Flat Screen Televisions - Who Wins The Flat Screen Tv Debate..plasma Or Lcd?
Flat screen TVs have been a godsend to many home theater enthusiasts who wanted to get away from the bulky and heavy rear projection units. While rear projection televisions are still popular as alternatives to flat screen HDTVs, there is little doubt from a quality and appearance factor, the flat screen reigns supreme.
The two new era technologies which have enabled flat screen TVs to come into play are Plasma and LCD. In fact, the two have developed their own band of supporters with many home theater purists either devoted to one or the another.
Flat screen HDTVs have trumped rear projection for several reasons. They are sleeker, less bulky, provide better images and are more power efficient.
Differences Between Plasma And LCD
While Plasma and LCD are now all the rage it should be noted there are definite differences between the two. Really, the only similarities lies in the fact they they are sleek sets without any bulk. But that’s where the similarity virtually ends.
Both have the capacity to display extremely high quality 1080p resolution however, they achieve their images in a different manner. There’s been little doubt that Plasma has led the popularity stakes because many consider they provie a better image quality among video enthusiasts.
Whether this is true today is debatable because LCDs have made rapid inroads into the Plasma domination. Other claims in favor of Plasma are that they can achieve deeper blacks which in turn has a significant bearing on the output of the image quality of the picture.
Don’t get too hung up though on this because as we said, LCDs are rapidly overhauling Plasma in terms of popularity and this is set to continue. In fact, some major manufacturers have made the important decison of concentrating wholly and solely on the LCD market.
LCD Flat Screen HDTVs
LCD flat screen TVs in recent years have nearly reached the contrast ratio of plasma screens though, and they are generally much cheaper than plasma televisions as well.
In years past, LCD screens were not as large as plasma screens, but this has also changed in recent years so that LCD flat screen HDTVs can reach sizes or 60” (five feet diagonally) or even larger.
Also, both technologies have matured, and as with all other technologies (computers, for example), LCDs and plasma screens have dramatically fallen in price to the point where they are a fraction of what they used to cost.
However, some new exciting technologies are about to be released which are set to beat plasma and LCD flat screen TVs in terms of power usage and image quality.
The most talked about one is the organic light-emitting diode (OLED). Not only will they draw significantly less power and produce better visuals, but they can also be used with many different materials, and they are expected to be significantly cheaper to produce, resulting in greater affordability for the consumer.
If you are looking to watch high definition content, look no further than flat screen HDTVs.