly good resolution.
Technological features of LCD TVs
Such a display consists of two plates and liquid crystals placed between them. Transparent polished plates have the same transparent electrodes through which voltage is transmitted to the cells of the matrix.
Liquid crystals between such plates are located in a special way. A beam of light passes through a polarizer installed near the plates, which unfolds at a right angle. This design is complemented by a backlight and a filter with RGB colors.
To increase the speed of action in these devices, special thin-film transistors are produced, better known as TFTs. Thanks to them, each cell is controlled separately. Because of this, the response speed can reach 8 milliseconds.
Plasma technological features
Plasma also consists of the same electrode plates as in LCD monitors. The difference is that instead of liquid crystals, the space between them is filled with inert gases such as argon, neon, xenon or their compounds. Each of the cells is colored with a certain phosphor, which determines the future color of the pixel. One cell is separated from the other by a partition that does not transmit ultraviolet radiation or light from the other cell. This achieves maximum level contrast, regardless of the intensity of ambient light.
When voltage is applied to a certain cell, it begins to glow with the color in which its phosphor is painted. The difference between such TVs and LCDs is that each of the cells itself emits light, so the backlight of such a display is not required.
Comparative characteristics of plasma and liquid crystal panels
|
Characteristic |
Winner |
Details |
| Screen size | Not so long ago, LCD TVs with a large diagonal practically did not exist, and plasma TVs were the undeniable winner, so the question of choosing a plasma or LCD did not appear. But time is running and today LCD models have practically caught up with plasma. Therefore, the difference according to this criterion disappeared and it is very difficult to determine the winner. | |
| Contrast | This is due to the fact that plasma TVs themselves emit light, which makes the image better and richer. | |
| Glare in bright light | The brightness of the lamp backlight allows you to see the image on the screen even in bright conditions or in direct sunlight. Plasma panels will give glare. | |
| Depth of black | The reason for the loss of the LCD TV by this parameter is the same. Due to the additional illumination, black is shallower than plasma, where its depth is achieved due to the fact that this cell there is simply no electricity coming in. | |
| Fast response | Through inert gas, electricity is transmitted almost instantly, so there are no problems. But on older LCD models, shadows could appear with a fast moving picture. But today, thanks to TFT technology, the response speed in such TVs was reduced to 8 milliseconds. Therefore, if you choose new model TV, you will not notice any artifacts. | |
| Viewing angle | Plasma TVs have a viewing angle starting at 160 degrees, but an older LCD TV model can have a viewing angle of only 45 degrees. But if you choose one of modern models, you shouldn't worry, as today the viewing angle in LCD TVs and plasma is the same. | |
| Lighting uniformity | For plasma TVs, the uniformity of illumination is ensured by the fact that each of the pixels is itself a light source and glows just like the others. In LCD TVs, the uniformity of illumination depends on the lamp, but it is still not easy to achieve uniformity. | |
| Burn in the screen | Screen burn-in mainly affects plasma displays when viewing static image... Over time, all objects may have non-existent shadows, which, in fact, is fixable. This a common problem for devices containing phosphorus. V LCD monitors it does not exist, and, therefore, such a problem does not threaten them either. | |
| Energy efficiency | LCD TVs consume almost 2 times less electricity than plasma TVs. This is due to the fact that the main amount of energy in plasma TVs is spent on cooling and powerful fans, but in LCD panels, except for the lighting lamp, practically nothing is involved. | |
| Durability | LCD TV can last up to 100,000 hours, while plasma has no more than 60,000 hours. In addition, for LCD screens this figure means the life of the backlight lamp, and for plasma - the life of the matrix. If you choose plasma, then by the time these 60,000 hours pass, the screen brightness will be 2 times less. | |
| Compatibility | In principle, both plasma and liquid crystal modern TVs there is enough set of various functions and interfaces. It can also be the ability to connect various game consoles, audio systems, Smart functions TV and 3D. However, LCDs win out because they are best suited for use with a computer. They are better visible various schemes and graphics, since one inch uses more pixels than plasma monitors. | |
| Price | Plasma TV on this moment are much more expensive than LCD models with the same diagonal. |
As a result, we can say that plasma panels have better color reproduction and responsiveness, and LCD models are more energy efficient, durable and not subject to screen burnout. Therefore, before choosing what you need: LCD or plasma, decide what is most important for you in such a device.
