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Life Span

 

Both LCD TVs and Plasma TVs have a good expected life span, and it’s getting better all the time. That said, LCD TVs ultimately win in this category because their light source can be replaced. Once a plasma TV has faded, that’s pretty much it.

Plasma TVs are said to last up to at least 30,000 hours before noticeable depreciation takes place. Some manufacturers are now saying their plasma TVs are testing up to 60,000 hours before any quality is lost. The questions to ask, then, are obvious: How much TV do I watch? And when will I be buying another TV? Even at the low-end mark of 30,000 hours, if you watched TV 10 hours a day, 365 days a year, you would go a little over 8 years before seeing major picture depreciation. If you dropped that number down to 4 hours a day, 365 days a year, you’d get over twenty years before seeing depreciation.

As was said before, an LCD TV can theoretically last longer than a plasma TV because the light source can be replaced. Replacing the bulbs on an LCD, however, can be quite expensive in itself (a few hundred dollars). By the time you’re ready to do that, you might be ready for a new TV anyway. But, if not, an investment of a few hundred dollars will get your old TV back, good as new.
 

Plasma vs. LCD TVs:  Overall Picture Quality

Color, Brightness, Black Levels, & Contrast

This area is obviously the most subjective of all the areas, but perhaps the most important too. What someone’s personal taste is will determine what he or she considers to be pleasing. It’s this area that will probably determine more than any other which type of TV you get in the end. It’s not about saying one is “better” than the other, but instead, it’s about saying one has “this type of quality about it” and the other has “that type of quality about it.”

This is what all the peanut butter vs. jelly nonsense was about in the beginning. They each have their own qualities, and if you can’t have both, you have to decide which one you would rather live with.

Color

In general, most agree that LCD TVs produce “sharper” pictures with colors that seem more alive. Sounds like a winner automatically, but not necessarily. With plasma TVs, you generally get more realistic colors and a wider range of colors. An LCD TV might be more likely to wow you when you walk in the room, but once you stay in the room for a while, you might prefer the warmth and depth of the plasma. LCD TVs, you might say, give you a vibrant, primary colors type of feel. Plasma TVs give you subtler, warmer pastels, but perhaps more realistically accurate. Again, it’s all personal taste. Blondes vs. Brunettes. Tank tops vs. Cardigans. Impressionism vs. Realism.

Brightness

As for brightness, most would agree that the numbers the manufacturer gives you are nearly worthless. The numbers, even if you were to understand them, aren’t achieved in real-life conditions with various types of ambient light. Your own particular viewing area will play into this considerably, but most people report LCD TVs doing slightly better in bright-light conditions. Again, going with the general theme here – LCD TVs tend to be brighter and more colorful; plasma TVs tend to be warmer with more accurate color reproduction.

Black Levels

The one area of this section that would seem to go against the generalizations made above is the area of “black levels.” You might think that LCD TVs, having the reputation for being “sharper,” would produce deeper, darker blacks. But most agree this isn’t so. Producing a deep, dark black on an LCD TV is a somewhat complicated process. Instead of producing a full, deep blackness when required to do so, a very dark gray is produced instead. For many, however, this goes unnoticed, especially after growing used to the set’s colors. But it is another check mark in plasma column, and another reason why lovers of plasma TVs are in their corner.

Contrast Levels

As for contrast levels, you will see all sorts of ratios such as 3000:1. This is a measure of the darkest black compared to the lightest white. Because of plasma TVs’ ability to produce blacker blacks, they usually win out in this category. Most people see LCD TVs as being more “vibrant,” however, which would appear to be at least partly related to contrast. So the decision is a personal one, based on personal taste.

 

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Plasma vs. LCD TVs - The Battle Continues
 

Plasma vs. LCD TVs Home - Tech Info & Size  |  Page 2 - Issues: Burn-in, Delay, Dead Pixel Problems |  Page 3 - Life Span, Picture Quality |  Page 4 - Differences, Prices

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