Plasma or LCD? Sleek flat-screens are fast becoming the benchmark in television viewing.
Revolution has begun in the living room. Boxy CRT TV sets are making way for sleek flat-panel models. This new breed of machines has caught on, mainly because they are thin and boast better picture quality. Some of the new LCD and plasma TVs that have begun appearing in stores are less than an inch thick. They are easier to hang on a wall and weigh 15 to 25 per cent less than previous models, which were about four inches thick. With a huge and ready market to tap in many regions, TV manufacturers are not letting up in their quest to gain more share of the market.
Samsung, for example, is reportedly spending US$50 million (RM175 million) to market its new line of slim TVs. It distinguishes them from regular models with a new moniker – light-emitting diode (LED) TV, after the component that makes the sleek profile possible.
The race to slim down also involves plasma TVs. For example, Panasonic has developed a plasma TV that is just under an inch thick. A model with a 54-inch screen sells for about ¥700,000 (RM25,450) in Japan. LCDs now account for about two-thirds of global TV sales by unit.
If slim is not enough to woo consumers, manufacturers have begun shipping ultra-slim models. Sony was the first to jump onto the bandwagon. A model under halfinch thick with a 40-inch screen sells for US$3,500 at Sony’s online store.
LG also announced that it had trimmed the screen component depth to six-tenths of a centimetre, a new record for screens that measure 42 inches or more, diagonally. The thinner sets are made possible because of a change in a backlight component. An LCD is a thin layer of liquid crystal positioned in front of a light source, typically slim fluorescent bulbs. Then came the LED option, which is almost as flat as a computer chip.
Another technology known as OLED, or organic LED, is emerging, which aims to make TVs even thinner in coming years. At a technical convention last year, Sony showed an OLED screen that’s just one-hundredth of an inch thick – thin enough to bend.
Screen size is another factor behind strong uptake of LCD and plasma TVs. Certainly, large-screen TVs have more to offer compared to smaller screens.
Plasma currently dominates the 50-inch and above sizes while LCD takes hold of the 40-inch and below sizes; both plasma and LCD are in parity for the 42-inch screen size.
But LCD has been making strides in the 42-inch and above range and fast catching up with plasma in the 46-inch and above range due to the dwindling number of plasma TV manufacturers.
Currently, the largest LCD TV available to consumers is the 65-inch. Some plasmas have reached 70-plus inches; the largest plasma TV available for sale for commercial purposes is a 103-inch model from Panasonic’s business division.
In terms of picture quality, most LCD and plasma TVs offer 1,290 by 1,080p resolution, which is the highest high-definition resolution currently attainable by mass-market HDTVs.
Choosing between plasma and LCD
Plasma or LCD? Choosing one over the other might be a bit tricky. These flat-screen TVs look similar on the outside, but they use different technologies to create images. The best sets of both types are capable of excellent picture quality, although there are subtle differences in the picture’s nature.
Audio-visual expert Dick Tan says there is little doubt that the LCD TV has surged ahead of plasma in terms of market acceptance.
“In the past, if you wanted anything bigger than 40 inches, the best option would be a plasma as LCD TVs seldom exceed 42 inches.
Today, the playing field is quite level and you can find LCD TVs ranging from 19 inches to 108 inches.” Tan adds that pricing is another factor that has given LCD a competitive edge over plasma.
“A 50-inch Kuro display, for example, costs four times more than the average LCD panel. At four times the cost, it’s easy to overlook the flaws of an LCD, even if it means living with a slightly inferior display.
“To average consumers, they don’t notice this. What they notice is the price and the marketing hype surrounding LCD panels.” One plasma display characteristic is that the resulting black is always black. This results in a picture that’s near perfect, which is a contrast to the greyish hue of an LCD picture due to the fluorescent backlight.
But that’s changing in favour of new LCD panels with light-emitting diode lighting through a technology known as local dimming, which dims the individual LED backlight output at the darkest spots. Even so, opponents argue that the LED cannot produce pure white light – it’s either a purplish or greenish tint.
But the technology doesn’t stop there. Manufacturers are already talking about the next-generation organic LED (OLED) that does not require a backlight, produces better colours and consumes less power than existing LCD technology.
Higher contrast ratios and faster refresh rates, too, have made the ghosting effects of LCD panels a thing of the past.
So, will this spell the demise of the plasma display? Unfortunately, there is no straightforward answer to that. It all has to do with market demand, according to Tan. Also, LCD manufacturers outnumber plasma manufacturers, and technology has marched forward, leading to a more-efficient LCD panel.
Buying tips
In terms of durability, plasma and LCD panels have a lifespan of 60,000 hours, or 20 years, if they are used for eight hours a day.
And like all things electronic, proper ventilation is important and overheating probably accounts for the highest amount of “sudden death” with these panels.
Plasmas traditionally have more faithful colour reproduction and images tend to be softer than LCDs’, which are mostly sharp throughout.
Plasmas traditionally were cheaper the bigger they went while LCDs filled in the gap for anything below that. Today, plasmas are as affordable as LCDs. Panasonic, for example, sells its 42-inch full HD LCD TV for RM3,999 while the standard non-HD 42-inch plasma goes for RM300 cheaper.
The “HD” acronym refers to highdefinition and in most cases, refers to the output resolution of 720p; full HD offers 1,080p.
HD also refers to the ability to receive HD signal directly, which can be quite sketchy locally since there isn’t an official HD broadcast yet. Even so, most users would typically have their signal piped in either through a set-top box or decoder.