Which is better to choose a plasma TV or an LCD TV? There is no single correct answer to this question. It all depends on the needs of the buyer and on the conditions in which he will watch TV. Here's what to choose desired option the buyer should know the pros and cons of these technologies.
In the past two years, the presenters manufacturers do not produce plasma TVs as a screen. V different time they gave up plasma in favor of LED technology... Then there are OLED TVs. It is these two technologies that will divide the market over the next few years.
How LCD TVs work
The principle of operation of the lcd display is very simple, liquid crystal molecules change their position in space under the influence of electric current... If you place a layer of liquid crystals after the display backlight lamp, you can get a kind of electrical light switch.
Depending on the plane of polarization, the light will either pass through the LCD matrix or be delayed, which we will see on the screen as light or dark pixels. There are a lot of these pixels, with a resolution of 4K pixels on the screen of 8 million.
After passing through a layer of liquid crystals, the so-called blinds, the light enters the light filter. There are three sub-pixels for each pixel: green, blue and red. These colors are the basis of all color television, because by combining them, we can get almost any hue. As a result, we get desired image on the screen, this is how the lcd TV works.
How Plasma TVs Work
In turn, the principle of operation of a plasma TV is as follows. Each pixel in a plasma display is made up of three ionized gas microlamps. An electrode is connected to the cones with gas, through which voltage is applied. An electrical discharge in a gas (plasma) emits ultraviolet radiation, which causes the phosphor that covers each sub-pixel to glow. The brightness of the glow of each cell depends on the level of the applied voltage. Thus, almost any shade can be obtained from the three primary colors.
Pros and cons
Plasma TVs cannot be less than 32 inches, this technological limitation... And basically plasma TVs are made with a diagonal of 42 inches or more. And LCD screens can be from very small (for example, Wrist Watch) up to 100 inch screens In reality, LCD TVs are available up to 80 inches.
First difference in size... Minimum and maximum dimensions LCD and plasma are different. When choosing a TV, you need to take into account the size of the room where it will stand. For a small room, the plasma can be very large, and for a presentation hall, the size of an LCD TV may not be enough. But for popular TV screen sizes of 40-60 inches, both technologies will work.
Plasma with a large diagonal is perfect for a room with a large area and equipped for home theater... And for the room smaller fit better lcd, because in a small room such disadvantages of plasma TVs as increased heat generation and noise from cooling fans will be much more noticeable.
And some specifications Plasma displays are superfluous for human perception and are not an advantage over LCD TVs. The main advantage of plasma remains better contrast, which entails better color reproduction. But on the other hand, LCD TVs have a high brightness, especially for models with led backlighting, and therefore the LCD can be viewed in strong ambient light, and the plasma will show nice results in shaded areas. Therefore, if in a shop window you see that the plasma shows worse than an LCD TV, then keep in mind that at home, when you put the plasma in the room, the result can be much better.
The main advantage of plasma panels is best level black, and therefore the best contrast and the best color rendition. LCD TV models that can compete with plasma in these parameters have LED backlighting and surpass similar plasma models in cost. The viewing angle is also better on plasma TVs and the response time is much faster, which gives an advantage when viewing dynamic scenes... With the improvement of LED backlighting, LCD TVs are almost equal in image quality to plasma ones.
The problem of pixel burnout in plasma can arise if a static image is fed to the screen, for example, when connected to a computer or if you put a photo instead of a screensaver. During normal viewing, the problem of burned-out pixels may not arise at all, and in new models the problem of burn-in is practically eliminated. Both plasma and LCD TVs have a sufficient MTBF margin, so it is not necessary to look at this characteristic when comparing these technologies.
This information is valid for 2014. Since then, plasma has left the market and its parameters have remained the same, but models with LED backlit became the leaders in the TV market. Their technical specifications have reached a high level and you can find models with excellent image quality. OLED TVs compete with them, but there are relatively few of them and they come at a great price.
