Whats the difference between an LCD and a Plasma T.V?

Question

I'm aware that LCD T.V's cost more. In the shop the LCD picture looked better? Can anyone tell me the differences? Thanks in advance!

Answer 1

LCDs (Liquid Crystal Display) are displays that use liquid crystals sandwiched between two sheets of polarizing material. A plasma panel has tiny cells of noble gases (neon and xenon) and a small amount of mercury in compartmentalized spaces between two glass panels. An LCD is slimmer and consumes less electricity compared to plasma. However, LCDs have a slower refresh rate, which causes a ghost like image to appear on the screen. Plasma provides a ratio of 3000:1, compared to 15,000:1 provided by LCDs. Plasmas are also susceptible to burn-ins.

Answer 2

First - ignore how the televisions look in the store.



They are set at the factory to "torch mode" to be extra bright and eye-catching. While this works - it does not mean the brighter screen is really the better picture.



Plasma panels are superior for video games, but they are glass and can reflect lights like a mirror. Plasmas are poor choices for brightly lit rooms or rooms with lights near the seating area because of the glare.



If you are not playing a lot of video games - then a name brand LCD/LED with 120 hz refresh is probably the best all-around television for you to get. There are crappy models, lots of good basic models and the higher end models rival the picture quality of plasma. I suggest you check out some review sites to find the recommended makes and models.

Answer 3

LCD which stands for liquid crystal display. LCD contains liquid crystal between two layers of polarizing filters. Light penetrates through the first layer and is blocked off by the second. Plasma on the other hand contains electrically charged ionized gases similar to that of a fluorescent light

Answer 4

one is "gas", the other coloured cells, get neither get LED, even better.

Answer 5

- Top brands: Panasonic (Plasma) and Samsung (LED). (Plasma > LED > LCD). (LCD is going to be discontinued. A LCD tv uses cold cathode fluorescent lamps/CCFL backlights. A LED tv is a LCD tv, but with white or red, green, blue LEDs on the edge of the screen or a full array on the back of the screen).

= Plasma has best picture and audio quality (best response times, best viewing angle, best color quality, less/no motion blur for crisp/clear images). Newer Plasmas have improved their burn issues by using pixel shifting/scrolling. LCD/LED is best for bright rooms and have most light coming off the screen (Plasmas are not great for bright rooms because of screen glare and faded picture, but do great for dim or dark rooms). Newer Plasmas use less energy consumption and they are cheap to buy. LED are more popular because the manufacturers want to sell you their LED cheap made expensive tvs rather than their cheap Plasmas.



- I recommend 1920x1080p for movies, computer monitor/display, some tv shows, and some game console games and I recommend 1920x720p for some tv shows and some game console games. I recommend 40+ inches for movies and/or tv shows and 20-30 inches for computer monitor and 30-40 inches for game console games.

- FPS (frames per second): Every video consists of a number of frames per second, think of a video as a fast moving flip book. NTSC countries use 60i or 30i FPS (newer stations use 30p or 60p FPS) for tv shows. PAL/SECAM countries use 50i or 25i FPS (newer stations use 25p or 50p FPS) for tv shows. Movies use 24p/25p FPS (first movie to use 48p was LOTR: The Hobbit). Games use anywhere to 2 to 120 FPS (older games use lower FPS while newer games use higher FPS, usually they are up to 60 FPS today).

- TV refresh rate (measured in hz): Example, A tv with a refresh rate of 120 hz means it refreshes/flashes the entire screen 120 times a second.



- How do LED or LCD tv refresh rates work with the FPS of a video? (I recommend real/true 240hz refresh rate, some tv advertising may fool you by listing the fake interpolation or fake backlight scanning/dimming refresh rates).

- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motion_interpolation (Names of the new technologies for newer tv's at the link): Motion Interpolation or Motion Compensated Frame Interpolation (MCFI), is a form of video processing in which new fake frames are generated between existing ones to up the FPS of a video to reduce motion blur and/or for judder removal/judder adjustment. MCFI video processing may cause gamer input lag and/or artifacts such as the soap opera effect (may ruin the look of a video).

- Many tv's allow viewers to turn motion interpolation (MCFI) off. The tv repeats the frames a certain number of times to match the tv's refresh rate. Example; To display 24 frames per second on a tv with a 120 hz refresh rate, each frame is repeated 5 times every 24th of a second.

- But what happens if the FPS of a video does not match the refresh rate of the tv? Then you get a pulldown, a pulldown is what causes a jittery screen (aka judder) because the tv repeats the odd frames a different amount of times the tv repeats the even frames. Example; A 3:2 pulldown is post popular because it is needed to match a 24 fps video with a 60hz refresh rate tv, odd frames are repeated 3 times (12x3=36) and even frames are repated 2 times (12x2=24) and 36+24=60 FPS for a 60hz refresh rate tv.



How does Plasma tv refresh rates work with the FPS of a video?

- It will take each pixel in a frame and and repeat it a number of times based on the number of sub-field drives (SFD) the tv has with it's refresh rate. Example 1; (NTSC countries) 600hz sub-field drive/motion tv means 60hz FPS x 10 sub-fields per frame = 600hz refresh rate. Example 2; (PAL/SECAM countries) 600hz sub-field drive/motion tv means 50hz FPS x 12 sub-fields per frame = 600hz refresh rate.

- What is focused-field drive (FFD) on Neo-Plasmas? (Light switching speed = better colors and less motion blur) 2500hz focused field drive means sub-fields are virtually packed into 1/2500th of a second as a sharp impluse, creating crisp motion images even in very very fast movining images (FFD is defined as a inverse of light emission period t. 1/t = 1/0.4ms = 2,500 FFD). Regular sub-feild drives like 50 FPS x 12 sub-fields = 600 hz, light emission spreads as wide as 1 field time (1/60th sec) maximum which results in blurry images for very very fast moving images.

- Refresh rates on Plasmas work similar to LED/LCD tv's. These settings are usually automatic, but you can change them in the advanced picture settings, Example 1; 2D 24p FPS mode and choose refresh rates of 48hz/96hz or 30hz/60hz with pulldown (might use interpolation frames for pulldowns), Example 2; 3D mode and choose refresh rates of 96hz for 24 FPS or 100hz for 50 FPS or 120hz for 60 or 24 fps.ect Of course it has gamer mode or many other adjustments.