Sooner or later, we all face the problem of updating our fleet of devices to display video information. And we ask ourselves a question - which technology, plasma or liquid crystal, to give preference? This is especially true when choosing TVs with large diagonal screens. Today, the two most "advanced" technologies are plasma and liquid crystal display. Both technologies (plasma and LCD) are good enough, but they have a number of differences.
Plasma and LCD TV screen sizes are almost identical, except that it is impossible to create a plasma display less than 37 inches diagonally. So both technologies have parity here. One of the parameters that determines image quality is the physical resolution of the display. Here, both technologies are on an equal footing. Both plasma and LCD display full HD resolution (FullHD) - 1920 * 1080 pixels with progressive scan absolutely without any problems.
Thus, both technologies have their own advantages and disadvantages. If you want uncompromising picture with natural color reproduction and as close to reality as possible, plasma is your choice. If most of the time you watch news and other on-air programs on TV without nominating special requirements to the quality of colors and the speed of pixel response - you are in the world of liquid crystal technology. Happy choice!
Electronic developments are striding forward with huge strides, offering us more and more new, advanced and technological televisions. Image quality and resolution are getting better, designs are getting thinner, brains are getting smarter. And the buyer has a wide choice, which consists not only in brands, but also in technologies: LCD, ice and plasma are offered on the market. What is better and how they differ, now we will figure it out.
Perhaps these TVs were pioneers in the world of new technologies. Even when Plasma entered the market, TVs with cathode ray tube, since initially the novelty was quite expensive.
Technologically, a plasma panel consists of two glass plates, between which there is a matrix of cells filled with gas. Transparent electrodes conduct current to the cells, from which the gas turns into plasma and begins to glow. Ultraviolet radiation from the plasma causes the phosphor to illuminate red, green and blue flowers... It is these colors in different ratios, which are controlled by the computer, that we see on TV.
Today, this type of TV is considered obsolete, and plasma models are becoming less and less. However, some manufacturers continue to produce plasma panels, improving their quality. Plasma diagonals are large, since on compact models impossible to do high resolution due to large pixels.
The advantages of plasma include:
- deep and vibrant colors;
- excellent contrast due to perfect blacks;
- wide viewing angle up to 180 degrees;
- long service life, the largest among TVs - up to 30 years;
- 3D technology has also reached plasma.
But there are also disadvantages:
- the highest energy consumption;
- the panel sometimes rejoices in the sun;
- the panel is quite heavy, problems with mounting on the wall;
- pixels in static images burn out.
If we said that plasma panels were the pioneers of new technologies among televisions, then liquid crystals were at the origins of all electronics in general. The first LCD display dates back to the 1970s. Then it was monochrome screens on watches, calculators, various devices. A little later, the first laptops with an LCD display appeared, but they were primitive developments at the very dawn of the LCD era.
The first LCD TVs began to appear at the beginning, and became widespread in the mid-2000s.
Small diagonals from 14 to 32 inches and affordable price, they quickly became popular and surpassed plasma in sales, although at that time they were much inferior in image quality.
LCD screen is based on liquid crystals, which are located between layers of glass or polymer plates. This layer of crystals forms a matrix with a huge number of pixels. The backlight behind the panel gives the glow, and the RGB matrix provides the colors.
LCD TVs can fully be called the reason for the departure from the CRT market (these are those thick boxes with a flickering CRT). And although CRTs were much better in image quality, new technologies prevailed. A lot of time has passed since then, and the quality of the LCD has improved a lot.
Let's list their advantages:
- low power consumption (remember a watch that runs on one battery);
- no static voltage - does not attract dust and does not shock;
- even small screen can be done in Full HD resolution;
- low price;
- lungs, and today they are very light.
And disadvantages:
- the contrast is worse than plasma and ice;
- limited viewing angle;
- insufficient black depth and contrast;
- the only "nominal" screen resolution;
- response time, that is, the time to change the image is not the best.
Of course the pros and cons vary depending on the cost specific model and manufacturer level. For example, premium brands will show excellent contrast, wide viewing angles, and all other data will be on high level... And the cheapest models, on the contrary, will aggravate the shortcomings several times, and their operating time is also limited. In general, LCD TVs last 7-10 years.
In 2010, the so-called LED TV began to spread. Essentially it is regular lcd tv but with some changes. They use LED backlighting, which has a brighter light, due to which the brightness of the picture is increased and the color reproduction has become more natural. If the LED is off, then it does not create any glow, hence the image contrast has become better, and the black color is absolutely black. In general, in almost all parameters in the field of quality picture led ahead of the lcd. Plus, the power consumption has been improved.
It should be understood that the mere presence of LED screen backlighting does not give a 100% advantage. As in the previous cases, the image quality depends on the manufacturer and the technologies it has implemented. The most famous brands, of course, have latest developments and use the best GPUs... Firms of the second echelon have technologies of the past generations in stock.
The advantages of such TVs can be considered:
- brightness and clarity;
- great colors, great contrast;
- at high definition, for example 4K, the picture acquires amazing quality and volume.
Flaws:
- like LCD, limited viewing angle;
- the price tends to bite.
But here it is worth taking a step back and revealing the marketing secret. Real LED TVs aren't exactly what you just read about. Yes, in all stores, "ice" means ordinary LCDs, but with LED backlight... However, true LED displays have a completely different technology. In such devices, each pixel is illuminated by a separate LED. The first such TV was invented back in 1977 and has not yet received mass distribution... The point is that it is extremely difficult to make a compact TV with hundreds of thousands of LEDs at an affordable price. But large panels are quite common in outdoor advertising.
There is probably no definite answer, which is better - LCD, plasma or ICE. As we can see, they all have advantages and disadvantages. If you prefer to watch a movie in a small room, and sometimes use your TV as a monitor for your PC, then you should definitely look at the LCD. If you have a large dark room, you often watch football matches, and generally prefer not to turn off the TV, then large plasma – perfect option... If you're chasing perfect quality, you have to fork out for LEDs. But in any case, it's up to you, and we just gave you a direction.
Technologies for the production of plasma, LCD (CCFL LCD) and LED (LED LCD) TVs are well developed today, so they all give a fairly high-quality picture. And yet that better plasma or LCD? Plasma panels and LCD and LED TV brothers have their pros and cons.
Why brothers? Because they are produced using the same technology and differ only in the way they are illuminated.
Plasma panelsgive a fairly high-quality picture: real black and generally realistic color rendition, high contrast, wide viewing angles and short response time.
Disadvantages: the brightness is not high enough and it will not be so comfortable to watch TV in a sunny room, high power consumption, large dimensions.
Screen burnout is the combustion of phosphorus in a cell. As a result, a frequently displayed picture, such as a logo, can be remembered on the screen. Plasma has this problem, but even the first models had a lifespan of 30,000 hours (about 10 years). And today manufacturers claim panel lifespan comparable to LCD TVs.
Another disadvantage is that it is impossible to create plasma with a diagonal size of less than 32 inches. But the price of a plasma of a large diagonal is lower than that of the same diagonal of an LCD or LED.
Have LCD (CCFL LCD) TVs the brightness is better than plasma, the power consumption is lower. Response time and viewing angles are inferior to plasma, but they are sufficient for comfortable viewing. Color rendition and contrast at the same level different manufacturers is different. It should be noted, though, that black is not truly black, but rather a dark gray. This is due to the peculiarities of the technology.
LED (LED LCD) TVs, Also being LCD TVs, it is thinner than CCFL LCD due to the fact that LEDs are used to illuminate the LCD panel instead of fluorescent lamps. This improves color rendering. The downside is the price. According to this indicator, they are inferior to LCD (CCFL LCD) TVs and plasma. Moreoverthese TVs have nsome unevenness of the backlight. These are the features of LCD technology. But today this very modern technology mass production of TVs.
Knowing about the pros and cons of all technologies, you can decide which plasma or LCD TV is better for you.
P.S. The first LCD TVs with a backlit fluorescent lamp (CCFL LCD) have already left the TV market. Plasma ceased production in 2014. LED LCD still occupies the main TV market. But it is already coming to replace new technology - OLED... Declared prices for Oled TVs are still very high. But they are already on sale. About models that enter the market
